That One Sound is a weekly column from senior internet culture writer Audra Schroeder that explores the origin of popular sounds heard on TikTok. Suggestions? Tips? Email audra@dailydot.com.
A sound from the Netflix series Ozark has been screaming through TikTok, spreading into disparate parts of the app. A majority of people are using it in a humorous way, and ultimately it’s a showcase for Julia Garner’s tremendous talent.
The sound
In a TikTok posted Jan. 25 by user schmools, Garner screams, “If you want to stop me, you’re going to have to fucking kill me.” The caption on the video reads: “when he says we shouldn’t rescue another dog.” The clip, which comes from an account that documents a house full of adorable rescue dogs, has more than 1 million views and has been used in more than 20,000 TikToks in less than a month.
The way Garner delivers the words “fucking kill me” puts this sound above other TikTok screaming sounds, and could convey the collective frustration and anger of the last few years. So of course people are applying it to situations like, “Me going to the bookstore when I have unread books at home.”
Where’s it from?
It’s a scene from season 4, episode 7 of Ozark, in which Garner’s Ruth Langmore is trying to process the death of her cousin. Her performance in this season will likely net her another Emmy nomination; the majority of comments on the original TikTok echo this sentiment.
Garner has an unofficial fan page on TikTok, and there’s an Ozark hive there too. She’s currently in another Netflix series, Inventing Anna, playing scammer Anna Delvey. That show is already being broken down on TikTok.
As one tweet pointed out this week, between Ozark and Inventing Anna, there’s a lot of talk about Garner’s performances, but 2019’s The Assistant (streaming on Hulu) is well worth checking out, too.
Sound off
The sound has also been used in some Euphoria content, which dominated TikTok for the last month. A piece of audio from Euphoria has become a TikTok meme as well: When Cal (Eric Dane) confronts his family about his sexuality, and refuses to put away his penis. He responds, “I am who I am ” when asked the second time.
This sound also exposed Howie Mandel’s TikTok habits.
