2010 / Meme / Rage-comic reaction face
Me Gusta
One unnervingly pleased face gave rage comics a shorthand for a reaction that was too specific to explain.
The original is hosted off-site; this page provides context and a link to it.
What was this?
The face’s wide eyes and fixed grin appeared at the end of rage-comic panels to mark a weirdly pleased or uncomfortable response.
Why it spread
It moved through image boards, Reddit, and rage-comic generators, where the face could be dropped into a new scenario with almost no setup.
What happened
The face’s wide eyes and fixed grin appeared at the end of rage-comic panels to mark a weirdly pleased or uncomfortable response.
Where it came from
May Oswald created the Me Gusta face; the record collected by the Bureau of Internet Culture traces an original 4chan and Reddit posting to March 18, 2010.
Why it mattered
Me Gusta shows how a single reusable drawing could become a flexible reaction vocabulary across the early social web.
How it spread
It moved through image boards, Reddit, and rage-comic generators, where the face could be dropped into a new scenario with almost no setup.
Keep going
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