You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf September 14, 2022

A documentary is meant to be an educational experience. It typically presents a topic, working to bring new ideas to viewers perhaps unaware of the subject, delivering information to help the audience best appreciate the analysis constructed by the filmmaker. 2021’s “You Can’t Kill Meme” doesn’t offer such development, with director Hayley Garrigus (making her helming debut) looking to explore the world of “memetic magic,” only doing so without much concern for those new to a universe of manipulation and mental illness. It’s the rare documentary where one has to fully understand the details of the subject to understand the documentary. “You Can’t Kill Meme” is niche work from Garrigus, who doesn’t have a master plan for the endeavor, bouncing around random topics and meeting various personalities, attempting to be eloquent about the ways of chaos without really putting in the effort to craft a cohesive and welcoming picture.

Memes aren’t just offerings of internet comedy, with Garrigus exploring the true nature of these online movements, tracing the origin of such thinking to a 2004 book by Kirk Packwood, who helped to define “memetic magic” and its various powers. “You Can’t Kill Meme” initially details the influence of Packwood’s ideas, which spread through “the chans,” eventually inspiring others to test the author’s concepts of online exploitation. Garrigus provides a brief history of Pepe the Frog, and she meets with Billy Brujo, a YouTuber feeling out the limitations of his influential power. “You Can’t Kill Meme” also examines “the cult of kek” and assorted movements, with most attention paid to “light workers,” including Carole, who has a relationship with a psychic cat and believes 9/11 was an inside job. Carole is something else, and Garrigus has a real fondness for the woman, using her to analyze shamanism and its many forms, spending way too much time with a person who really doesn’t have anything to do with the subject matter.

Of course, politics enter “You Can’t Kill Meme,” with Garrigus suggesting that the rise of MAGA and Donald Trump was largely internet-based, with “the chans” (she doesn’t identify what this is, or anything for that matter) embracing mayhem by creating a monster to combat a monster. There’s something intriguing in the understanding of perceived power when dealing with online attacks, but Garrigus doesn’t head in that direction, preferring a grab bag mood for her movie, which is sold with her monotone narration and loaded with bizarre non sequiturs, including a brief rant about the “liberal elite” and their dismissal of Las Vegas.

You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "You Can't Kill Meme" deals with cinematography that uses commercial grade cameras, offering a low-tech look at interviewees and their skin particulars. Interiors are mostly preserved for exploration, along with some dimensional tours of the outside world. Color is maintained, handling everyday clothing and more amplified hues with meme imagery. Skin tones are natural. Additional footage from internet sources is often low-res.

You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track provides a clean understanding of interviewees and their various accents and emphasis. Narration is also defined, claiming a more consistent presence in the mix. Scoring cues support with heavier synth and bass stings, and surrounds push out some music cues for dramatic purpose.

You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Q&A from FantasiaFest 2021 (64:51, HD) is a video conference interview with director Hayley Garrigus and co-composer Michael Beuttler.

• And a Trailer (1:30, HD) is included.

You Can't Kill Meme Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"You Can't Kill Meme" is filled with terminology and nicknames that aren't explained, making it potentially confusing for viewers who don't spend all day online. And Garrigus makes questionable journalistic choices, especially when she visits Packwood in the final act, sharing her friendship with the visibly unsettled man (there's even a shot of the pair hugging), refusing to challenge his wilder ideas on "disruption," positing himself as a deity in the making. "You Can't Kill Meme" has potential to spotlight the cancer of social media and the organization of hate, but Garrigus doesn't seem to have a game plan for her documentary, often going random with what's basically a tedious college presentation on the state of the world.