Unfortunately for us all, today’s children must be well-acquainted with the world of memes if they are to properly understand the world they live in. Getting to preschool without a working knowledge of The Success Kid or The Joker Dance means that a parent has completely and utterly failed at their goal of preparing a child to enter society. Not knowing that you can reply to a bad tweet with that screenshot of Daenerys making a strained smile by the time a kid enters first grade implies a terrible upbringing.
The children, in short, must be properly educated if they are to learn how to properly waste their time online.
Luckily, a Dutch artist named Jean-Paul (who goes by PaperPaul online) has created a pop-up book filled with non-digital meme recreations, that, if it could only clear licensing and be printed in millions of copies, would make the ideal tool for rotting the brains of our youth before they even know what the internet is.
A video of the work he’s made so far demonstrates PaperPaul’s extraordinary dedication to his calling. Each meme he’s chosen is lovingly recreated on paper so that GIFs of Homer emerging from and then retreating into a shrub or Leonardo DiCaprio raising a champagne glass as Gatsby play out in full, repeatable 3D.
There’s Salem from Sabrina filing his nails, Fry from Futurama shoving a wad of cash at the viewer, keyboard and nyaan cats, Kermit drinking tea, a laughing Gandalf, and so, so many more.
Parents eager to get this work of art into their kids’ chubby little hands will have to wait, since PaperPaul makes it clear that licensing issues understandably stop him from selling the book he plans to make once he’s whittled down his selection to 30 entries. (The only exceptions are the dumpster fire and “This Is Fine” pop-ups, since he collaborated with original artists K.C. Green and 100%soft on both.)
For now, the children will have to begin their journey into the inane world of memes by simply watching this video on repeat, allowing the joy of pop-up books to educate them on the history of our people.
[via Digg]
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