Meaning
What does Oprah You Get A Car mean?
Oprah’s You get a car is a remixable and a snowclone meme that refers to a specific episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show.
In the episode, Oprah surprises her audience by handing out a free car for each of them, while continuously repeating “you get a car, and you get a car…”.
The meme exists both in remix music video and snowclone image macro forms.
Origin
What's the origin of Oprah You Get A Car?
In September 2004, talk-show host Oprah Winfrey gave out a brand-new Pontiac G-6 sedan, worth $28,500, to everyone in her studio audience. Screaming, delirium, signs of fainting broke out all around the audience.
The strange scene got mocked in various parodies during the following years, both on cable channels such as Adult Swim, and online.
Spread & Usage
How did Oprah You Get A Car spread?
The first remix parody was born in 2008, and was uploaded on YouTube by user Ryazilian. The clip has gained more than 800.000 views so far.
Later the phrase surfaced on Reddit communities as well, where redditors created Advice Animal themed Oprah image macros. The formula of these memes was usually “You get a(n) ‘X’, and you get a(n) ‘X’…”
External resources
- Fastcompany.com – 16 years later, we failed to take Oprah’s “You get a car!” moment to heart
- News.com.au – How Oprah’s iconic ‘you get a car’ moment ended on a sour note
- Altdriver.com – What’s the Story Behind Oprah’s Iconic “You Get a Car” Moment?