Culture

Australian Politics And The ‘Dat Boi’ Meme Have Finally Intersected, As Was Inevitable

Memes will devour us all.

by Alex McKinnon  16 May 2016

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From former Treasurer Wayne Swan painstakingly crafting lovably terrible memes to political party youth wings waging dank meme wars against each other, Australian politics is being steadily consumed by meme culture, which I think we can all agree is the best possible outcome for our awful, awful political system. While we wait patiently for the day when we can vote for a Linkin Park/Smashmouth remix as Attorney-General, political parties, unions and campaign groups are filling the void in the meantime.

In case you’re wondering what that looks like in the context of the 2016 federal election, it looks like one of Australia’s largest trade unions tweeting out this fucking thing:

For the uninitiated, that deeply confusing image is a variation on Dat Boi, a meme consisting of a poorly-rendered CGI frog riding a unicycle usually accompanied by the phrase “here come Dat Boi!!!!!!!!!!! o shit waddup!” If you’re seeking further clarification on what any of that means, you were not meant for times such as these. 

While the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union has considerable form in posting extraordinarily spicy memes (look them up if you don’t believe me), their Dat Boi effort does fall short in several respects. The incorrect phrasing of “here comes dat boi” is upsetting, as is the sanitised “oh hecc”. They do win points for Photoshopping Malcolm Turnbull so haphazardly that his head has corners, though.

At any rate, the AMWU Dat Boi is streets ahead of a similar effort courtesy of the Young Greens, who tweeted out this poorly received attempt this afternoon:

As with any meme, its adoption by political parties, co-option by brands or coverage by media outlets (yes, including us) is a sign that this once-creamy meme is on the way out. It happened with The Dress last year, and it’s happening now. Farewell, Dat Boi. We hardly wadduped you.