Roll Safe Explained
Roll Safe is an Internet meme in which British filmmaker and actor Kayode Ewumi, while portraying the character Reece Simpson (also known as Roll Safe) in his own web series Hood Documentary, is seen tapping his finger on his head. The images are used, often with joking caption, to mock poor decision-making and failures in critical thinking.[1]
The episode was published in June 2016 and, months later, was used as a reaction image by some British Twitter accounts. In late January 2017, its popularity increased drastically, especially on the Black Twitter community. Khal of Complex declared it was "the new petty meme for 2017",[2] Desire Thompson of Vibe said it was "the best way to kick off Black History Month",[3] and "robopanda" of Yahoo said the meme "is here to give you the best worst advice".[4]
It was included on many best 2017 memes lists, including Thrillist,[5] Complex,[6] BuzzFeed News,[7] The Daily Dot,[8] Insider,[9] BBC News,[10] PCMag,[11] Washington Post,[12] PopBuzz,[13] and MTV UK.[14] The Reddit moderators of the /r/MemeEconomy subreddit told Inverse that they thought it was one of the best memes of 2017.[15]
It was a finalist in the 10th Shorty Awards.[16]
Notes and References
- Web site: Feldman . Brian . How Roll Safe (You Know, the Guy Tapping His Head) Took Over Your Timeline . 2021-08-29 . Intelligencer . February 9, 2017 . en-us.
- Web site: Roll Safe Is the New Petty Meme for 2017 . 2021-08-29 . Complex . en.
- Web site: Thompson . Desire . 2017-02-03 . The "Roll Safe" Meme Is The Best Way To Kick Off Black History Month . 2021-08-29 . VIBE.com . en-US.
- Web site: The 'Roll Safe' Meme Is Here To Give You The Best Worst Advice . 2021-08-29 . Yahoo! . en-US.
- Web site: The 50 Best Memes of 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . February 13, 2017 . en.
- Web site: The Best Memes of 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200430231145/https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/best-memes-2017/ . 2020-04-30 . 2021-08-29 . Complex . en.
- Web site: 38 Great Memes That Defined 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . December 15, 2017 . en.
- Web site: 2017-02-01 . The 65 best memes of 2017 (and counting) . 2021-08-29 . The Daily Dot . en-US.
- Web site: Shamsian . Jacob . 20 moments that went viral and dominated the internet this year . 2021-08-29 . . en-US.
- Web site: 2017-12-29 . The top memes and viral videos of 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . en-GB.
- Web site: Distracted Boyfriend to Salt Bae: 2017's Best Memes . 2021-08-29 . . en.
- News: Trending: Meme Hall of Fame of 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . en-US.
- Web site: The Best Memes Of 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . en.
- Web site: All The Best Memes Of 2017 . 2021-08-29 . . en.
- Web site: Paoletta . Rae . Reddit Moderators Reveal The Best Memes of 2017, And The Ones That Must Die . . December 26, 2017 . August 29, 2018.
- Web site: Roll Safe - The Shorty Awards . 2021-08-29 . Shorty Awards.