By now, everyone has surely seen Pepe the Frog at least once, whether it be whilst scrolling innocently through the web or even stumbling upon it on the news or late night talk shows. What most people aren’t aware of, however, is the story behind this popular Internet meme. The documentary Feels Good Man from director Arthur Jones reveals the origin of Pepe starting with artist Matt Furie, Pepe’s creator, and how his character somehow became twisted into a symbol for white supremacy. 

As most Internet users across the world will know, once you post something online, it is no longer just yours. Feels Good Man details this fascinating and equally maddening evolution, where something that started off as innocent fun in the form of a character in a comic, quickly snowballed out of control once co-opted by the alt-right. One example of this is when Pepe got roped into being a symbol during the 2016 United States presidential election. 

This is an insightful documentary on the good and bad of Internet culture that allows the viewer to get perspectives from all sides, not just from Matt Furie and his friends and family who were also affected, but also users who experienced firsthand and even contributed to this evolution online, and it does this without ever condoning their actions. In fact, this documentary truly shows how those people online cowardly hid behind the irony of a meme to excuse themselves from any accountability while spreading such hateful messages.

After witnessing a frustrating, and at times, genuinely heartbreaking battle against this widespread glorification of violence and racism, Feels Good Man ends on a hopeful note, one that transcends just a meme on the Internet, but instead represents a larger movement that is going on in the real world.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Matt Furie

DIRECTOR: Arthur Jones 

WRITERS: Arthur Jones, Giorgio Angelini, Aaron Wickenden

SYNOPSIS: A documentary film about the Internet meme Pepe the Frog.