Arthur Fist

2016

Date: 26 July 2016 · Place: Tumblr; PBS Kids · Figures: Arthur Read, animated aardvark · WGBH, broadcaster · @rosadiazsbutt, Tumblr poster credited with first viral post · Tags: Tumblr, Cartoon, Reaction 01. Aardvark Anger A still from the 1999 Arthur episode Arthur's Big Hit shows Arthur Read's clenched yellow fist in the foreground of a close-up. On 26 July 2016 the still circulates on Tumblr and Twitter as the universal reaction for suppressed rage with no available recourse. PBS Kids tweets the image themselves within forty-eight hours, captioning Don't worry. Arthur is just stretching. 02. The Children's Cartoon as Affect Library Arthur Fist sits alongside SpongeBob, Kermit, and the Caveman SpongeBob frame as evidence that the children's-cartoon screencap is the richest reaction-image vein of the decade. Every cartoon shipped before 2000 becomes mineable. The episode air originally on 25 October 1999. The frame waits seventeen years for its second life. Sources • PBS Kids Arthur, episode 'Arthur's Big Hit', original air 25 October 1999 • Abby Ohlheiser, The Washington Post, 'The Arthur fist meme has united the internet', 27 July 2016 • KnowYourMeme entry, 'Arthur's Fist'