Sure, I could say you did a nice job.
I could text back “Way to take care of business, Big Dog!” Or I could just send you a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio from Great Gatsby toasting what is almost surely champagne. He’s a whole mood, after all.
In the age of online, we communicate with vibes and moods not only where words fall short, but in lieu of the written form altogether. A GIF is worth a thousand emoticons.
As we hand out fake internet trophies for the second-annual Daily Dot Hall of Fame class, it’s imperative that we return to the “Big Mood” well. These reactions aren’t just ways to shorthand communication, they are iconic fits of relatability that articulate the human condition with all the grace and eloquence of a Taylor Swift breakup ballad.
Last year, we celebrated Pepe the Frog, Disaster Girl, Surprised Pikachu, the This Is Fine dog, and Distracted Boyfriend in the Big Mood category. Disaster Girl won. Let’s get to the 2023 nominees.
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Quiet Quitting
We’re proud of this one because the term, now commonplace among America’s tuned-out corporate workforce, began as vague slang and we covered it early. Mood? More like a lifestyle. Hate your job but can’t really afford to quit it? Do the bare minimum guilt-free while you search for an alternative source of income on the clock. Honey, we’re all out here quiet-quitting.
The term took off thanks to a TikTok from @zkchillin in June 2022. The TikToker narrates in the video: “I recently learned about this term called ‘quiet quitting,’ where you’re not outright quitting your job but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond. You’re still performing your duties but you’re no longer subscribing to the hustle culture mentality that work has to be your life. The reality is it’s not, and your worth as a person is not defined by your labor.”
People resonated with the concept and young workers did so in particular, using it to rally against adulthood’s honestly soul-crippling norms.
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Corn Kid
A child, Tariq, went viral Summer 2022 for earnestly enjoying corn. Twenty million views later, Tariq exclaiming “It’s corn!” and explaining why he liked it (“a big lump with knobs, it has the juice”) turned into a TikTok song that enjoyed 57 million views. Then it turned into memes. Then Chipotle used him for its marketing.
Translated to internet speak, this mood effectively signals: “Yes, of course.”
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Barbie
Fueled by the summer’s blockbuster film Barbie, the Mattel toy became a worldwide symbol of anti-patriarchal rebellion. And there were memes. And it got weird and rude. And dudes reactively sang Matchbox 20.
Men ruined photos as the internet turned pink. Alphas accused men who viewed the film of being betas.
The movie even unlocked a new phrase that described the relatable absurdity of dating: “Long-term long-distance low-commitment casual girlfriend.”
So basically, Barbie is many moods. All of them are about the unyielding weight of being a Barbie girl (anyone who isn’t a straight, cis male) in a Barbie world (our intensely misogynistic society).
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Jada Pinkett-Smith
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars supposedly in defense of his wife. But what if I told you that the move was just as surprising to Will Smith’s wife, famed actor Jada Pinkett-Smith?
“First of all, I’m really shocked, because mind you, I’m not there. We haven’t called each other husband and wife in a long time… I’m like, ‘What is going on right now? Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth?’ I’m really worried for Will because I don’t know what’s going on,” Pinkett-Smith said last month per Pop Base.
The quote was translated online as, simply, a take on “Who?” The one-word response has long been a leading slam dunk when it comes to diffusing the harsh words of a hater. Especially when you’re asked about it by a third party.
That Pinkett-Smith gave her husband, one of Earth’s most famous people, the “Who are we talking about now?” treatment is both the coldest shoulder imaginable and hilariously lacking in self-awareness.
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Not Caring That Aliens Are Real
Maybe aliens exist. We are presented with mounting evidence regularly. Maybe these advanced creatures built the pyramids and hover above our city centers, observing.
Maybe they gave us technological advances when they felt we were ready, like a preteen getting a pocket knife. Maybe we’ve known about them for a few-hundred years and the government knows that they possess the technology to annihilate us on a whim.
No one seems to care online. Down here, we’ve got bills to pay.
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