You Can't Kill Meme (2021) User Reviews

A little strange.

[kristarosephillips · 5/10 · 30 March 2022]

Some interesting points are made, but overall it was incredibly disjointed and disorienting.

I felt very confused (especially about the amount of magic?) but did learn some interesting things.

Topics: political discourse, memes, fringe groups, behavior of groups, Las Vegas, Light Workers

Wouldn't recommend as your most important watch of the night. The background music is too discordant to watch as a background watch. So I guess just save this if you're really bored and liked Feels Good Man.

A documentary about internet history from the perspective of someone that was never involved in internet history

[devans-847-331558 · 5/10 · 2 April 2022]

I have mixed feelings about this documentary so my review may be relatively meandering and disjointed not unlike the documentary itself.

So first things first; the documentary starts off in a bad position with the misuse of the term meme as a stand in for what is really called image macro. Basically to understand this you need to go back to the early days of funny images with text on them and actually understand the terminology and we've gotten so far disconnected from that point these days that people will actually argue that a meme is an image. This is not correct. While image macros develop memetic response they themselves are not memes. What I have more of an issue with on this topic however is that there are times that the term meme is used correctly to identify the larger behavioral patterns that emerge from the usage of image macros. It's a confusing topic to discuss when the terminology is being used so interchangeably between the two separate yet connected things.

Now where this gets even more hairy is in the conversation of memes as magic. Where magic is functionally defined as either a level of technology or an applied concept that is so far outside of the understanding of the average individual in a society. However, memetics is a concept that is very well studied in sociology and can be replicated though various experiments and happens regardless of access to any substantial technology. Man of the people that are being interviewed are staggeringly correct in what they are saying about memes and how memes work and how memes are weaponized as a concept but they are attributing this phenomenon to something supernatural rather than something inherent and intrinsic to humans that lead to our development to what we have become today. Memetics have a tendency to drive social evolution and as such from the perspective of someone that is not studied in psychology or sociology it would definitely appear to be magic. Topics like confidence derived from self actualization are discussed as mystical and karmic. Interestingly these same people seem to have a certain understanding of the concept of chaos as a necessary factor and state towards developing order. There are some absolute nut jobs in this documentary that are doing far more harm than good, but there are people that have incredible minds and clearly weren't given the opportunities to explore their intellectual capacities and legitimize their theories.

The documentary was very difficult to get through, it dragged a lot especially with the shaman lady, but it was nice to see what I can only describe as the only rational anarchist that I've ever seen in a documentary.

I won't be revisiting this movie documentary and I definitely wouldn't recommend this to someone that isn't aware of the realities of chan history or social internet history at large. The documentary has a tendency to believe that memes are a new concept online, starting in roughly 2013 on 4chan. This is not the case. Meme culture online goes all the way back to the early 90s and more than likely before that with the advent of chain emails and comics sent in office communication systems. This trend would expand out to funny pictures that would be categorized on sites dedicated to funny pics. This would then become an image macro where a funny pic would then be overlayed with lettering and we have the modern iteration that we have today. The documentary explicitly links the usage of KEK to ancient Egyptian mythology when in reality it is rooted in WOW as a translation of LOL from an alliance player to a horde player.

Virtually every point about internet culture and history is incorrect and the most interesting part is that there are correct ideas with the wrong terminology being used about sociology with the label of magic(k).

Definitely don't recommend if you don't know history or sociology.

Delusional, chaotic, and...hilarious?

[DrinkBathwater · 5/10 · 4 June 2022]

The movie itself sucks, but the absolute insanity of the interviews could make for a funny watch. The editing of degraded jpegs, seemingly random found footage, and awkward camera angles screams amateur, yet it really has me wondering if the director believes in this chaos magick, willing reality into existence, poltergeists, WitchTok, and other wacky ideologies. The rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper with each new interview. The director really blurred the lines if these are trolls or real people who believe in this, and even more so for her actual belief. But whether she is exploiting these looneys, or if they are actually actors, or if the director has completely immersed herself into this world of madness, it's a unique video that will leave you questioning the sanity of this world and the people on it.

Maybe one day we will actually see "Level 1".

Just Barely a Movie

[pinluh · 2/10 · 27 March 2022]

This film is as insightful as ripping salvia bong hits in a 17 year old Redditor's basement. The interview subjects are not experts, the narrative sounds like a high school student's poetry journal and there are so many uncited claims and the word "truth" is thrown around like a bouncy ball. The only reason I provided the second star is the use of Snapchat filters in the actual film with no sense of irony was HILARIOUS.

Sheer unadulterated drivel

[jake_fantom · 1/10 · 16 March 2022]

You know those dopey things you see online all the time - memes? 99% of them seem to have been ineptly stitched together by people with room temperature IQs, right? Well, guess what? Those memes, according to the authors of this busload-of-twaddle documentary, are PURE MAGIC!!! That's right - they are the work of dark magicians operating on an astral plane, and they have the power to subvert the universe! Boy, was I surprised. Especially since this "documentary" is stitched together with found footage that has almost nothing to do with the subject matter, along with interviews with some of the goofiest humanoids I have ever seen captured on celluloid. If you have an overpowering urge to waste 90 minutes of your time on sheer idiocy, may I suggest that you go with Plan 9 from Outer Space instead? At least you'll get a couple of laughs out of that.

What the flibber-flabber did I just watch?

[Movieviewer729 · 1/10 · 9 May 2022]

...Or rather attempt to watch.

You can't be serious. I still can't figure out if this is satire or not. It's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. This is a prank, right? This actually has to be a prank. It has to be satire. If it's satire then it would be funny. Reminds me of other satire mock-umentaries such as "clouds are satanic illuminati propaganda". This absolutely 100% has to be satire otherwise it makes zero effing sense.

Chaos magick? What!?!?!? Bro it's a meme. What language are these people even speaking. I really just felt like I was missing something. After momentarily being stunned by rapidly flashing black and white lights in the beginning that PROBABLY could give someone a seizure - for gods sake man. People have epilepsy. I hate those crappy effects.

Anyways, did you see Rick Astley in the beginning?

Yeah, we all just got rickrolled. This whole video was a prank for sure. It's fake. Definitely fake. The creators are laughing in their basements right now cuz we fell for it!

Ah, I'll play along... In conclusion to my review, I shall activate the ultimate sigil chant, now close your eyes and say it with me folks:

"Big big chungus big chungus big chungus!"

There, now the world will end and astral neo-fascists will return under Lord Zeemoog's reptilian agenda... Or something...

It's the internet folks. Should we really be suprised?

I'd give zero stars. Negative stars. ....black holes?

One star purely because I liked seeing the memes and hyperrealistic baby Pepe. That's a rare one.

Absolute Nonsense

[ecwilliams-53864 · 1/10 · 3 April 2022]

I came into this documentary thinking that this was going to be actual, reasomable insight into the origins behind popular memes (such as Pepe) and their relation to online white supremacist groups, but this quickly turned into absolute nonsensical drivel about "chaos magic". It completely ruined the credibility of the documentary, especially since it's main interviewees were internet armchair "experts" who were too afraid to even show their faces because they're absolute knuckle dragging keyboard warriors.

Do not waste your time on this.

Psycho babble garbage.

[wwptsxh · 1/10 · 29 March 2022]

It is over an hour of bumbling rambled interviews. Given from fringe society basement goblins. While the interviewer is trying to ask actual questions. I feel bad for the interviewer who really did try to make a documentary on an interesting idea. However her subjects were just plain incoherent.

Interesting!

[BandSAboutMovies · 6/10 · 8 December 2021]

A political meme - you've seen them if you're on social media - is a purposefully designed visual framing of a position that is created to deliver an inside joke, trigger an emotional reaction and create a sense of belonging. Memes are an entirely new form of political communication and attempts to use them for good and ill are growing rapidly.

They're also close in use and form to sigils, the secret language used in chaos magic. Is that intentional? Or do you need to know it's magic to use the power?

Director/cinematographer Hayley Garrigus made a three-year descent into the anonymous internet underworld to explore the genesis of memetic magic. She was also able to get information from both sides of the political spectrum, such as Memetic Magic: Manipulation of the Root Social Matrix and the Fabric of Reality author R. Kirk Patwood, Billy Brujo, Carole Michaella, Sean Bell, Nick Peterson, Mason Inglaessia, "User 666" and "Marianne" and more.

This film won't give you any easy answers, as both the right and left are given equal time. This has upset some people that reviewed the film, as there's no condemnation for anything in this film. Instead, it's fascinated by the fact that memes potentially enabled political candidates to be elected.

As someone that has experience with both chaos magic and binding rituals against political figures, as well as creating memes for both personal and professional uses, I understand what this film is trying to state. However, it's pretty scattershot and moves in plenty of directions. Yet that's just why it's so fascinating, much like the woman who claims that she knows that Obama has walked on Mars and is working to kill all of humanity, but then pauses to ask if Garrigus would like some tea.

Confused, bored, and disappointed

[flandroj · 1/10 · 17 April 2022]

The documentary was very disorganized and I was left confused throughout. It didn't seem like a documentary that would make Hulu's cut. It was edited like an amateur YouTube video. The only good points made were about meme magic and how memes can affect the real world. A lot of the interviews were weird and didn't strongly add to the documentary's point and just became more disjointed. The voice actress sounded bored throughout and made it very disengaging. Don't recommend, waste of time. You can learn more on YouTube about "meme magic" in a shorter amount of time lol.

You either get it or you don't.

[MovieMonstress · 8/10 · 29 April 2023]

If you're with it then this watch will come clearly, with both familiarity and comfort. If you are still sleeping...then you'll also be rating this documentary a 1 if at all watching :)

While watching I'm nodding my head in agreement, taking names of people and locations down to further look into. Very satisfying for a fellow "wacko"

You have to listen beyond what your ears are hearing. Yeah yeah they should have thrown me in the interview too.

But seriously (!!!) watching this should make you wonder how/why those interviewed have such strong faith in something you cannot even fathom. Absorb more of the odd & please, ask more questions.

Awesome documentary. Thank you for the watch & the knowledge!

Sometimes comes off as a commercial for delusion, but gives significant insight

[Poltergeist333 · 6/10 · 6 August 2022]

Many of the concepts and mind experiments have some validity in theory, but you need to hear it from the unfiltered point of view to truly appreciate the delusion and how they have taken things way too far.

Yes, writing things down makes it more likely you will follow up. Yes, things can go viral and impact thoughts of the public (Shamanism IS a valid social construct) by appealing to the lowest common denominator. No, this is NOT magic. It is sociology and anthropology, and they are treating it like magic.

I do wish the film makers had done some research on the concepts that this movement have bastardized and presented it as some counterpoint. I also get the impression that the film maker allowed the "guests" to dictate the terms. I don't feel this removes the importance or relevance of the content, but it absolutely could have been done better.

An ironic film of alt-right hypocrisy.

[cjpalmer-53855 · 2/10 · 30 March 2022]

First off this movie is not good. It's just many interviews with people who are so desperate to feel intellectually superior to most people that they result to Vudu magic in order to get their candidate elected.

Many of the interviewed people in the film mention how society is influencing everyone, and how they somehow are one of the few that actually have life figured out, and everyone else is blindly following what is shown to them. They then describe how they blindly follow what is shown to them on message boards as absolute truths and deny all fragments of reality which would have the chance of showing them how batshit crazy they've become.

This movie's only value is really to see how insane the far-right has become. You aren't going to learn anything of value other than such.

You CAN kill a meme.

[kwanothy · 1/10 · 28 April 2024]

What in tarnation did I just watch. It makes no sense and is just a bunch of people who couldn't find friends in real life because of their opinions and had to rely on the early 2000's internet to find likewise people about issues that aren't even there.

I thought Pepe was just a weird internet frog but at least you convinced me to never see him the same way again. You really did kill a meme for me! The structure of the documentary was all over the place I believe too. I was hoping it was about memes at the beginning with your hook. But then as I watched it got harder to follow.

You started using words like Memetic Magic and Chaos magic which put me off of it. And turned into a conspiracy theorist's wet dream. And each interview felt stitched together by threads and made it hard to follow and luckily I don't get seizures because there were so many flashing lights!

Overall I did not think it was a good film what so ever and could've been at least edited better and made it more coherent as a narrative. So 1/10 hope your skills improve and I assure you your career will fly and do great things!

The art and science of causing change in conformity with will

[maximumkate · 8/10 · 5 April 2022]

This is a strange documentary. I hadn't read the description and expected some kind of breezy documentary about memes, but this film posits that memes are actually employed as sigils and hypersigils in the context of chaos magick, and so things are dark right from the outset.

I'm not sure I fully buy the central premise of the documentary. I don't really know the extent to which these online communities had an impact on the 2016 election, which was, as far as I can tell, a reaction to the Obama presidency and social progress moving at a clip which terrified a lot of people.

Even assessing the alt-right as a whole, I don't know how it breaks down between edgy 4chan trolls vs. Garden variety working class bigots, who may not have any connection with meme warfare or care much about the Internet.

Still, there is something unsettling here. I was surprised the documentary didn't discuss Edward Bernays and the way similar systems of manipulation have been employed in the context of business and capitalism (e.g., advertising). The concept of manipulating people in this way is not new; the particular spin it takes in online forums, and especially the people trafficking in these techniques is, perhaps, unique to the modern age.

And more to the point, as to criticisms of this documentary, this central point is missed: whether something is hokum or not has depressingly little connection to its efficaciousness: there are endless examples of human history of complete insanity and ludicrous lies having a cratering impact.

I have been genuinely surprised the degree to which these online cults have been attractive to people. And there seems to be little correlation between the stupidity of the worldviews they're selling and the IQ of the people who buy into them, which is to say, there are a lot of very intelligent people buying into some very stupid, harmful ideas.

Which, perhaps, speaks to a conversation we haven't had which is long overdue: intelligence -- that is, IQ -- and wisdom, are not the same things.

Grain of salt and all, but I find it hard to dismiss the central idea here entirely,

The most interesting thing here is the assertion that the power lies with the collective (vs. Individualist) expression of this technique, and especially the idea that the alt-right seems to have out-collective'd the left, somehow.

I would not have bet on this 20 years ago, but a whole lot of demented ideological pathologies have switched places in those decades, and the Internet may well have something -- maybe a lot -- to do with it.

That this is a form of mass insanity is a mundane and obvious conclusion. If you believe insanity is doomed to failure, you're not going to see much point here. If you believe in the power of mass insanity to disrupt, subvert, and destroy -- and I certainly do -- this is a far more disconcerting documentary.