AboutWhat does the meme depict?
The 'Angry German Kid' meme features a boy, purportedly named Leopold, who is shown furiously and loudly typing at a computer keyboard, his face expressing extreme frustration. This scene is captured from a viral video where he is allegedly playing the game Unreal Tournament 2004. The video has been widely edited and parodied, with altered subtitles to depict Leopold in various humorous or exaggerated situations, reminiscent of the parody style seen in Hitler's Downfall memes or El Risitas interviews.
OriginWho did it first?
The video clip of the 'Angry German Kid' was initially broadcast by a German news program, Focus TV, which presented it with a fabricated backstory. According to this narrative, a father had covertly recorded his son, who supposedly suffers from ADHD, while he was playing a violent video game. The segment drew connections between the boy's behavior and a contemporary school shooting in Emsdetten, raising societal concerns about youth and media violence. The story gained further traction when Focus Online featured the clip in a video compilation of Germany's most successful Youtube videos. Despite appearing genuine due to the boy's impassioned German exclamations, it was later revealed that the scenarios in the video were staged, a fact Leopold confirmed in a note on his blog, where he clarifies the performed nature of his 'angry' videos. Additional insights into the backlash and personal repercussions faced by the boy due to these videos can be found in a translated article.[1]
Origin: 2006