Author: Maria Defrancesco

We all have things we regret or wish that we could have done better, or that some life even would have not gotten in the way of our goals. For many of us we regret something that we wish we could have done but just never did and now we all think about what could have been, whether about a test grade, a conversation with a family member, or a relationship. For many people my age, Covid has dampened major life milestones and put a hold on our relationships with peers and our families. Now that Covid is becoming more and more normal and society is going back to interacting with others in person in some sort of “normal”, we try to repeat the past and rebuild what we had before this major world event changed everything.

When Jay Gatsby was a young bachelor, he fell in love with a Louisville girl named Daisy. He planned to marry her despite her family’s disapproval. Like all good plans, however, the war got in the way. Gatsby left for Europe to fight in the war, and by the time the war ended, Daisy had moved on to a garbage excuse for a man, Tom. This threw Gatsby into a spiral trying to get her back. We’ve all felt that kind of love where we would do anything to get our love back after they’ve already moved on right? If only that damn war wouldn’t have gotten in the way maybe she’d be with me…

Gatsby wants to repeat the past and have that love that he shared with Daisy before the war ruined everything. He is so determined, triggering the very blunt “did I stutter” said by Stanley from the office, to win Daisy back and repeat the past. He loved the past, and using his newfound wealth and power, he will make it happen for his one and only love, Daisy.

We all know the iconic meme; Leonardo DiCaprio holding up a glass of champagne from the 2013 movie, The Great Gatsby. Even if you have never heard of the classic novel, you have almost certainly seen this meme format on the internet at least once in the last few years, no doubt. How did this meme become so popular? Toasts almost exclusively happen at boring family gatherings and are dreaded by the younger population, so why has this young population chosen a toast to emulate a book of all things in internet culture? Well to be honest, it’s just so awesome. No one likes a toast from an ancient family member, but from one of the most attractive men on the planet, it is widely anticipated and seen as glamorous and exciting.

Without context, this format simply becomes more and more versatile and hilarious to viewers. The face, iconic. The suit, iconic. In gif form, the nod, *chef’s kiss*. In this scene, Gatsby hosts one of his raging parties and this serves as a showcase of the wealth and carefree 1920s attitude that The Great Gatsby shows us. Leonardo’s face as Jay Gatsby in this particular shot used for the champagne meme looks outwardly happy and that is commonly the context used for the text on the majority of the memes. However, knowing the context of the novel, you can see the pain and loneliness in his eyes. It is almost as if Gatsby parties to cope with his longing for Daisy, and maybe he thinks she might show up one day. When she never does, that’s when the plot thickens!