A Kid’s Book Joke Became a Viral Meme

By: Alex Yang

What started as an innocent joke in a children’s book 50 years ago is now gaining

popularity this summer and becoming the baseline for a dark meme. The characters from the

popular ‘Mr. Men’ and ‘Little Miss’ franchises have grown massively in popularity after being

used in a meme across different social media platforms.

In the original show, the image displayed the text “little miss jealous” while in the

memes, the captions took a darker turn, with examples like “Little Miss At My […] Breaking

Point.” Some people have called this the comedy of our time.

Memes have grown in popularity for the past years, often having a relatable caption

with a funny image. And this new one is just one in the thousands that have been created

Giorgio Angelini, the filmmaker who tracked the growth of the meme of ‘Pepe the

Frog’ said that “[s]he’s no longer just grumpy. She’s reeling from anxiety and depression

because the world is warming, democracies are crumbling and those in power seem to be more Mr. Greedy than Mr. Actionably Concerned.” The meme is a way to express all the feelings that people have during these times.

British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves launched his heartwarming ‘Mr.

Men’ series in 1971, the series, in which readers see how a character’s personality traits affect

their life had many adaptations and spinoffs, one being the ‘Little Miss’ series, one that Roger

also created.

And now, 50 years later, the same heartwarming series has attracted over 2 million

followers on just one Instagram named “LittleMissNotesApp” posting the same characters

with the captions changed to examples like “Mr. Vape Cloud” and “Little Miss Aggressive

Drunk.”

“A lot of the memes I was making were pretty dark and I wanted to make a relatable

meme that didn’t take itself too seriously,” says “Juulpuppy” one of the artists of the memes

in an email.

By seeing something pepole can identify with, especially in these strange times, they

feel better. And having these memes that don’t take themselves too seriously is a great way to do that.