The Most Popular Memes

2020, for most people, was not a great year. It seemed doomed, almost from the beginning. From the death of the famous basketball player Kobe Bryant to the continuous global pandemic, to Tik Tok then to a crazy election season. It seemed like the year would never end. But even when the world seems to be at its worst, human desire for humor and joy always prevails through popular memes.

The crazy and hectic year gave way for an equally strong year in the meme community. Here, many strong trends broke through. Many of the best memes throughout the years have stemmed from awful events occurring in society, and 2020 was no different. When the world seems to be at its worst, memes always seem to be at their best. By poking fun at the problems that plague society, memes find a way to make light of a dark situation. Let’s take a look at some of the best memes throughout the year that will live in infamy.

Tiger King

When the Coronavirus first began to take control of the country in March, many people were left wondering what to do. Quarantine had just begun, so going out was no longer an option. With many people stuck inside, the world turned to Netflix where one of the first 2020 memes began in a television series- Tiger King. The nation became entranced with the crazy world of Joe Exotic and his tiger kingdom.

The show allowed many to connect and gave us something to laugh about. We also gained an area of debate, wondering if Carole Baskin actually fed her husband to tigers. This show generated the most popular memes across Twitter and various other platforms. Even becoming an extremely popular song on Tik Tok are used by many popular creators. The show set the tone for the crazy year to come, providing excellent meme content along the way.

Dudes Who Are Down Bad

A newer meme to the community, “Dudes Who Are Down Bad” took over social media like a storm. What started as a Twitter page grew into somewhat of an overnight sensation, posting screenshots of, “dudes who are down bad.” The page consists of text or direct message conversations between someone looking for a relationship and the person who rejects them.

This series of painfully hilarious images show average people getting thrown into the friend zone. These are those being asked about the availability of their attractive friends. They are getting flat out rejected has given many people something to laugh at and relate to. Playing to the humorous side of unfortunate situations, Dudes Who Are Down Bad has become one of the best memes..

Coronavirus

Though the global pandemic took away what was normal and hurt many aspects of life, it gave way to memes. With people cooped up inside having much time, extraordinary meme content was produced. Much of it was based on the virus itself.

Memes based on people’s fear of the vaccine began, allowing people to take shots at gross and unsanitary actions people took in the past as a reason to not fear the vaccine. Some used the early curfews and closures to poke fun indicating that the virus would go away or couldn’t tell the difference between day and night. Others made fun of how the virus itself was handled by officials or how the virus was similar to Thanos as an evil presence that could not be destroyed.

The Last Dance

The debate over who the greatest basketball player of all time is something that will never leave our society. In a supposed attempt to separate himself from LeBron James, Michael Jordan released a ten part documentary series entitled The Last Dance.

Though a few saw this film series for the biased basketball insight it provided, most saw it for the meme potential. The series provided a hilarious compilation of reactionary memes. The facial expressions and quotes from the series can still be seen to this day across all social media platforms. One of the most popular memes from this series is the, “and I took that personal.” meme that has been used in a large variety of contexts.

Real Life or Cake?

This meme was sent to make us question everything we know. Society was forced to question everything we know, wondering if the simple object we see is what we think it is, or just an extremely detailed piece of cake. This meme also transcended every social media platform as people loved to see the knife cut through what they thought was a seemingly obvious object. Sometimes it was a meal from KFC. There are also times when it was a can of beans. Sometimes it was a cellphone or a stapler. But in the end, it always was a piece of cake.

How It Started Vs. How It’s Going

This series of memes took over Twitter especially. In a side by side comparison, a picture of how something started was placed next to how it was currently going. Though it is pretty self explanatory, this meme series was amazing for humorous content.

Many chose to use this meme to display how a job or a sporting career or just a certain time in their life. Some used it as an opportunity to poke fun at a franchise, person, or team they supported. Other memes showed actually progress instead of a disastrous state for how it was going.

What made this meme so special for some was the connectability it had with everyone. Anybody could participate, as long as they had one funny photo of something happening. Everyone was involved and could share parts of their life with a humorous twist on how to share it.

The 2020 Election

Politics were the most consistent meme of the year. From the President getting impeached to the primary election to interesting tweets from political sources, there was always something to laugh at in the world of politics. The 2020 Election provided much of this great content. Maybe it was something said in a debate or the fly that made its way on to Vice-President Mike Pence’s head during a debate. It could be that President Trump saying, “Obamna,” or President-elect Joe Biden shouting, “SODA!” Maybe it was the President himself contracting COVID-19. The 2020 Election season provided great meme content for everybody to laugh at.

Elf on a Shelf

This meme made its annual return to the meme scene late in 2020. The meme is a Christmas season staple where people make their own play on words involving the common Christmas tradition of the elf on a shelf. The meme consists of switching the words within elf on a shelf and replacing them with two new things, one always on top of the other. This is another meme that most people could participate in, as all that is required is some witty wordplay.

Tik Tok

Though the app was almost a meme in itself, quarantines allowed creators to produce well-thought-out and humorous content. Some content was funny as the most popular memes in the app. However, many people found the funniest content in reactions to the supposed serious content or other influencers on the app. Many jokes were made about famous content creators within speaking on the difficulty of their “job.” They mostly consist of making ten-second dances. The comment sections are a great source of entertaining content. Also, some found enjoyment in adding different parts to popular videos.

The Nate Robinson Challenge

In what was a surprising source of entertainment, controversial YouTube sensation Jake Paul knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in an undercard boxing match. Though many were not particularly interested in the fight prior, the knockout itself provided unprecedented amounts of content. One of the funniest aspects was the professional fight commentary provided by none other than Snoop Dogg.

The rapper stepped in to commentate the fight. He delivered some of the funniest lines in the history of the sport. Another thing is about Robinson’s choice of basketball shoes and encouraged him to fight back. He sang hymnals after Robinson took a tumble to the mat. His commentary was raw and real, but unexpectedly hilarious throughout the fight.

The actual knockout also led to the “Nate Robinson Challenge.” People would lay on the ground in a similar form to Robinson after the knockout. Many people joked that the knockout seemed inherently racist. Others consider his defeat to set back racial injustice progress that had been made back in June.

Though 2020 wasn’t the greatest year for many, the meme content it provided was a lone bright spot. For more crazy memes visit Laugh Meme for all the best Memes