Culture Feature
Behind the Meme: How to Know If You're a Simp
Are you ready to be demoted to CEO of Simp Nation?
04.23.2020
Neekolul
If you frequent any spaces that could be considered even moderately online, then you already know the hottest new insult of the past few months: Simp.
While the term's literary usage can be traced back to an early 20th century abbreviation of "simpleton," simp is commonly understood to be a modern slang acronym for "Sucker Idolizing Mediocre Pu$y." In other words, a simp is a dude who puts women on a pedestal with the hope that his "chivalry" will eventually get him laid. Nice guys and white knights are out. Simps are in.
<p>But how do you know if you're a simp? Here's an easy checklist.</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Have you ever commented on an Instagram model's picture with something like "You're so beautiful"?</li><li>Have you ever subscribed to a lewd cosplayer's OnlyFans account?</li><li>Have you ever donated money to an attractive female Twitch streamer?</li><li>Have you ever become irrationally upset upon learning that an e-girl you follow on social media already has a boyfriend?</li><li>Do you think that if your favorite online crush ever actually met you, they might be willing to give you a chance?</li></ul><p>If you answered yes to any of these questions, then yeah, you're a big simp.</p><p>Simp memes have blown up all over the Internet. On TikTok, a slew of popular videos call out various simp-like behaviors, ranging from forgiving your girlfriend for cheating to doing a girl's homework for her, before welcoming the offender to Simp Nation. These videos function as PSAs of sorts, by bros, for bros. Bros don't let bros simp.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
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<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5f27197fa23a7b574a477772dc4e50a0"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eGMgvtLrIho?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">TIK TOK MEMES that will make you CEO of SIMP NATION</small>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGMgvtLrIho" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p>No doubt, the simp meme is funny. Before "simp," people were able to make fun of the desperate men who leave thirsty comments on Instagram and throw ludicrous amounts of money at attractive women online in the hopes that they'll get noticed, but they didn't necessarily have a proper term to classify them. "Simp" is that term. But unfortunately, like most hilarious things online, the concept of a "simp" isn't as simple as it seems, and the more it's used, the muddier its definition grows.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-634"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent11 - mid_content --></p><p>For instance, here's another common simp meme laying out some more simp-like activities:</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE1NTg5My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTE4MDM2NH0.jhC3d2gkgADCbUQ05HMkKSJqTHX3zxVA-kScET15TDw/img.png?width=980" id="b1d1d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2b90cb18bba9d8ff92a9b1b44862e878" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Simp Meme">
</p><p>Some of these, like "super thirsty," "abnormally persistent," and "does anything for some pu$y" fit right in with the widely accepted definition. But others, like "always there to comfort your gf when y'all argue" and "always agrees with whatever women say," seem more obtuse. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-635"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>There's a huge difference between doggedly pursuing an Instagram model and not being a dick to your own girlfriend. If you don't consider your significant other's feelings when you argue, then, regardless of gender, you're just a sh!tty partner. Similarly, what does "always agrees with whatever women say" even mean? Who does that? Nobody in the entire world ever agrees with everything an entire gender says all the time. Seeing as the simp meme is frequently thrown around by Gen Z, AKA younger kids who don't necessarily have anything close to real-world relationship experience, there's an inherent danger in lumping desperate dudes blowing money on Twitch streams with any decent guy who cares about the women in their life.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-636"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent22 - long_content --></p><p>Unfortunately, there are some 15-year-olds out there who are beginning to equate pathetic thirst with general decency towards women. Worse, this amalgamation seems to be by design.</p><p>While the simp meme usually appears in a jokey context, its most prominent origin point is rooted in reddit's MGTOW, or <a href="https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/why-is-the-simp-sucka-who-idolizes-mediocre-pussy-so-hated" target="_blank">Men Going Their Own Way</a>, community—a deeply misogynist, right-wing cesspit full of Very Angry Men™ who choose to spend an inordinate amount of time circlej3rking about how awful women are. The MGTOW community absolutely hate simps, and to them, the commonly accepted definition is an easy cover for misdirection. To them, any man who doesn't think women are subhuman is a simp.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-637"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><h3>The Secret to Right-wing Memes</h3><p>As the classic Internet adage goes, "The left can't meme." There's truth to this statement, albeit with some caveats. Real leftists, the so-called "dirtbag left," have some pretty solid memes (especially the ones <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ChapoTrapHouse/comments/cf0g33/a_political_analysis/" target="_blank">targeting neoliberals</a>). And boomers, regardless of political affiliation, meme at a <em>Minions</em>-level discourse that can only be appreciated by people whose brains are entirely round. But, by and large, the left really can't meme.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-638"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent33 - longer_content --></p><p>To some extent, the left is at an inherent disadvantage in the meme market. In order for a meme to catch on, at least outside of any hyper-niche space, it needs to be funny while maintaining the lowest possible barrier of entry. The two most important elements of a good meme are humor and simplicity. The problem is that the goal of right-wing memes are typically just to make fun of anyone holding left-wing ideologies, while the goal of left-wing memes are typically to combat the ideological hypocrisy of the far-right.</p><p>The result is that left-wing memes tend to be wordy, overly complex, and most importantly, not very funny. Meanwhile, a lot of right-wing memes are kind of hilarious, even if you ideologically disagree with their content. The danger, of course, is that a funny meme with hateful content is a lot more likely to sway people and spread than a sh!tty meme.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-639"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent4 - longest_content --></p><p>None of this is to say that simp is a right-wing meme in the same way that posting out-of-context crime statistics is a right-wing meme, but it is to say that the simp meme should always be taken with a giant grain of salt. Is the guy who's hurling "simp" a 15-year-old virgin crying behind an anime avatar? You're probably in the clear. Or is someone actually responding to your, "If I had you, I would never leave you" comment on some hot girl's Instagram. </p><h2></h2><p>Because in that case, yeah dude, don't be a simp.</p>
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Film Features
Stop Turning Exclusively to White Movies for Comfort
Breaking down the bias of comfort films.
07.14.2020
With the constant onslaught of complicated news that 2020 has brought, sometimes you just want to be able to shut off your brain, relax, and feel happy.
Enter comfort films. These are the feel-good movies that feel like a warm hug when you finish them, the ones that allow you to escape for a short while. We often turn to these types of films in times of trouble or extreme stress, and when we're not sure what films of this nature we should watch, we turn to the Internet for options.
<p>And the Internet delivers. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/05/14/comfort-movies-streaming-quarantine/" target="_blank">Numerous lists</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200319-covid-19-comforting-films-to-watch-in-isolation" target="_blank">comforting films to watch</a> have been published across almost every major website since the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/12/comfort-films-to-watch-while-self-isolating-coronavirus-ranked" target="_blank">start of the March</a>. These lists often include old classics like <em>Roman Holiday</em>, new classics like <em>13 Going On 30</em>, and soon-to-be classics like<em> About Time</em>. While the films featured on these types of lists vary across genres and time periods, there is one thing that all of these lists have in common: They are almost exclusively white, heteronormative films. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-632"></div>
<!-- End Ezoic - undersecond12 - under_second_paragraph --></p><p>That is not to say that there is not any diversity. Gina Prince-Bythewood's directorial debut <em>Love and Basketball</em>, Alice Wu's recent Tribeca Film Festival award-winning film <em>The Half of It</em>, and Gurinder Chadha's star-making film <em>Bend it Like Beckham</em> make appearances on several lists. But by far, the majority of the films on these lists fall into a very specific bracket. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-633"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent1 - mid_content --></p><p><br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0OTQxMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTQyMDE3OX0.9MXv_NuK2Sa_6CXEdUZXXu0srpuaHgAw8wum1Z0SEfc/img.jpg?width=980" id="c7dff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c8ac42836b2ff35650e815c1e8bd6477" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Bend It Like Beckham">
</p><p>But with the <a href="https://socialsciences.ucla.edu/hollywood-diversity-report-2020/" target="_blank">landscape of Hollywood changing</a> and the <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/07/01/886025141/the-academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences-invites-more-women-minorities" target="_blank">Academy becoming more diverse</a>, does it really matter if a curated list of popular movies from the past reflects a history that we're already aware has some issues?<br></p><p>The answer is: Yes, very much so. </p><p>When curators, critics, and list makers hold up a largely white, heteronormative selection of films as definitive of any aspect of pop culture, their blind spot helps to maintain the inequitable status quo that currently exists in the film industry. If when a person wants to feel comforted, the sole type of content that they're encouraged to watch is one from a specific racial background or sexual identity, they will internalize that. These lists are curated for joy, and if joy is constantly centered on whiteness, on heteronormativity, on a very limited sense of identity, we are ignoring entire swaths of human beings and their experiences. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-635"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent2 - long_content --></p><p>Changing the dynamics of our media and, by extension, our society is not simply about recognizing the trauma of oppression on-screen. It is about seeing these communities' joy expressed through the medium as well. This is why <a href="https://nerdist.com/article/black-joy-movies-tv-shows/" target="_blank">lists of films that center black joy</a> are being created as additional material to engage with when learning how to be anti-racist. It is why there is a <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/subversive-power-lgbtq-happy-ending/" target="_blank">push for more happy endings in queer media</a>. We change the status quo not simply by telling new stories or by telling stories of oppression, but also by seeking out narratives of joy from communities whose voices have rarely been centered. </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-636"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent22 - long_content --></p><p>The limited scope of so many Internet lists also implies that comforting content centering these communities does not exist, and that is simply not true. When films that feature marginalized communities only end up on lists for marginalized communities, it's clear that these identities are still considered an "other". By ignoring these films—films like <em>Coming to America, The</em> <em>Birdcage, </em>and <em>Hunt for Wilderpeople, </em>films that made people feel seen, films that inspired the media and the creators we rave about—these lists are just reproducing the same problematic paradigms of the past and erasing the value of important works of art. Creating better media systems requires reckoning with how we look at past content, too.</p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-637"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent3 - longer_content --></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0OTQ0MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzk0ODAxNX0.dUxYR5pvdzTLtbFrZF4n6QCVVB_x5yl51gSwHFoPUg4/img.jpg?width=980" id="8e330" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="727114542c442f743d81a897b4deb780" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Julian Dennison in the woods in the film Hunt for the Wilderpeople">
</p><p><br></p><p>This does not mean you need to throw away these lists or stop watching <em>You've Got Mail</em>. But it does mean that you should reflect on what type of films you watch that center marginalized communities, and whether that encompasses what you watch when you want to feel good. Are you only watching Black trauma narratives or are you also watching romantic comedies starring Black protagonists when you've had a bad day? </p><p><div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-638"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - incontent33 - longer_content --></p><h2></h2><h2></h2><h2></h2><p>It also means that curators, critics, and creators of lists should move beyond their personal comfort zones and learn to seek out films that speak to experiences other than their own. Because, as it turns out, a lot of those films spark joy, too.</p>
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