n online meme can be many things in 2022, but one of its primary and most prevalent forms remains the image macro, a traditional format featuring a captioned picture, often used to express a feeling or reaction. There are evolutions and trends, discontinuations and moments when certain memes come into popularity or fade into obscurity. They’re pervasive in our daily Internet usage, filling up our newsfeeds and eyeline during hours of doomscrolling. You’ll have your favorites, and some that won’t speak to you. For me, when the words are capitalized, written in a bold white Impact font and outlined in black, it’s particularly old-school. I felt a pang of nostalgia when I saw one appear in , a new, irony-heavy critique of the MFA experience from multimedia artist Martine Syms. This particular meme, dubbed “Matrix Morpheus,” borrows a still from the popular turn-of-the-millenium cyberpunk film franchise to illustrate “a revelation that often belittles futile or petty behavior,” according to standardized meme
