Meaning
What does Do Not Want mean?
Do Not Want is the most popular of a series of catchphrases, paired with various reaction images, used for expressing one’s desire or lack thereof toward a phenomenon, such as a relationship or an Amazon Prime free trial.
Other catchphrases in the series include Do Want and Sort of Want. These reaction memes were popular in the early 2010s, inspiring countless parodies and variations.
Origin
What's the origin of Do Not Want?
The original “Do Not Want” phrase comes from the blog of Jeremy Winterson who published a compilation of photos on June 7th, 2005.
The compilation was comprised of screenshots of a Chinese bootleg version of “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” one of which was depicting Darth Vader screaming ‘Nooo’ upon realizing Padmé had died.
The scream was translated as “Do Not Want” in the subtitle captions, being reminiscent of the later Sponge Man Ice Cone meme, that also became popular due to its poor English.
Spread & Usage
How did Do Not Want spread?
The compilation was featured on the official Star Wars blog on June 17th, 2005.
Image macros, featuring the “Do Not Want” caption started emerging on 4chan in late 2006, featuring numerous formats, including Demotivational Posters.
By 2009, the catchphrases “Do Not Want” and Do Want started appearing in Tumblr comments, as well as Twitter hashtags.
The phrases remain popular even in 2021, with posts on meme sites, like 9GAG and me.me as well as Reddit still featuring them, while it is also a popular video and GIF format online, although it is more frequent among Millennial Boomers, than Zoomers.
