A Clearer Look at..."Sudden Clarity Clarence"

"Sudden Clarity Clarence" depicts a young man appearing to be struck by an abrupt and unlikely epiphany, gazing into the unknown, all the while trapped in a sea of mindless party-goers. The picture itself is quite amazing, with its subject being exposed so vividly, glowing with a illumination exceeded only by the amazing realisation so brilliantly expressed on his face. This, coupled with the text that appears over top, can combine to form a truly effective meme.





Photo source as it appeared in 2009

On November 21st, 2009, the original stock photo was submitted to the Australia Associated Press as coverage of the Schoolies Festival in Queensland, Australia’s Gold Coast. Two years later, a reddit user by the name of NorthernSkeptic posted "Introducing Sudden Clarity Clarence”, with the caption “Oh my God / dubstep sucks" captioned over the image macro; and so the meme was born. After its initial success on reddit, reaching the front page of the /r/AdviceAnimals subreddit, the meme went on to spread like wildfire among Tumblr, FunnyJunk, QuickMeme and alike, under the tag “#sudden clarity clarence^."


NorthernSkeptic's post: November 23rd, 2011

 

 

Quite apparently, it is often the sheer triviality of Clarence's realisations that gives the meme its humorous appeal, i.e "Tomatoes are fruits/ That makes ketchup a smoothie." However, like a Shakespearean Fool, as Clarence delivers seemingly benign commentary, at times his statements contain subtle yet profound truths about life that may inspire prolonged cogitation in the viewer. Or at least that was this bloggers experience. 


The meme has been at times criticised for a perceived resemblance to "Consiracy Keanu", however to the keen observer the distinction is clear. "Clarence" experiences moments of unexpected enlightenment about things that deep into his subconscious he may have already known but failed to "connect the dots" as it were. Conversely, "Keanu" proposes elaborate and often absurd conspiracy theories, and does not become enlightened at all.

Conspiracy Keanu

 Presently, the ultimate challenge that "Clarence" faces is one shared by all memes, that is to stay true to the original sentiment of the meme. A task of great difficulty, considering each potential  instance can be attributed to a possibly infinite number of different authors. And so, it is the duty of the meme enthusiast to only promote those instances deemed worthy of its namesake, and to disregard those who use it for ill purpose. "Clarence", we hardly knew ye.