Media Mammoths: Assignment #5: “So I Herd U Like Mudkipz” (Ryan Puglisi)

The “I Herd U Liek Mudkipz” meme is a long-lived and widely known meme, referring to the pokemon character of the same name, Mudkip. It’s origin is generally agreed to be a Deviant Art group dedicated to Mudkip and related art, “MudKipClub.” This group utilized the phrase in random posts trying to promote themselves and their group; their actions can be traced back as far as 2005 (though the group existed as far back as 2004).

The phrase became a popular one on sites like 4chan boards as a way of identifying fellow miscreants on the internet. It retained its hilarity and following due to a copypasta story frequently posted around the internet (but originating on 4chan) based on a Halloween costumed Ash Ketchum sexually gratifying himself with a Mudkip doll. The phrase became so ubiquitous that many members of the Anonymous group adopted it during the period of Project Chanology, the internet group’s actions against the Church of Scientology.

The above graph shows that the meme began to catch widespread attention around the end of 2005 and grew enormously from there. The mudkipz meme culminated in an extreme spike in 2008, likely associated with an April Fools prank done by DeviantArt, in which all the photos in the site were abruptly changed to pictures of mudkips in honor of the meme.

It is difficult to assess the true extent of mudkipz legacy when evaluating the many pokemon-based memes that have since arose. Many of these might be attributed to the popularity of pokemon on the internet and less on mudkipz, one of these is the “F*&k yeah Seaking” (which emerged in 2008).

However, the numerous spinoffs and amount of material on the internet which has developed based on the “I herd u like Mudkipz” meme is truly staggering. These include scantily clad cosplayers in mudkip themed costumes being posted around the internet (pictures omitted due to potentially objectifying nature), videos featuring mudkip with music to popular songs, crossover memes featuring Kanye West (from “Ima let you finish” meme fame), matched up with Mudkip, as well as other and other popular memes.