Meaning
What does Choose Your Fighter mean?
The choose your fighter (or choose your class) image macros usually compile and depict different archetypes for characters of a given topic, normally in a quad-section or hexa-section fashion. These characters can be both fictional and non-fictional, depending on the topic.
These memes are usually used to portray current pop-culture references, or within fandoms. The characters featured in the memes are often given names or attributes gained by their appearance and traits, which make these images relatable for many.
The format furthermore falls under the category of exploitable memes.
Origin
What's the origin of Choose Your Fighter?
The first meme of this kind was posted on Tumblr in 2016 by user godh8sfags2, who compiled six stock photos of grandmas holding different kinds of weapons, captioned “choose your class”.
He also attributed RPG game-style roles to the images in a fitting manner. These roles included “paladin”, “warrior” and “assassin” among others.
The meme gained serious traction on the website within the following year.
Spread & Usage
How did Choose Your Fighter spread?
After many interpretations on Tumblr, the choose your fighter template naturally also surfaced on Reddit. After that, the meme was being recognized as a very popular form of compiling characters from different franchises.
A /r/ChooseYourFighter thread was created in July 2018, currently counting 675 members.
External resources
- Dailydot.com – ‘Pick Your Fighter’ Twitter thread highlights iconic women protesters
- Reddit – r/memes