Memes

‘Your 401k is getting unburdened from what has been’—the 2024 stock market crash gets meme’d

This market is SO brat.

Photo of Anna Good

Anna Good

Stock Market meme(L), Tweets about stock market crash and Kamala and the coconut tree(r)

On Monday, August 5th, 2024 there was a dramatic drop in the stock market worldwide, and the internet responded to the situation in the way it knows best: by turning it into a meme.

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2024 stock market crash

https://twitter.com/Rothmus/status/1820677047229759842

A lot happened in the stock markets worldwide on August 5th, 2024, from the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 951 points (2.4%) to the Nasdaq Composite dipping 3.1% and the S&P 500 going down by 2.7%, according to the latest news by CNBC

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Farther afield, Stoxx 600 in Europe fell by 2.4%, and “[the] Indian rupee fell to its lowest point on record on Monday, closing at 83.8450, down 0.1% from the last session,” per a New 18 report.

It looks like the main cause of this sudden drop in the stock market is led largely by the July jobs report and people’s fears that another U.S. recession is on the horizon.

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Stock market crash memes

So why the stock market crash memes? People did what they do best when faced with a crisis and turned to memes about the situation on social media. On X, formerly known as Twitter, many people have taken popular culture references and applied them to the situation at hand.

  1. “Oh F*ck You’re Gonna Make Me Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful,” wrote @buccocapital.
    Old man's face pasted on a woman's face with text overlay saying, “Oh F-ck You’re Gonna Make Me Be Greedy When Others Are Fearful.'
  2. @TrungTPhan used screencaps from Breaking Bad to explain the situation for those less financial market-inclined.
    A tweet reading, 'The market sell-off, explained.' with a Breaking Bad meme of Jesse explaining why the Japanese stock markets crashing is bad for the US stock market.
  3. @Geiger_Capital tweeted, “Warren Buffett watching every asset collapse while holding a quarter Trillion in T-Bills” along with a clip of Pablo Escobar‘s character from the Netflix show Narcos.
    Tweet saying, “Warren Buffett watching every asset collapse while holding a quarter Trillion in T-Bills” along with a movie clip of a man smoking in a field.
  4. Meanwhile, @soychotic shared a screenshot of her Mcdonald’s app, showing that she has nearly maxed out her points, and wrote, “Not sure what u guys are talking abt ? ? my stocks are doing just fine 😎”
    Screenshot of a McDonalds app, showing they have nearly maxed out their points, and wrote, “Not sure what u guys are talking abt ? ? my stocks are doing just fine (sunglasses emoji)”
  5. Memes within memes are always popular, and @Rothmus took the “are ya winning, son?” meme and turned it on its head, with the son entering the room and asking, “are ya winning, dad?” as his dad looks at a computer screen filled with red.
    'Are ya winning, son?' meme reversed to 'Are ya winning, dad?' and the dad reading, 'son, pack up your stuff I just lost the house.' while looking at a computer screen filled with red.
  6. Another person, @nayshins, shared another version of the “are ya winning, son?” meme of a man committing seppuku, a “ritualistic suicide by disembowelment that can only be conducted by a samurai,” according to a post by academic Adam Acar on the Maikoya website.
    'Are ya winning, son?' meme with a person committing seppuku in front of a computer.
  7. Harking back to the recent Gen Z Boss and a Mini viral TikTok, X user @soncharm tweeted, “Not saying, just saying” and took a screenshot of the S&P 500 crash, marking on the chart when the Gen Z Boss video went viral at the S&P’s peak.
    Tweet that says, “Not saying, just saying” and a screenshot of the S&P 500 crash, marking on the chart when the Gen Z Boss video went viral at the S&P’s peak.
  8. “Let me put this in a way Kamala will understand: the stock market just fell out of a coconut tree,” wrote @joma_gc.
    Tweet that reads, 'Let me put this in a way Kamala will understand: the stock market just fell out of a coconut tree.'
  9. Then there’s this old Tracy Jordan screenshot, which is very relatable to the current financial climate.
    Screenshot of an old Tracy Jordan meme. 'Breaking News: Asian Markets in Turmoil' in the lower thirds.
  10. @pdubdev tweeted, “Your 401k is getting unburdened from what has been.”
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11. @truth_enjoyer used the “don’t worry about it babe” text template to answer “what’s going on with the stock market?”.
A text exchange screenshot asking about what's going on with the stock market, the other person replying, 'don't worry about it babe.'

12. “This market is SO brat,” wrote @jarvis_best, referencing the Charli XCX/Kamala Harris meme.
Tweet that reads, 'This market is SO brat.'

13. @alifarhat79, used the James Franco ‘First Time?’ meme to compare what is going on with the market right now to the start of the Great Depression.
A tweet comparing what is going on in the stock market right now to the start of the Great Depression.

14. “FinTwit be like,” writes @SMTuffy, sharing a Be Honest meme about why they think “The Fed” needs to cut rates.
Be Honest meme of Finance Twitter after the stock market crash.

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15. And finally, @tunguz tweeted, “What can be, unburdened by what has been.”
'What can be, unburdened by what has been.' with screenshots of the stock market in red and green.

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The Daily Dot