The best new meme on Twitter is all about legendary experts getting schooled in their respective fields by someone even better than themselves. Iron Maiden and Metallica may be iconic metal bands, but they tremble before … Löded Diper? Hmm …
https://twitter.com/justllikeheaven/status/949932098810531840
Are you ready for your meme lesson?
Most examples of this new “bad teacher” Twitter meme follow the same format: “Are you ready for your lesson?” is followed by famous people gulping, nodding, blinking nervously, and shuddering. Then the punchline, their bad teacher, is revealed.
https://twitter.com/HndrixLamar/status/949854036265549824
When the meme started, though, it was something very different. It seems to have come out of K-Pop fandom as a joke about Korean pop idols and “gay lessons.” (This apparently refers to lessons in being an icon for the gay community.)
https://twitter.com/itaeye/status/947556824345083904
It blew up amongst K-Pop fans, who tend to provide a very good barometer of which new memes are going to be popular. From there, the meme seems to have bifurcated into two different modes. The comedy mode, described above, hits the reader with the “bad teacher” punchline:
“Are you ready for your maths lessons?”
Pythagoras gulped.
Issac Newton nodded.
Albert Einstein shuddered.
Alan Turing blinks nervously.
“Yes Big Shaq” they said in unison.
— Yomi Adegoke (@yomiadegoke) January 7, 2018
“Are you ready for your lesson on writing African literature?"
Chinua Achebe gulped.
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o nodded.
Chimamanda Adichie shuddered.
Ama Ata Aidoo blinks nervously.
“Yes Mr Conrad” they said in unison.
— Mostly Lit (@mostlylit) January 7, 2018
“Are you all ready for your painting lesson?”
Van Gogh gulped.
Picasso nodded.
DaVinci shuddered.
Caravaggio blinked nervously.
“Yes Britney Spears” they said in unison.
— scottyboy 🥴 (@gaycriticism) January 6, 2018
The second mode is pure fandom. Instead of a punchline, it ends with a teacher that the poster sincerely believes is better than the other artists mentioned. It’s being widely used by stans to express their standom.
https://twitter.com/stydestiels/status/950750311756521472
https://twitter.com/mysteryoftimmy/status/949683565826117632
https://twitter.com/catapstrophe/status/950516042341801984
https://twitter.com/myworstlies/status/949692499240644608
Both modes of the meme are valid. Although the comedy version seems to be slightly more common, the format itself came out of fandom, so the sincere expressions of admiration make sense, too.
Of course, you could also blow the whole thing up and deconstruct it, as meme-makers are wont to do:
https://twitter.com/bonjourlapeen/status/950485828286976000
Although the meme lacks visual appeal, its value across various hardcore fandoms means that it’s been going strong on Twitter for days, and new examples are being added all the time. If there’s one meme lesson we can take away from this, it’s that there’s a lot of value in memes that let people make jokes and stan for their faves.