Sassy Memes

Will Butler:

Hello and welcome to episode two of Say My Meme, the podcast that is exactly what it sounds like. I'm Will from Be My Eyes and I'm joined again today by Caroline from Scribely.

Caroline Derosiers:

Hey.

Will Butler:

You sent me the memes for this week.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

But I didn't look at them because I Wanted to come out and fresh. All I know is that they're going to be sassy and that's it. Caroline, help me out here.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. I mean, I've been reflecting on what it means to be sassy. And to me, it's kind of like just having like a bit of an edge or a bite to you, like you're a bit prickly, or maybe you don't have a filter and you're kind of just like saying exactly what's on your mind. So, I definitely appreciate sassy in people and in memes. So, this was a fun week for me.

Will Butler:

Why do you think there are so many sassy memes out there? Is this how people feel deep down inside all the time anyway and the memes are just a way that people can finally vent all the sassiness?

Caroline Derosiers:

I think it's an outlet for sure. I mean, not every moment is appropriate for sassiness. So, I think that we kind of maybe get that out on the internet and that's why people love them.

Will Butler:

Let's just dive in. How many sassy memes did you bring us today?

Caroline Derosiers:

We have five this week.

Will Butler:

Sassy meme number one.

Caroline Derosiers:

All right. So, our first one, and just for a quick description before we get into the alt text is, "Awkward 1990s second grade class photo." "The photographer asked you to smile for the 56th time, and you just barely managed to eke out this one." And the tagline is, "Me watching the elevator close on people as I calmly press the close sign a thousand times."

Will Butler:

Oh my God. So, wait, is that like when you're in the elevator and why would you be pressing the... Is this a visual thing? Is this a sighted person thing that I don't know about?

Caroline Derosiers:

For this one, I was thinking, "You know what? I think the alt text description might be more helpful here." But it's basically like the face that you make when someone's approaching in the elevator, trying to enter the elevator, pre-COVID times, right, and you're just wanting to ride that elevator on your own and you're pressing the "close" button for the doors. So, they just close and that person can't get on. But it's like that awkward smile that you give them when you're doing that.

Will Butler:

Oh my God, that's sinister. Do people do that?

Caroline Derosiers:

It is, but I think, have we all done it?

Will Butler:

Wow. Wait, so, I need to slow this down for a second because on an elevator, there's a door "open" button and the door "close" button, right?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

It's been a while since I've ridden an elevator. And ideally, if someone is coming at you in the elevator, someone's coming toward the elevator, you hold the door open for them. Right? You press the door open button.

Caroline Derosiers:

Right.

Will Butler:

But they can't tell whether you're pressing the door open or the door close, can they?

Caroline Derosiers:

Right. Like maybe you forgot in that moment and you're just like this innocent person in the elevator that's like, "Oops. Oh yeah. Oh, the door's closed. Sorry about that."

Will Butler:

Oh my God, that's incredibly sassy. Wow. Okay. All right, hit me with alt tag, maybe this will help me understand it better.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, I think this one needs more description because the face that this boy is making is perfect. So, the alt text is, "School photo of an eight-year-old boy. His high forehead is framed by an unfortunate choppy cut, which has grown out awkwardly over his ears. His eyes are neutral, maybe a bit bored, looking slightly below the camera. And he has a literal half-smile that is making a perfectly straight line."

Will Butler:

So this is like, basically, the smirk of, "There's no way you're getting into this elevator!"

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. Exactly. So, like if you could make a perfectly straight line smile at someone, like pursing your lips, it's a smile, but it's also like I'm just kind of... I don't know. Like I don't care. So, it's both. And this kid is doing it perfectly. To me, it's like back in the '90s when you had like one chance to get your school photo and the photographer's doing all the prepping and his like, "Okay, you need to smile. No, smile. Smile, please." And then you do this face and it's like, "This is all I'm giving you today."

Will Butler:

And then all your friends make fun of you once the photo comes out because you look so ridiculous.

Caroline Derosiers:

Exactly. I hope they still do this, but like that printout of all of the class photos with everyone's faces next to each other, and this is yours.

Will Butler:

Yes. Gosh, it's so interesting because all this stuff comes up when we do this, for me, because I used to be able to see better. And into 12 years that I've been blind, I've forgotten that people do all this very subtle facial stuff to each other. Like when an elevator door is closing, there's like a full communication that goes back and forth between the people on either side of it.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, absolutely. And this particular face this kid's making has kind of been used a lot in many different memes, but basically, it's like the Internet's favorite face that people make in reaction to different things. So, like smiling at the cashier when you're trying to fiddle with the credit card machine or when you're walking by someone on the street and you think you might know them, but you're not sure. So, it's like this is like the perfect face to describe that feeling.

Will Butler:

Oh, it's like the fake smile face.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, exactly.

Will Butler:

Wow. Okay. So, next time someone references little kid class photo meme, I'm going to think face smile face.

Caroline Derosiers:

There you go, now you're prepared.

Will Butler:

That's amazing. Wow. Amazing. Wow. Okay. So, how about sassy meme number two?

Caroline Derosiers:

All right. So, fun and casual description is, "Two majestic shots of the Fabio of lions. His main is blowing in the breeze like he is at a photo shoot." Tagline, "Women, I hate my hair, no products work for me. Men after using body wash as shampoo."

Will Butler:

And the men and that's Fabio.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

Wow.

Caroline Derosiers:

And I can really relate to this because a lot of women, we're trying really hard. And a lot of the marketing for these like shampoo products definitely works on us. But every once in a while, some guy has amazing hair and you're like, "What do you do?" And they're using one of those 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, or they're just using their body wash as their shampoo and you're like, "How? How?"

Will Butler:

Oh my God, that's hilarious. He's like Dr. Bronner's, I think.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. Yeah.

Will Butler:

Oh my God. So, okay. So, the effect of this meme is like, women, "Oh, I have to use the right product." Men, after using body wash or shampoo, and it's this like illustrious male model with like flowing hair. That's Fabio, right?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. I mean, picture this lion that has like this voluminous mane of light golden hair. And there's like a breeze blowing through. And that's why, to me, it kind of feels like this lion is at a photo shoot or something?

Will Butler:

Wait, so is it Fabio or is it lion? I didn't understand that part.

Caroline Derosiers:

Well, yeah, that was like quick and casual description. I think that this is the Fabio of lions because Fabio had... But you'd have to know Fabio. He had fabulous hair that was very voluminous and quaffed and brushed and just very big hair. So, the quickest way I can describe this, if someone knows Fabio, is that this is the Fabio of lions.

Will Butler:

Yeah. And I didn't know the part about the lion. So, hit me with the alt tag.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. So, "This is two side-by-side shots of an adult lion with the mane of light golden hair, just catching the breeze. He's looking slightly away from you in both photos, maybe at one of his admirers. And in the first shot, the lion is laying down with a calm, confident expression. In the second, he's pacing towards the camera, mane so full as if it's been teased and brushed out multiple times."

Will Butler:

Oh, so it's an actual lion.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

Oh, I was thinking of the male model.

Caroline Derosiers:

No. Okay. No, no, it's a lion. And so, it's two side-by-side shots of a lion and he is just this beautiful lion with a perfect mane.

Will Butler:

Wow. Wow. That makes it even better because I was imagining that it was this male model, Fabio, but it's a literal lion. Oh my God. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I can definitely relate, when someone's like, "How do you get your hair so soft?" And I'm like, "Head & Shoulders every day, dandruff [crosstalk 00:10:35]."

Caroline Derosiers:

Right. You should try it some time. And they're like, "Wait a second. I'm spending like $150 on my hair products for what?"

Will Butler:

Yeah.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

It's all marketing, folks. Wow. All right.

Caroline Derosiers:

All right.

Will Butler:

Number three.

Caroline Derosiers:

Okay, get ready for this one because it's a little difficult, I think. But all right, so fun and [crosstalk 00:11:00] casual, "An unsettling photo of grandma licking a red Popsicle and staring directly at you. She has a dark look that kind of says, like, 'I see you over there.'" And the tagline is, "All these flavors and you choose to be salty."

Will Butler:

Whoa. Oh my God. Is this as intense as it sounds, looking at it?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes, it is very intense. It's the sassy grandma meme. Definitely had to include it because, I mean, I wish I could perfectly describe this expression because there's something in her eyes that's just like dark and, I don't know, a bit unsettling.

Will Butler:

I'm scared to ask, but I don't want to be an ageist here, is it like a sexy look?

Caroline Derosiers:

I guess one could interpret it as sexy, yeah. I mean, it could be a bit seductive. Uh-huh (affirmative).

Will Butler:

I mean, she's licking a Popsicle, so were we talking sexy grandma?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

Wow, I never thought I would say that. Oh God.

Caroline Derosiers:

But she's wearing like a casual shirt.

Will Butler:

She wearing a what?

Caroline Derosiers:

Like a very casual shirt. And it is dressed down, but yes, it's definitely a bit seductive.

Will Butler:

Okay. We're going to need the alt tag.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes. Yes, you do. Okay, alt text, "A profile shot of a senior woman with white hair peering out at the camera from behind her rectangular frames. She has a bewildered expression on her face as she tentatively licks a red Popsicle she's holding in her hand. The photo background is black and there is a mirrored vignette of the same image in the top left of the photo."

Will Butler:

Okay, I have a couple of questions. How much tongue are we talking about here? I can't believe it. Why does he do this [inaudible 00:13:13].

Caroline Derosiers:

Partly, to get this like really awkward reaction from you, Will, but-

Will Butler:

This is for journalism, this is journalism.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. To answer your question, her tongue is not out very much, it's just peeking out.

Will Butler:

Okay. And what is this mirrored vignette thing.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. So, I mean, it's just kind of like a photo effect. But it's almost like the same image is mirrored. Right? So she's like facing the other way, like at a slight angle. And it's like back in the distance, almost like just like coming out of the abyss or something or the darkness, just like peeking out at you. And it creates this effect of like two of these grandmas looking at you, one closeup and one like further away.

Will Butler:

So if I had to describe the impression I'm getting from this meme in one word, I would say it is arresting.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes.

Will Butler:

Would you say that's accurate?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yes. I think that's a good word for it. And this meme I included because, well, the image has been used over and over again, but also, the format of the tagline has been recycled. So, it's like the format of the tagline is, "All these X and you choose to be Y." And people use that often for memes. And it's generally, tending to focus on sad relationship puns. So, other examples of this would be like, "All these coins and you still couldn't change." Or, "All these 3D glasses and I still couldn't reach out to you."

Will Butler:

Oh. Wow. And I assume they're not all the picture of the grandma with the Popsicle.

Caroline Derosiers:

No. So, people use different photos and different taglines with this photo. So, it's one that's definitely worth mentioning because it's passed around the internet quite a bit, and also, this tagline is used really often.

Will Butler:

Well, that was vivid. And now, I'm going to ask if we can move on to the meme number four.

Caroline Derosiers:

Okay. All right. I love this one. All right. So fun and casual description, "Olivia from the Cosby Show, shutting down anyone who doubts her like a bad-ass." Tagline, "I'm nobody's ex. If we break up, I don't know you."

Will Butler:

Wow. Okay. Amazing. And I'm not as familiar with the Cosby Show so what is Olivia doing if you were to give me the alt text version?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. Yeah. So, Olivia, she must be about like four or five or something.

Will Butler:

Oh, okay.

Caroline Derosiers:

She's really little. And she has her arms out in front of her like bent at the elbows, like she's kind of like canceling the conversation, like, "Stop." Right. And her chin is jutting out and she's burying her teeth a little bit, like making an underbite and looking down her nose at someone out of frame. So, it's a real challenging look that she has. And I think that she's perfect for the sassy memes because her character is sassy, this image is sassy, and also, the tagline is sassy. So it hit on all three.

Will Butler:

Oh, right because this is the, "I'm nobody's ex. If we break up, I don't know you."

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah.

Will Butler:

And she's like...

Caroline Derosiers:

Right.

Will Butler:

Would you call this almost like a referee pose? Like she's got her elbows bent.

Caroline Derosiers:

Oh, yeah. That's a good comparison. Yeah. Like she's just whistled, foul, and is like stopping it, like stop the game. Yeah.

Will Butler:

I'm like doing the pose as you're describing it, that's why I was like... But I guess, if you haven't seen a referee, it's not that useful. Maybe we need to do a whole other-

Caroline Derosiers:

And I have to say, these Olivia memes were pretty great. There are so many of them. Clearly the internet loves this character. And she is like the epitome of sass, like all of the taglines were sassy. I could have chosen any one of them.

Will Butler:

That's amazing. And I think now, our listeners know if someone calls you Olivia from the Cosby Show, you know what you're being accused of.

Caroline Derosiers:

There you go.

Will Butler:

All right. Fifth and final, meme number five, sassy meme number five.

Caroline Derosiers:

I had to save this one for last, because it is a classic. Have you ever heard of the condescending Tonka meme?

Will Butler:

No.

Caroline Derosiers:

Okay. This will be fun. Have you ever watched Willy Tonka with Gene Wilder?

Will Butler:

Yes.

Caroline Derosiers:

Okay. So, picture a scene from that movie or a screen grab from that movie.

Will Butler:

Okay.

Caroline Derosiers:

Fun and casual, "Gene Wilder, Willy Tonka, smiling and leaning towards you with zero interest in what you're about to say. And he's kind of like, 'Oh, please, do tell me more.'" So, picture that facial expression. Right?

Will Butler:

Oh, okay.

Caroline Derosiers:

Okay. And the tagline is, "Oh, you wear a North Face jacket, you must go on so many adventures."

Will Butler:

Amazing. I love the dig at the North Face people because they are very smug. I've been one of them. What is this face? Is the alt text going to be what reveals sort of what this facial expression is all about?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. So it's called the condescending Tonka meme because of the look on his face. Yeah. I'll give you the alt text right now. So, it's a profile shot of Gene Wilder as Willy Tonka in a bright purple jacket, decorative vest, brown oversized bow tie and top hat. And he's leaning his face against the back of his hand and kind of like smiling insincerely at something off to his right." So, this particular moment, if you can remember, is the moment where Willy Tonka asked the children if they'd like to see the new candy that he's working on called the Everlasting Gobstopper. So, he's leaning in and it's a very sarcastic and patronizing look, like, "Oh, I'm so interested. Tell me more, please." But like not having any interest in hearing the answer. And this particular image is used over and over and over again for these like sassy, sarcastic taglines, like, "Oh, you wear a North face jacket, you must go on so many adventures." I mean, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of these taglines.

Will Butler:

Wow, incredible. So, if someone's like patronizing you, you can be like, "Don't give me that Tonka face."

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, exactly.

Will Butler:

That's amazing. Caroline, another amazing week of memes here. I'm having the time of my life.

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah. Yeah. I love it.

Will Butler:

Can we ask our listeners to send us audio descriptions of their favorite sassy memes?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, please do, just describing it in their own way and just having fun with it.

Will Butler:

And Caroline, you do this stuff all day long and you're not just describing memes, right? Can you remind folks a little bit about what Scribely does?

Caroline Derosiers:

Yeah, no. So, actually, this is not my full-time job. No, Scribely, we describe images on the web, basically. And we add alt text descriptions so that people who are using screen readers or text to speech technology can listen to the descriptions. And we do that because when these alt text descriptions are not included, these images will just be skipped over. So, it's so, so important to include alt text. And that is why we focus just on writing alt text at Scribely.

Will Butler:

It's an amazing mission. And it's also good for SEO. So if you're a marketer, you're selling stuff, and you want people to find you, that's a money reason to use that alt text, right?

Caroline Derosiers:

Absolutely. It's great for people and great for business. So, it's a win-win all around.

Will Butler:

I love it. Thank you, Caroline. As always, it's always great to talk to you. And have a great week.

Caroline Derosiers:

Cheers. Thanks everyone.

Will Butler:

Thanks everybody. Do you want to describe your favorite memes for our community? Send a voice memo to hello@saymymeme.com, that's hello@saymymeme.com.

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