The internet is a place where what is new often has a much shorter shelf life than anticipated, and what is old can rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Over the years, random things like old SpongeBob scenes, decades-old hit songs, and stock photos have become some of the most popular memes of all time, clogging up many social media feeds. For now, the latest meme to be revived comes from a famous scene in Grand Theft Auto 5.
When GTA 5 released back in September 2013, its single-player story mode was still a major focus for the gaming community. One of the most famous scenes from story mode involved protagonist Franklin and his friend Lamar where the latter roasts the former for his "yee-yee a** haircut." While the profanity-filled rant already became a highlight for many players then — spawning a lot of fan art and remixes at the time — the seven-year-old GTA scene has now taken a new life of its own in a recent series of memes.
The internet has latched onto this scene, replacing Lamar with an assortment of pop culture icons including Shrek, Harry Potter, Darth Vader, and Snow White. Besides the model swap, Lamar's dialogue is often changed accordingly to suit whichever character is in his place. For example, Kermit the Frog proceeds to roast Franklin in his distinctive croak, while Tony Montana uses language and slang more appropriate for his character, as seen here. Warning: Profanity is present throughout the videos linked.
While the model and dialogue swap is amusing enough, other users have taken the meme to its surreal ends. YouTuber Merfish turned the scene into a literal rollercoaster experience, with Franklin riding past a choir of Lamars all roasting him. Meanwhile, user jackjack121 repurposed the dialogue into a Metal Gear Solid Codec call. Other post-modern interpretations of the scene include vocoding the conversation into various national anthems, shooting the scene from the first-person perspectives of Franklin and Lamar, or even changing the genre of GTA 5 into a visual novel.
For now, it appears that retooling this particular scene from a seven-year-old game is what is keeping the internet fascinated. Though Rockstar's focus appears to be on GTA Online and getting GTA 5 to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S — having dismissed rumors that GTA 6 will be coming out soon — it is almost certain that whatever it decides to release next will provide the internet with a steady supply of memes for years to come.
Grand Theft Auto 5 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, with PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions to be released this year.