Meaning
What does One of Us mean?
One of us refers to a memorable quote from the 1932 movie, Freaks.
The phrase is a prominent pop culture reference, used as a meme for when someone is accepted by and integrated into a community.
“One of us” may appear as a quote, as well as on GIFs and image macros.
Origin
What's the origin of One of Us?
The quote comes from the 1932 motion picture flick of Tod Browning, featuring actual “carnival freaks” as cast.
In one scene of the movie, the titular Freaks accept a woman within their own ranks, screaming “We accept you! One of us! Gooble gobble, gooble gobble!”.
Spread & Usage
How did One of Us spread?
The phrase is featured in the 1977 song of The Ramones, released under the title Pinhead.
It was also referenced in various other sources, either in music, television or movies, such as The Wolf of Wall Street.
“One of us” started seeing use online in late 2011, appearing on reaction image macros, as well as GIFs.
It was first defined on Urban Dictionary in 2016.
External resources
- Reddit – r/OutOfTheLoop