Memes Rule Everything Around Me: Chadwick Boseman's 'Green Book' Oscars Look, YNW Melly & More

Source: ABC

A recap of memes from the shortest month of the year/one of the worst Black History Months of the 2010s.

This Black History Month was...a lot. Although this month finally brought us the arrest of R. Kelly, there was Jussie Smollett's ongoing attack fiasco, countless reports related to blackface (and the many apologies that came afterward), Green Book beating out Black Panther and BlacKkKlansman at this year's Oscars, and more.

Still, as exhausting as February was, it brought us some memorable memes to pass the time, one of which actually came from the Oscars.

The meme shows Chadwick Boseman as he turns and looks at Michael B. Jordan behind him. He has a look of indifference as Green Book's name is announced as winner for the Best Picture Oscar. Although Boseman has yet to speak on the face, and how he felt about Green Book's win, the meme has come to represent countless people's reaction to the win, as well as other scenarios that relate to the exchange.

Spike Lee, who was in attendance and won his first Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay during the awards ceremony, was much more explicit in his dissatisfaction with the win. The BlacKkKlansman director reportedly "got up from his seat and walked toward the back of the auditorium in a huff" when the Best Picture prize was announced.

The Green Book was also trolled via its Wikipedia page, which essentially transformed into its own meme. People angry with the win took to the film's Wikipedia page and edited the title of the film to say "Lying White Guilt Trash," while other users targeted the film's director and producer Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, respectively.

For Farrelly, someone had added the words “sexual harasser” to his name (Farelly reportedly used to flash his penis on set), while Vallelonga had the words “serial liar and islamophone” added to his (Vallelonga said he’d seen “Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down” in a 2015 tweet about 9/11).

Someone had also briefly changed the film’s title to “Wack Ass Oscar Bait” on the Wikipedia page for the 91st Academy Awards.

The page has since been edited back to normal.

The Oscars also gave us this notable meme where Glenn Close appears to be marveling at Billy Porter's tuxedo gown. Inspired by ballroom icon Hector Xtravaganza and made by Christian Siriano, Porter's gown was one of the most discussed red carpet fashion moments of the Oscars. But Close surely captured how people felt about Porter's dress. She begins by studying his gown intensely before offering a dramatic once over that ends with a satisfying smile.

Outside of the Oscars, YNW Melly has been turned into a meme. The meme is a snippet of the Florida rapper performing his hit song "Murder On My Mind," specifically when he says the lyrics "I didn't even mean to shoot him / He just caught me by surprise." The video has been used for a number of different situations.

Unfortunately, Melly isn't able to partake or respond to the memes. The rapper was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with his two close friends YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy. Authorities claim that Melly conspired with fellow rapper YNW Bortlen to stage the murder of Sakchaser and Juvy to look as if they were attacked in a drive by shooting. Both Melly and Bortlen have also been named suspects in the fatal shooting of an off-duty officer that occurred in 2017.

Another rapper was the source of a popular meme this month — Ja Rule.

Ja arguably hasn't had an enjoyable 2019 so far. January brought the release of two Fyre Festival documentaries, each showing his involvement in the failed event. Since then, he has tried to promote an app called Iconn, which allows users to book artists. However, the app is strikingly similar to the Fyre app in that it also allowed users to book artists. Because of this, the app has faced scrutiny from people who see it as another scam from the rapper.

Fast-forward to February, and Ja had to perform to a crowd that wasn't too thrilled to see him. The rapper performed as the halftime entertainment at the Timberwolves-Bucks game in Milwaukee, with his set a part of a "90s Night" promotion.

Ja first addressed being a part of the event, telling the audience, "They said this was '90s night, so they brought out a 2000s artist. But my album came out in ’99 so I guess that counts."

From there, he attempts to rile up the crowd by yelling "Are we ready?" After a lackluster response, he asks again and receives yet another disinterested reply, which leads him to disappointingly say, "I guess not."

The exchange immediately became a meme.

However, someone in attendance disputed the viral moment, offering a video that shows people cheering, although it's still pretty lackluster.

Earlier this month found Will Smith becoming a meme thanks to his role as Aladdin's Genie. The first TV trailer for the forthcoming live-action Disney movie, which was shown during the Grammys, revealed Smith's version of the iconic character, with the particular blue hue of his Genie just as bizarre as it is fascinating.

Inevitably, the image became a meme.

There were a handful of other notable memes that came about this month. Check them out below.

Emo Blueface

Skeptical Car Kid