Did you know which was the first meme that went viral on the internet? It was the Dancing Baby meme also known as Baby Cha-Cha-Cha in 1996. As per one article published by Forbes, Millennials spent about 200 minutes every day online watching memes. Are you one of them? Well, if this is the case, you must be aware of the meme I for one welcome our new insect overlords and robot overlords meme. If not, then you will get to know it today.
1. Meme
The term meme is derived from the Greek word mimema, which means imitated. It is a behavior, idea, or style carrying some symbolic meaning, a theme, or a particular phenomenon. These types of things spread rapidly among people through imitation. A meme is preferably an image, but it can also be a piece of text, video, Giphy, etc. that internet users copy and spread across. (See Why are internet memes so popular?)
2. Meaning of I for one Welcome our new Insect Overlords
An episode in the year 1994 of The Simpson, Season 5, titled Deep Space Homer, is the birthplace of this phrase. Soon, it became a social slang that started circulating over the internet. As per the episode, this slang usually refers to future relationships and a threatening event or change that is about to happen. Such an event that cannot be changed is referred to with this slang. (See Stupid Sayings That Make No Sense)
3. Use of this Meme by Simpson’s Character
The Simpson’s character Kent Brockman, a fictional newscaster, is seen saying these lines in the episode. But what happens is that he saw a close-up shot of an ant while reading the news on air. After seeing the shot, he started talking about humans and the chances of slavishness to a race of giant ants. In the show, he mentioned that the ants are coming and nothing could stop them.
He further added that he is a trusted personality on television who is going to be helpful to the giant ants. He can bring humans to their sugar caves so that they can make them their slaves because the real motive of these giant ant races is still unknown. (See When will the Next Season of Empire start?)
4. Scenario of the Slang
Further, regarding I for one welcome our new insect overlords in the episode, Kent Brockman was selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was sent into outer space. In the space shuttle in outer space, he was floating around and eating potato chips, which are by the way not allowed to eat in a space shuttle as their crumbs may get into the vents.
And this is what happened because the crumbs clogged the instrument panels. In a state of panic, he smashed into a colony of ants on the shuttle. As the glass breaks, all the ants are released and one of those ants comes in front of the camera, resulting in a closer shot. This is when he started reporting about the new insect overlords, assuming it to be a giant ant. (See What is a Group of Ants called?)
5. I for one Welcome our new Insect Overlords in the Empire of Ants
The movie Empire of Ants had the concept that ants feed on human blood. The movie was directed by Bert I. Gordon, and it was based on a science fiction short story of the same name written by H.G Wells in 1977. Though the movie shows the dominance of ants over humans, not even once did anyone say I for one welcome our new insect overlords in the movie.
However, during the movie when Marilyn Frayser (Joan Collin) enters with a queen ant into an enclosed space, she is screaming and trying to escape, but then the queen ant sprays Marilyn with mind-controlling pheromones. Now, when she stepped back outside that space, she was calm, and looking at her group she says, we must not disobey them. We must take care of them, and we must help them. (See Why did Dumbledore have to Die in Harry Potter?)
6. New Meaning of the Slang
After the development of technologies and never-ending changes, the meaning of this slang shifted from the giant insect race to the rise of artificial intelligence. The term I for one welcome our new insect overlords got converted into I, for one, welcome our (X) overlords. In the technological sense, they talk about the ever-increasing artificial intelligence (AI), the evolution of computers, digital entities, and more detailed robots. (See What is the Story behind 241543903?)
7. Meaning of Robot Overlords Meme
After I for one welcome our new insect overlords and the conversion of the satirical comment of Kent Brockman, the term got affiliated with robots about modern technologies. The new formulated phrase is I for one welcome our robots overlords. Although this is also said in a satirical sense, yet, there are chances that one day sooner or later, robots could become dominant over the human race and take over.
So, today finally you got to know about I for one welcome our new insect overlords. Now, try asking your friends and family about the robot overlords meme and also the difference between the two memes. (See The Story of an Hour Themes)
