AboutWhat does the meme depict?
The 'Whose Line' meme features an image macro template using a screen capture of Drew Carey from the improvisational comedy television show 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?'. In the image, Carey is usually depicted reading or looking down at a piece of paper, which sets the stage for the humorous alteration of his show's intro line. The typical format of the meme includes captions that follow the snowclone pattern "Welcome to X / Where Y's made up and the Z doesn't matter." This format is used to humorously critique or comment on various societal and cultural norms, institutions, or concepts.
OriginWho did it first?
The meme originated from the American version of 'Whose Line is it Anyway?', which first aired on August 5th, 1998. The show is well-known for its opening line by Drew Carey, who would introduce the show with, "Welcome to Whose Line is it Anyway, the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter." This opening line is pivotal to the meme's structure. Here's the clip from the show. The actual meme gained popularity when a Quickmeme page titled "Whose Line" was established on July 29th, 2011. This page allowed users to create their own versions of the meme by pairing the template image of Carey with custom captions. Notable early examples included captions like 'Welcome to the USA / where the government's made up and the debt doesn't matter,' capturing the meme's essence of playful and satirical commentary.[1]
Origin: 2011