Hopecore is a relatively new meme trend on TikTok where folks are posting feel-good videos of wholesome clips edited together to audio by various popular musicians.
What is Hopecore?
The Hopecore meme trend began on TikTok in early 2023. It uses the -core aesthetic popularized by social media to post hopeful videos, often with interviews and clips from sports games, although they have since branched out to other related topics as well, such as babies and animals.
The Hopecore TikTok videos don’t use just one audio file, but rather various older popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley, and more. Many more recent videos will feature the phrase “Life is Beautiful” in a text overlay.
What are the origins of Hopecore on TikTok?
It is hard to pinpoint the first Hopecore TikTok edit, but one of the earliest videos posted was by TikToker @waxyegg on January 27th, 2023. The video is of a scene from Kung-Fu Panda 2 where the main character, Po, is talking to Lord Shen. Shen asks him, “How did you find peace? I took away your parents! Everything! I scarred you for life!”
Po’s response is poetic, as he says, “See, that's the thing, Shen. Scars heal.” He later adds, “You gotta let go of that stuff from past, because it just doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is what you choose to be now.”
The video has been viewed over 747K times and has 117.7K likes.
Expansion of the Hopecore trend
The Hopecore trend spread to other genres, from TikToker @2ceeblok's video edit that included a series of sports clips, one of which was the viral clip of professional bowler Pete Weber saying, “Who who do you think you are? I am!” after he bowled a strike to secure the 2012 U.S. Open. (See below, for reference.)
Their video from February 1st, 2023 has been viewed 4.2 million times with over 3K comments.
Another video by TikToker @mandohdropemoff from February 18th, 2023, combines various clips from the NFL and NBA and features sports stars such as Lebron James. That video has been viewed over 13.4 million times since it was posted, with folks commenting about how much they love Hopecore’s popularity on TikTok.
It isn’t until 2024 that the Hopecore trend spread in its popularity to other genres, such as the love a dog has for its humans or students bringing their favorite high school teacher a birthday cake.
On July 12th, 2024, a compilation video of little kids being able to see clearly for the first time with prescription glasses became one of the most viral Hopecore videos out there, with over 124.1 million views and 23.6 million comments as people gush over the sweet moment of realization as the babies discover details they couldn’t see before.
The controversy around Hopecore
Unfortunately, as with many trending topics, Hopecore is also dealing with some controversy as well. Folks on social media in recent weeks are taking advantage of the easy hashtag to subvert the intended topic to share inappropriate videos and clips, much like the “secret flashing” trend, to trick people into watching videos they didn’t want to see, typically involving women’s genitalia.
People on Reddit shared that they have tried to report these accounts, but TikTok has responded that no violation has been found, and all people can do is block accounts that show inappropriate content.
Trend examples
Here are some more wholesome examples of Hopecore TikTok videos.
More TikTok trends explained:
- The October Theory on TikTok, explained
- Why are TikTokers screaming at their phones like chickens?
- What is the ‘Rip Me Out The Plastic’ meme?
- What is hurkle-durkling? It’s like bed rotting, but not
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