The ‘I Love Video Games’ meme is a perfect riff on men, women, and gaming culture
The I Love Video Games meme is a two-panel meme based on a still image from the romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer, used to convey humor around diverging cultural tastes and interests between genders.
What is the I Love Video Games meme?
The I Love Video Games meme is a two-panel meme based on a still image of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel from the 2009 romantic comedy (500) Days of Summer.
In the meme, the two characters are browsing in a record store. Gordon-Levitt's character, Tom, is captioned with the line, "I love video games," while Deschanel's character, Summer, responds, "Me too." The second panel reveals the type of video games each character likes: Tom enjoys popular games Red Dead Redemption, The Witcher, Elden Ring, and Resident Evil 4 (among others) while Summer likes the 2012 the Lana Del Rey song "video games."
In the template version, the second panel is used to land the meme's joke, depending on what the first panel says.
What does the I Love Video Games meme mean?
The meme is meant to humorously explore intellectual, relational, and cultural chasms between men and women, often relating to gaming and popular culture, and (like the original meme) sometimes using a song to land the joke.
Origin and spread
X account @elyelgow first posted the meme in Portuguese on Nov. 5, 2024, receiving hundreds of reposts and thousands of likes. Four days later, it was translated into English by @honeyonthevine_, which also received considerable internet attention.
The image quickly spread, with meme authors using the template to create parodies and commentary about culture and gender dynamics.
The most popular was user @cookimyun's version of the I Love Video Games meme, posted on Nov. 10., 2024. In it, Gordon-Leavitt's character likes video games generally considered to be basic, while Deschanel's character likes more intense and sophisticated video games (turning the original meme on its head).
Meme basics:
- Meme creator: @elyelgow
- Meme type: parody, humor
- First appearance: Nov. 5th, 2024
- Origin source: X
- Used to convey: irony, nerd culture
- Peak popularity: Nov. 12th. 2024
Rooted in the complicated relationship between the two characters in (500) Days of Summer, this meme gives way to people's perceptions of how men and women relate (or don't relate!), in addition to author's perception of each gender's taste in culture.
Meme variations
Variations will play with gender likes and dislikes, cultural confusion, and the perception and reputation of different types of video games.
@ultrxviolence Fun fact: my fiance won my heart once he told me he was a LDR Fan & he’s seen her live ????#lanadelrey #videogames ♬ Video Games - Lana Del Rey
Sometimes (very rarely) men and women can enjoy the SAME thing (as a treat).
More video game memes:
- A short history of the ‘Press X to Doubt’ meme
- Ugly Sonic had the last laugh
- Maxwell the cat is a legend among gamers
- ‘Ah sh*t, here we go again’ meme is here to express your frustration
- ‘Minecraft builds be like’ reveals real-world architecture crimes
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