once Upon a time, I became a meme but I didn’t know it.It was the summer of 2016, I was hanging out with my friends after a whole day’s work. After a few drinks and we were joking around, my friend Mike said to me in a weird, cheeky way that I don’t quite understand – almost like he didn’t want to mention it, but the drunkard had other plans – a simple , five-word sentence: “Funko Pops were wiped out.”
ah?What have you done That meaning is? The words sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place them. I asked Mike what he was talking about and he looked at me in shock. “Don’t you know?” He continued to remind me An article I wrote the year before last I certainly Not forgotten.An article about my buying experience Star Wars I saw the toys at an event called “Forced Friday,” which made me the target of ridicule and hate (probably justified) for days and weeks. I remember that article. I don’t have this line.
As it turns out, this quote from the highly controversial article has apparently acquired meme value of its own. It’s a war cry that people use to point out the folly in consumerism, among other things. I shook my head in disbelief. That can’t be true. Mike pulled out his phone, typed this sentence into Twitter, and there it was. Nine months later, at that very moment, people were tweeting about the hard-hit Funko Pops on Twitter. What happened?
When I write, where this sentence comes from, I will never know.All I know is that in September 2015, I stood in line to buy toys in the middle of the night Star Wars: The Force Awakens And had a very disappointing experience.In fact, I was so angry about it that I woke up the next morning Got some rants going on about this site. Now, this rant isn’t just directed at me. I’m the entry point, but I’m also citing dozens of other people who have shared my bad experiences. In a way, I think this article is more of a trend article. It does not matter. After a few minutes, the replies started rolling in. People get really offended by how spoiled I sound. How stubborn and annoying I am. People did send me death threats. Not beautiful to begin with And lasted for a long time. Nowadays, you see this situation as one of the unfortunate symptoms of being online.
In the article, I talked about walking into Star Wars I found the aisles at Toys “R” Us too cluttered because there were 30 people scratching everything in front of me. One particular toy stood out, though: Funko Pops, mostly because they were one of the few that didn’t sell out immediately. However, they were placed on the shelf very casually. So the next morning I was in angry blogging mode and described the situation as “Funko Pops have been destroyed and only a few Finns and Rey are left.” People looked into this.
It’s nice to imagine that this line stands out because it’s such a catchy phrase – “Oh, Germain, you’re such a talented writer.” That’s not the case. I can see very clearly now that this is because it’s a stupid thing to do that doesn’t make any sense and causes all kinds of weird visuals, people think it’s very stupid and totally represents a privileged rage . Even so, why this or any particular phrase became popular and still persists today (though not as much as it did nearly a decade ago) still feels very random. Even now, I’m occasionally called “Funko Pops is the destroyed guy,” almost entirely as a dismissive insult. But the way I look at it is, I’ve written tens of thousands of articles over the course of my career. At least one of them is remembered.
Plus, in the years that followed, that quote somehow became incredibly prescient.Just last year, Funko reportedly dumped There are approximately $30 million worth of Pops in landfills. What better way to describe it than to join me in saying “Funko Pops were wiped out”?The year before, Funko had acquired the super-cool company Mondo, just to Soon to be dismantled and destroyed. Say it with me, “Funko Pops have was wiped out. ” The company even laid off quite a few Its headcount has been significantly reduced over the last year, and that’s no joke.
Viewed another way, the attention paid to the article signaled a sea change in the toy industry itself.when i stand in line Star Wars Toys in 2015, this is what collectors do.this is something I did it a few times myself 15 years ago. But over the next few years, Force Friday activities to be smaller The need to queue up to purchase items has also become unnecessary. Today, most collectors reserve whatever they want online, leaving more of the thrill of the in-store chase behind. In fact, the entire aspect of the hobby was destroyed.
I’m also fully aware that to some, writing about this weird thing in such a nostalgic way may be viewed as the same type of vitriol as the original post. Why should anyone care about the “Funko Pops were wiped out” guy? Frankly, you probably shouldn’t. Perhaps instead, think of it as a cautionary talk about the power of words. Consider how others might interpret what you say. So maybe don’t say everything that comes to mind. Think about things differently. Choose to be more selective, more thoughtful, and less passive. Maybe there’s a reason for Funko Pops’ decline. The reason is progress.
Oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that. How stupid. I was already ruining my course.
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