Just a Generic Meme Generator Meme
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Top panel left (difficulty menu): [selected] Easy, Normal, Hard; Top panel right: Making a meme with a popular format; Bottom panel left (difficulty menu): Easy, Normal, [selected] Hard; Bottom panel right: Trying to get my new format to blow up
Overview
This is a two-panel meta-comparison meme about meme creation, using a retro video game difficulty selection menu format. The left column of both panels shows a pixel-art difficulty selector common in old games. In the top panel, the selector is pointed at 'Easy' difficulty, paired with the right-side text describing the activity: 'Making a meme with a popular format'. In the bottom panel, the selector moves to point at 'Hard' difficulty, paired with the right-side text: 'Trying to get my new format to blow up'. The joke highlights that it is simple and low effort to make a meme using an already popular, established meme format, but creators who make new original formats find it extremely difficult to get their new format to go viral, which is a relatable struggle for online meme creators.
Origin notes
This meme originated on Reddit, a social media platform for user-generated content, with the original title 'Just a Generic Meme Generator Meme'. It is a user-created meta-meme that comments on the common experience of meme creators online, highlighting the gap in difficulty between working with existing popular formats and trying to popularize a new original meme format.