Meaning
What does So You Have Chosen Death mean?
So you have chosen death is an iconic quote from the first installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, said by Saruman.
Online the sentence is used both as a catchphrase as well as a reaction image.
Origin
What's the origin of So You Have Chosen Death?
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring premiered in the United States on December 19th, 2001.
In one of the scenes Saruman (played by Sir Christopher Lee) is giving Gandalf (portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen) a choice between joining the dark forces of Sauron and death.
When Gandalf promptly escapes on the back of an eagle, Saruman utters “so you have chosen death”.
Spread & Usage
How did So You Have Chosen Death spread?
A clip of the scene was uploaded to YouTube by Neil Magan on December 18th, 2013.
Image macros, featuring various screenshots of Saruman from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, paired with the quote, started emerging on Reddit in 2017.
The meme would become widely recognized and liked, spreading on to sites like iFunny, Twitter, 9GAG and Facebook.
External resources
- Meming World – So you have chosen… death
- Cheezburger – ‘So You Have Chosen Death’ Memes Lament Risky Decisions