my top 10 memes/pop culture moments of 2024

mama a yearly recap behind YOU 💜

i’m way too online for my own good.

to back this point up, i was gonna include a stat of how long i’m on twitter and tiktok but honestly, i don’t even want to check my tiktok screentime because it’ll just make me feel bad about myself. alternatively, it’ll feed my hubris, because i’m spending so much time online but i still have pretty good grades, so i should be online MORE.

so i’ll just say that i drop way too “and by ‘it’, haha, well. let’s justr say. my peanits” references in casual conversation for it to be normal, and i’ll let you draw whatever conclusions you want to draw from that.

after being inspired by other listicles and youtube videos, i’ve decided to create my own list. here’s my top 10 memes and pop culture moments of 2024.

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10. the costco guys

    

    is it necessarily for me? not really, but i respect their fame. i remember seeing their “we’re costco guys, ofc we ___” videos, and i have to give them props for their trajectory from that little video to being on fallon.
    that being said, it hurts me that they’re from florida—these guys just emit new jersey vibes. all in all, i give the costco guys a big BOOM.

9. hawk tuah BUT IRONICALLY.

   

   VERY IMPORTANT CAVEAT. it needs to be ironic. i will die before i ever listen to an episode of talk tuah, but some of those memes hit the perfect amount of brainrotted for me.

8. the new york city 4.8 earthquake

   

   

   i was functionally useless that day. we talked about the earthquake in every single class at school. i was more locked in to twitter than i’ve ever been before. constantly refreshing, liking, and retweeting.

7. “bro visited his friend”

   

   because of the absolute DAMAGE this did on my vocabulary in the spring, i have to include it here. the trend also made me realize just how terminally online i am and how i am doing absolutely nothing to change that.

6. [____] lookalike contest

   

   some of these were funny. i think this is just a genuinely sweet break from all the other stuff that’s happened in the world this year, and it’s sweet that the celebrities were in on it too. i know there was a gojo lookalike contest and some of the english voice actors for jujutsu kaisen offered to pay the fine the organizers received from it.
   the jungkook one in chicago makes me mad every time i think about it.

5. the summer 2024 holy trinity (sabrina carpenter, charli xcx, chappell roan)

   

   i’d be doing a disservice if i didn’t mention this. each one of these girls dominated 2024 in their own way. radio stations play “espresso” 24/7. hearing “club classics” (specifically the sweat tour version, the bass in the intro HITS) and the “talk talk” troye sivan remix heals me. and i’ve looped “after midnight” so much on spotify that chappell roan’s my number one artist. these girls changed the pop scene for the better.

4. why is this serving saddam hussein hiding spot

   

   i believe the saddam hussein hiding spot meme actually predates 2024, but i love this trend so much because it’s basically just like pareidolia but for one photo of saddam hussein.

3. holding space for the lyrics of defying gravity

   

   i have pulled this video up on twitter and shown it to other people because i think everyone needs to see this. i’ve watched it so much that i can memorize the whole video.
   how are people holding space with the lyrics of defying gravity. what does that even mean. why does cynthia erivo say “that’s what i wanted” like she wrote the damn song. why is ariana grande reaching out to hold one (1) finger.
   plus, the ending line of “but i am in queer media” is SUCH A FUNNY BUTTON to me.

2. just the entirety of the 2024 Olympics

   

   i think about this whole summer fondly. truly, this olympics had everything: lebron holding the us flag, that one norwegian swimmer who was feining for those chocolate muffins, the CUNTIEST shooters ever, and whatever the hell raygun was trying to do. i love international sporting events.

   
   honorable mentions

   • this 97 year old diner still serves their coke the old fashioned way

   • the troye sivan gap ad

   • the dune popcorn bucket

   • eric adams’s indictment (if you’re sensing a slight new york bias, you are totally correct.)

   • “i hate gay halloween what do you mean you’re ___”

   • ningning is the MAKNAE💜

1. “big is moving to paris”

   

   i get ridiculously excited for major world events to happen because i know that if i open tiktok, i’ll see a four-photo slideshow of the sex and the city girls debriefing it.
   i giggle and kick my little feet every time. the entirety of my dms and messages with a friend of mine are just the two of us sending these stupid, stupid memes back and forth to each other until we die, and we will both complain that samantha wouldn’t actually say that or that charlotte and miranda’s lines should be switched.
   i want all my news delivered solely through this meme format. “big is moving to paris” is the greatest fucking thing in the world to me, and i need it to continue into 2025 and, frankly, for the rest of my life.