"One Does Not Simply..."
From the exceptional mind of J.R.R.Tolkien came The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which eventually flourished into a world-wide known feature films. Both the books and the films have won over fantasy genre addicts and applause for them still occurs today. However, along with its popularity came a plethora of memes that paid homage or playfully mocked characters and scenes from the films.
One of the most prominent memes that has taken over the Internet, pulls from a scene derived from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, when Boromir is explaining the complexity of approaching Mordor. Boromir says to Frodo and friends, "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its Black Gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep, and the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust, the very air you breathe is a poisonous fume." The beginning of Boromir's speech, "One does not simply..." is the premise of these specific memes. Those who use this particular meme have a condescending tone or may be talking down to someone in order to explain the difficulty of doing something.This meme will resonate differently among different audiences, specifically among people who have not yet seen The Lord of the Rings movies. This audience will not be able to fully grasp the full concept of the meme, which is to lovingly make fun of Boromir and his seriousness of the situation. Conversely, a fan of the trilogy will be able to instantly recognize the meme's condescending nature.
Examples of "One does not simply..." Meme
Great artifact! Brief here - please be mindful of word count as per assignment parameters.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great meme, especially for those who know the character. This is the first time I've seen the multiple-photo example - though, is the middle picture of Leo DiCaprio? I'm not sure I get it, except for the goofy facial expression.
Take your time and don't jump to so many conclusions regarding the use of this meme. Initially, you seem to categorize this as being a way for people to ridicule someone who wants to do something very difficult - but that is not true at all for the bottom photo. Also, realize the character and the particular significance of that speech in that (very epic, very geeky) movie (full disclosure: I love these movies). The "One does not simply..." moment is not at all a condescending moment; perhaps more about the prospect of facing overwhelming odds of failing to do something that must be done - foolhardy, desperate, willing to do it - but hardly thinking it will work, etc. This character is very popular and dies in spectacular fashion saving the hobbits - he is very truly an epic warrior hero. So what meaning might the use of his character contain? Is it all about establishing the "epic-ness" of what is captioned? Your job here is to unpack all the elements of the meme. Consider the commonalities between some of these captions. Take your time.