The Shy So Serious? meme references a Joker quote from the 2008 movie The Dark Knight in which the villain tells his origin story. The line became one of the most iconic moments from the popular film, and internet users quickly adapted it into one of the most viral memes of the early social media era.
People remixed the quote and produced fan art from the scene, mixing it with already established memes or finding Joker faces in everyday objects. It also became a trendy replacement for the memorable "u mad" meme of the 2000s.
'Why so serious' quote
The scene in which The Joker utters the line shows the character attempting to make a deal with other Gotham City villains and gangsters as he tries to get them to take him seriously. To demonstrate his volatile nature, he threatens one of them with a knife and explains how his father mutilated him.
You wanna know how I got these scars? My father was a drinker, and a fiend. One night, he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it.
He turns to me and he says, "Why So Serious?"
He comes at me with the knife, "Why So Serious!?"
Sticks the blade in my mouth, "Let's put a smile on that face!"
"Why so serious?"
In Batman lore, The Joker often lies about his origin story, so it's unclear if his tale is true in this particular timeline.
Early 'why so serious' meme use
Following the release of The Dark Knight to general U.S. audiences on July 18, 2008, its popularity resulted in multiple memes on the subject, with many featuring Heath Ledger's award-winning portrayal of the main antagonist. The use of the "Why so serious" quote is one of the most memorable.
Initially, late 2000s internet trolls, who back then mainly populated online message boards before the rapid spread of modern social media, enjoyed use of the line to mock those they had successfully riled up. This spread to more normal individuals teasing anyone who failed to see the humor in a joke or who was taking things too seriously.
Meanwhile, on YouTube, creators reenacted or edited scenes from other media works featuring The Joker, including the beloved Batman: The Animated Series from the 1990s with a top-notch Mark Hamill impression.
Meme remixes and spread
As time went on, the "why so serious" meme met the early use of "lolspeak"—a simplified form of internet slang that often omits not strictly necessary letters from words and was popular on imageboards and 4chan. Millennial readers may recall images of cats with familiar face paint paired with the caption "y so srs?"
It wasn't long before popular characters from other franchises began to appear with Joker makeup and altered versions of the quote, including a Harry Potter character with the caption "why so Sirius" or a South Park depiction of Al Gore saying "why so serial?"
The Jonkler, beatboxing, and the 2024 'Why so serious' meme resurgence
On December 14, 2017, YouTuber 80Fitz uploaded a video of himself doing a beatbox performance themed after The Joker, which made good use of the "why so serious" line. The video gained over 4.2 million views over the years.
In April 2023, the meme known as The Jonkler was born on a Reddit sub to make fun of the version of the villain from the Arkham video game series. Over a year later, on August 15, 2024, TikTok user @analnyfranek uploaded a video tagged "jonkler" with a remixed version of the beatboxing performance from 2017.
The entry went viral, with over 21.3 million views so far, and over 37,000 other videos now feature the original sound.
Why so serious meme examples
Related memes:
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- Pack it up, pack it in, Batman Begin
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