The Rise and Fall of Dank Memes

A video essay retrospective on that edgy phase of internet culture that dominated in 2015, 2016, and 2017. I try to cover its whole history, including the RUclips drama fiasco with Idubbbz and Leafy, the Rare Pepe phenomenon, the backlash toward "normies," and the influence of cringe culture on social justice movements and the Hillary Clinton campaign. I spent way too much of my teenage years arguing about memes on Reddit and want to make something half-constructive out of it.
0:00 Introduction
2:33 Part 1: The Stage
5:40 Part 2: The Rise
9:31 Leafy and the RUclips Battle Royale
15:20 The Dank-Normie Divide
20:15 you made it political...
30:39 Part 3: The Fall
31:53 Political Wake-Up Calls
34:47 Adpocalypse
35:46 Tumblr Refugees
37:30 Meme Absurdist Era
38:54 Changing Attitudes
44:57 Conclusion
Credit to Saminthea for my avatar: saminthea04937...