Tag: colonialism

The image is a multi-panel meme. The top section contains text that reads: 'Friendly reminder: if your country's legacy includes SLAVERY, STOLEN LAND, or GENOCIDE, you don't get to lecture anyone about "liberty and justice"'. Below this text, the popular 'multiple Spider-Men pointing at each other' format from *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse* is used, where every Spider-Man character is edited to have the flag of a different sovereign country on their chest, all pointing at one another. This implies that nearly all countries have histories that include the listed atrocities, so no country is in a valid position to moralize to others about liberty and justice. Engagement metrics for the post (701 likes, 135 comments, 14 shares) are also visible below the top text.

Turns out history is a bit messy everywhere

The image is a multi-panel me…

This is a two-panel side-by-side comparison meme. The left panel features a still of Henry Cavill portraying Superman from the DC Extended Universe, a widely recognized symbol of heroic nobility, stoicism, and moral goodness, captioned 'England in their history books.'. The right panel features a still of Antony Starr portraying Homelander from *The Boys*, a villainous, corrupt, violently oppressive character who pretends to be a noble public hero, captioned 'England in other's history books.'. The satirical joke draws a contrast between how England portrays itself as a positive, noble force in its own national history curriculum, versus how countries impacted by British colonialism and historical aggression portray England as a harmful, oppressive power in their own history education.

England Own vs Other Countries History Books Perception Meme

This is a two-panel side-by-s…

This is a two-panel meme using the popular internet "gameplay vs lore" format. The top panel, labeled "Sugar gameplay", shows a casual first-person perspective of a person pouring granulated sugar from a spoon into a yellow mug holding a hot drink, representing the mundane, harmless everyday consumer experience of using sugar. The bottom panel, labeled "Sugar lore", depicts a historical colonial sugar plantation scene where enslaved Black laborers are forced to harvest sugarcane with machetes while armed white overseers monitor them carrying whips, highlighting the violent, exploitative history of chattel slavery and colonialism that underpins global sugar production, a history largely hidden from modern everyday consumers. The humor comes from applying the video game trope of contrasting trivial surface-level user experience with dark, deep underlying backstory to a real-world commodity.

Sugar Gameplay vs Sugar Lore

This is a two-panel meme usin…

This meme uses the popular "Nobody: / [Group]:" format to make a sarcastic joke about British colonial history. The top text reads "Nobody-" and then "The British-", followed by a screenshot from the game Minecraft showing a tiny, remote, completely uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean that has nothing but a few stalks of sugar cane growing on it, which already has a Union Jack (British national flag) planted on it. The joke references the widespread historical stereotype that British colonizers would claim any random, even tiny and unproductive, piece of land they encountered across the world unprompted, with no one asking them to do so.

Just British Things Minecraft Meme

This meme uses the popular "N…

This two-panel meme uses the cursed Garfield format to joke about the starkly differing portrayals of Britain in history textbooks. The top panel shows the canonical, smug Garfield standing with crossed arms, labeled 'Britain in British history books', referencing how British history books often present a sanitized, positive view of Britain's history that downplays its harmful colonial past and wrongdoings. The bottom panel features a horrifying, distorted eldritch version of Garfield lurking behind a door, with a shocked, frightened Jon Arbuckle holding a rifle standing nearby. This panel is labeled 'Britain in any other history book', referencing how non-British history books (especially from countries impacted by British colonialism) are far more critical of Britain's historical actions, portraying it as an expansionist, harmful power. The text at the bottom of the lower panel reads 'BULLETS DON'T WORK JON', leaning into the horror tone of the cursed Garfield format.

Dark times: Britain in British vs other history books

This two-panel meme uses the …

A meme featuring four historical photographs of African individuals with distinctive hairstyles arranged in a grid. The top text reads 'Colonials: ...' followed by 'Africa: "I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet. But your kids are gonna love it."' The meme humorously suggests that African hairstyles considered unconventional by colonizers would later become popular and appreciated (loved by their kids). The watermark 'z in nz' appears in the bottom right corner.

Colonial Africa Hairstyle Prediction Meme

A meme featuring four histori…

A two-panel comic meme comparing colonial practices of British and Spanish colonizers. The top panel shows a British colonizer in a red uniform offering opium to an indigenous child with the dialogue 'hey kid want some Opium?'. The bottom panel depicts a Spanish colonizer in armor embracing two indigenous women with the text 'I FUCKING LOVE SPREADING SMALLPOX!!' and 'Jalajala' in the background, satirically portraying historical colonial atrocities.

British vs Spanish Colonizers Meme

A two-panel comic meme compar…