A year in review: The memes that define 2022

By: Lora Reyes - 2 years ago

Ah, 2022. Where do we even begin?

Just like the past two years, the year 2022 is one stressful year. COVID-19 is still present, Russia has invaded Ukraine, we lived through the tensest and most heated election in the Philippines, the country’s inflation will most likely rise up to 8.6%, and red onions’ price is soaring high.

But despite the chaos that ensued this year, we, Filipinos, still found a way to make the year more bearable: by turning every event—be it in pop culture or current affairs—into memes. With so many things that have happened this year, our timelines were flooded with a slew of new memes that we’ll surely never forget.

As we’re only a few days away before we welcome another year, let’s backtrack a bit and take a look at some of the memes that defined the year 2022. What better way to sum up and recall the year than in the medium we know best, eh?

‘Euphoria’s ‘B*tch, you better be joking’ becomes our default reaction to everything

Following the release of the show’s second season earlier this year, HBO show Euphoria took over the internet. Not only did it serve us drama, but it also gave us loads of memes. Perhaps, the funniest meme format that the show spawned was Maddy’s “B*tch, you better be joking” line.

This meme came from Euphoria’s season 2, third episode wherein Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) was mistaken she was dressed up to audition for the school play Oklahoma. When Maddie (Alexa Demie) asked her why she’s dressed up “like a country music star,” Cassie responded: “In a good or bad way?”

Maddie then looked at her, scoffed, and retorted: “B*tch, you better be joking.”

via Tenor

Naturally, Maddie’s response blew up on the internet, using it as a default meme reaction to any situation.

‘It’s Showtime’s Querubin Llavore’s viral reaction have us typing 😭😭😜😭

Remember that viral clip of a woman who was tearful one moment, then did a wacky pose the next second?

That woman in the video was no other than Querubin Llavore, a contestant in Tawag ng Tanghalan, a singing competition segment of It’s Showtime.

Following the show declaring Querubin as the winner, the Davao bet singer was seen shedding tears of joy. Realizing that there was a camera, Querubin abruptly stopped crying and made a wacky pose, then resumed crying.

Viewers became amused at her animated reaction and soon enough, it generated memes across the internet. It even caught the attention of American rapper Tyler, the Creator who crowdsourced on Twitter and asked for a copy of the clip.

The time when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars

One of the most shocking events that the world got to witness was Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars. There’s no escaping this one because it has been the talk of the town for many months!

To give everyone the context on the event that had transpired: Rock made a joke that referenced Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, shaved head. While Will initially laughed at the joke, he then confronted the comedian onstage and slapped him. Once he returned to his seat, he screamed at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth!”

Now, this moment quickly went viral, with some people not knowing what to make out of it. But of course, it didn’t take that long before it turned into memes. Even Black Panther star Lupita Nyong’o wasn’t spared as she became a meme icon herself after her reaction to the incident.

The making of Otin G

Where were you when Otin G was born?

Earlier this year, content creator AC Soriano made waves online when he launched Otin G, his impersonation of Toni Gonzaga, to the public during one of his Instagram live broadcasts. While his live streams were aired during ungodly hours, many viewers stayed up just to see Otin G screams “Shabay shabay!” and “Catherine, ano ba?” in between his performances of Sia’s “Titanium” and Katy Perry’s “Roar.”

‘Your daughter is sleeping with my husband’ club remix is the remix of the year

Who else here had the phrase “Your daughter is sleeping with my husband” stuck in their minds for a little while? We bet we’re not the only ones!

Following the rise of Otin G, AC once again delivered us some viral videos when he impersonated Dr. Jill Ilustre, Jodi Sta. Maria’s character in the television series The Broken Marriage Vow.

AC made short clips of him reciting Dr. Jill’s lines and reenacting the intense scene wherein Jill exposed her husband, David (Zanjoe Marudo), having an affair with her patient, Lexy Lucero (Sue Ramirez). He even went on to put his own spin by filming himself lip-syncing to the club remix of Jill’s famous catchphrase, which quickly gained popularity online.

Apart from Jill, AC also impersonated Jodi’s other characters, including Maya dela Rosa from Be Careful with my Heart, Amor from Pangako Sa ‘Yo, and Marissa from Ang Sa Iyo ay Akin. He even got a stamp of approval from no other than Jodi herself!

The 2022 National and Local Elections bring us not only anxiety but also memes

This year, we experienced one of the tensest events in Philippine history: the 2022 National and Local Elections. While this period—from the campaign period to post-election results—brought anxiety and distress to many of us, we, Filipinos surely got creative as we coped with memes and copypasta to poke fun at our situation at the time.

Who would have thought that veteran broadcast journalist Mel Tiangco would become a meme queen during election day, eh?

Remember the comments “Are you a nurse din po?” and “Yeah, I get it. Ga-graduate ang anak. But the point is need pa bang picturan? (Yeah, I get it. Your daughter will graduate. But the point is, do we need to take photos?)”? That triggered a chain of funny memes!

via Facebook
via Facebook

From Vice President to Presidential candidate, Atty. Leni Robredo appeared to quickly enter her live-selling era during a Facebook live stream a few days after election day.

The satirical university that is the International State College of the Philippines (ISCP)

Remember the time when almost all of us enrolled ourselves in the famous International State College of the Philippines (ISCP) and became Blue Aspins?

In August, a school-themed page of a satirical university called International State College of the Philippines resurfaced on Facebook. This page caught the attention of many Filipinos as it acted like a real university (take note: they even have a website and released a list of passers of their entrance exam) and used memes to promote the school. It even captured the attention of many celebrities who joined in on the fun!

But as the old adage goes, “What goes up must come down.” Not long after, ISCP met its downfall already due to the founder’s apolitical stance.

Mamwa Pao saying ‘Okay’ is a one-size-fits-all format we never know we needed

Looking for a meme to respond to in every conversation? Paolo Ballesteros got you!

The inaugural season of Drag Race Philippines gave us a lot of meme formats we can use. One of the funniest memes that ever came out of the show was Paolo’s response, to which he cheekily said “Okay” after Corazon showed them the flowers that were placed behind her dress.

Paolo’s unflinching delivery and frown make the response a one-size-fits-all meme reaction!

The ‘I love chicken nuggets’ from Melai Cantiveros-Francisco’s variants (aka Mela and Stela)

There are a lot of memes that tickled the internet’s funny bones this year and that includes the funny antics from Melai Cantiveros-Francisco and her daughters, Mela and Stela.

After uploading a video on her YouTube channel, which showcased her kids going back to face-to-face classes, the end portion of the vlog quickly went viral and became the next big meme.

In the short clip, Melai revealed to her daughters that she cooked their favorite chicken nuggets for breakfast, to which Mela exclaimed: “Mama, thank you very much! You know that I love chicken nuggets!” Stella, the youngest daughter, chirped in and echoed the same thoughts.

Melai’s daughters’ reactions became the talk of the town on the internet and were used as memes. Filipino artist Yokify D even made an animated meme of the clip!

Melai’s mini-mes surely took hold of the internet with chicken nuggets. What an impact!

Otlum’s gaslighting strategy

Stealing is a sin, but if your conscience is clear while doing the act, then you’re not doing anything wrong. Well, at least, that’s according to Otlum.

Peejay Dela Cruz, also known as Otlum, created an online buzz this year after he was caught stealing a phone. While he admitted to taking the phone, it doesn’t mean that it was an act of theft.

According to Otlum’s dictionary, a thief would enter private property and steal things. What he did wasn’t stealing since he didn’t break into someone’s house as he just took the phone that was on top of a glass case outside a shop.

He then told the reporter: “Hindi po masama ang aking ginawa dahil ang aking pong konsensiya ay clear. (What I did isn’t wrong since my conscience is clear.)” Another video also resurfaced on the internet wherein the owner of the stolen phone can be seen apologizing to Otlum.

This quickly went viral (and even sparked debate), with many people pointing out how Otlum gaslit her way out.

This kid’s ‘Titikman’ response is a perfect reaction to all handaan

FIRST OF ALL–very questionable content but at this point in our social media life, nothing surprises us anymore.

If you’ve been browsing your news feed regularly, you’ve probably seen a meme of a kid grinning with an accompanying caption that says, “Titikman.”

Well, that meme started when a 2021 video of two kids playing the “Titikman o Tatakpan Challenge” resurfaced on the internet as of late. One of them would give the names and photos of celebrities and they would choose either to “titikman (taste)” or “tatakpan (cover)” the said person.

When actor Benjamin Alves’ name and photo were flashed, one kid giddily said “titikman” before squealing.

When devoid of context, it can make for a funny reaction meme or format. This video spawned a slew of memes on the internet, with many people using it as a format to poke fun at situations during banquets.

 

The ‘uniform ng bayan,’ courtesy of Uniqlo

In December, we wear Uniqlo’s green rugger polo shirt!

At this point, it appears that everyone we know or encounter owned the famous green rugger polo shirt from the Japanese brand Uniqlo. Many people were even spotted copping the collared tee during the University of Santo Tomas’ annual Paskuhan last December 19, with people over the internet poking fun at the “uniform ng bayan.”

Nadine Lustre has a new meme format for all of us

Trust that President Nadine Lustre will give us nothing short of iconic lines that we can use every year!

Nadine Lustre has recently been making waves online. Aside from bagging the Best Actress award during the Metro Manila Film Festival 2022 Gabi ng Parangal for her role as Lyra in the Mikhail Red-directed film, Deleter, the actress also gave birth to another catchphrase we can use next year: “2023 na amaccana accla.”

https://twitter.com/hello_nadine/status/1608293007094345730?t=MCOBCn1HKcORCkLQNaTlpw&s=19

The line was born after a candid photo of the Deleter actress resurfaced on the internet with her mouth agape. The phrase “amaccana accla” (“Tama ka na, bakla”) is used among the LGBTQIA+ community to call out problematic behavior.

In true Twitter fashion, Nadine’s fans quickly made fun of the new catchphrase, which is an update from her iconic “C’mon guys, it’s 2017” line.

Well, that concludes our year in memes. What a year it has been, though! We hope that 2022 has been gentle to all of you. May our 2023 be filled with peace, joy, and an uncontrollable amount of memes we can enjoy and laugh at.

Happy New Year, everyone!

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