Culture

‘Gossip Girl’ Is The Basis Of 2020’s Dumbest (And Best?) Meme Yet

Maybe it's the isolation brain talking, but this is high art.

by Jared Richards  14 April 2020
Gossip Girl has inspired an anagram meme

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Even without the impending reboot, Gossip Girl keeps a firm grip on popular culture, remaining a cornerstone reference point long after it left our screens (and ruined itself with that finale reveal, but whatever). For whatever reason, the show’s inspired a new meme format — probably the dumbest thing we’ve seen online in a while, which is impressive. And it’s perfect.

Over the last week, Twitter has slowly become inundated with the same Gossip Girl poster featuring hair-band queen Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester). Positioned below a picture of Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively), the show’s title is anagrammed to make it seem like Blair’s response to something her frenemy said — and it turns out you can spell out a lot with ‘Gossip Girl’.

It’s important to note there are two strands of the meme: there’s the all-in approach, which plays with the whole show title and the expert version, which keeps the word ‘girl’ in, leaving meme creators only six letters to play with. Sometimes, the best artworks are made out of constricting circumstances.

It’s difficult to trace the beginnings of the meme, but this variation might be the earliest.

As @virgenwh0re (sure) writes, “how will we explain this to future generations?”: this has no right to be this enjoyable, but it just is.

Sure, you could analyse it and argue that seeing Blair’s self-satisfied smirk as she gives a simple answer — restricted to just ten letters, no less, like a robot stuck limited to a small processing system — pokes fun at how low the expectations for talent and intelligence is for the wealthy and privileged. Snooze fest! Go (away) girl.

This one, which calls out Blake Lively and Ryan Reynold’s plantation wedding, might be a favourite.

But which is the best? That’s a secret I’ll never tell (it’s this one below).

Now we’re a few days into the meme format, we’re also beginning to see meta takes — a sign that the meme is about to skyrocket or die. Best to enjoy it while we have it: you know you love it. XOXO.

Revisit Os Faruqi’s tribute to Gossip Girl, “our last great problematic TV show” — and hey, you probably have time for a re-watch. The series streams on Stan.