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Shocked Black Guy
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Related Explainer: Who Is 'Shocked Black Guy?' The Reaction Image And Meme Explained
About
Shocked Black Guy or Surprised Black Guy is an image of comedian Jslutty making an expression of shock, bulging his eyes and holding his mouth agape and his hands behind his head. Starting in June 2022, the photo has been used as a reaction image meme on Twitter and Discord, as well as other sites or social media platforms, to express shock and surprise.
Origin
On November 17th, 2020, YouTuber[1] FunnyMike uploaded a drama video titled "AALIYAH WROTE JAY AN APOLOGY LETTER📃& MARK WANT DESIREE AND HANNAH!😱" In the video, fellow YouTuber Jslutty makes a shocked expression, folding his arms behind his head, bulging his eyes and keeping his mouth agape (appears at 4:32 mark; shown below).
The image has been used online as a reaction, usually to express shock or for memes imagining someone being shocked, at least since June 2022. For example, on June 27th, 2022, Twitter[2] user @inimloom1 used the image as a reaction to another tweet, marking the earliest found use of the image on Twitter (image shown below, left; alternative crop shown below, right).
Spread
Posts containing the image started going viral on Twitter in late July 2022 as usage of the image increased. For example, on July 22nd, 2022, Twitter[3] user @wakeupkaii posted the image, captioning it, "my shampoo bottles hearing the comebacks i made up in the shower." The tweet gained over 39 retweets and 610 retweets in two months (shown below, left). On July 27th, Twitter[4] user @kkengou used the image to mock Taz mains in the multiplayer video game Multiversus, with the tweet gaining over 540 likes in a similar timeframe (shown below, center). On August 21st, Twitter[5] user @Based5656 used the image to poke fun at another user's reaction to a street in Japan. The tweet received over 190 retweets and 11,700 likes in one month (shown below, right).
In August and September 2022, the image saw continued use online as a reaction and an image caption format.
Related Memes
Shocked Miles Morales
Shocked Miles Morales or Surprised Miles Morales is a viral redraw of the Shocked Black Guy meme featuring the character Miles Morales from the 2018 film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its 2023 sequel Across the Spider-Verse. Posted by artist @raflizi26 in early June 2023, the image achieved virality as a reaction on social media in the following weeks.
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