Content Warning: Portions of this entry make mention of suicide, which some may find difficult or upsetting. If you need support or are dealing with suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's website or call 1-800-273-8255.
About
Snap Back to Reality refers to a series of video edits that begin with a clip depicting something desirable or "dream-like," often a scene from an anime series featuring an attractive female character, followed by a cut to an image of rapper Eminem and a sample of the lyrics "snap back to reality" from his song "Lose Yourself," then a cut to a panicked-looking face, and finally an image of a stickman who has committed suicide, as if someone is snapping back to reality and promptly ending their life. The format became popular throughout early 2021.
Origin
On July 17th, 2020, Instagram[3] user squidysgalaxy uploaded a video consisting of a still image of Eminem with his hands out and the lyrics "snap back to reality" from "Lose Yourself," garnering over 40,000 views in seven months (shown below).
On November 20th, YouTuber[1] aDonis uploaded a video that begins with an Asian woman feeding someone from a POV shot. The video then reveals the person being fed to be wearing a virtual reality helmet with a feeding device attached to it. The clip is taken from a Japanese ad for the helmet.[16] Suddenly, the video cuts to the same image of Eminem as the lyrics "snap back to reality" play, followed by a cut to a panicked looking face and heavy breathing, then a gunshot sound effect over an image of a stickman who has killed himself taken from a popular Are Ya Winning, Son? meme,[15] presumably because the "dream" was better than reality (shown below). The video gained over 700 views in three months.
On November 22nd, YouTuber[2] Willow the Ink Succubus uploaded a new version of the video using a meme depicting a man being comforted by an anime girl in place of the woman feeding the man, again only garnering over 400 views in three months (shown below, left). On November 30th, YouTuber[4] Technium uploaded another new version, gaining over 4,000 views in a comparable span of time (shown below, right).
On December 1st, Instagram[5] user pampam.mp4 reuploaded aDonis' original version of the meme, this time garnering over 215,000 views in three months. On December 2nd, the video was reuploaded to YouTube[6] again by user daplon, garnering over 499,000 views in a comparable span of time and helping spread the format.
Spread
On December 4th, YouTuber[7] Foop uploaded a video that begins with an animation of a woman cracking an egg on her stomach by Twitter[8] user Telepeturtle followed by the "snap back to reality" ending, garnering over 4.2 million views in just under three months (shown below).
On December 22nd, YouTuber[9] Tommy Two Things uploaded a new version of the meme using footage from the video game series Fire Emblem, garnering over 1.4 million views in two months (shown below, left). On January 31st, 2021, YouTuber[10] Rimanda uploaded another version of the meme, garnering over 661,000 views in a month (shown below, right).
On February 2nd, YouTuber[11] Nock uploaded a version using an animation by YouTuber[12] VanAnimation, garnering over 1.3 million views in a month (shown below).
By February 2021, the format, as well as the phrase "snap back to reality" in conjunction with similar media relating to waking up from a good dream to a worse world, started to spread, particularly as a post title on Reddit. For example, on February 26th, Redditor /u/ARDmation2 posted an original Team Fortress 2 animation following the format with the title "snap back to reality" to /r/tf2sh*tposterclub,[13] garnering over 1,600 upvotes in five days (shown below).
snap back to reality from r/tf2sh*tposterclub
On the same day, Redditor /u/rooster_hen123 posted an image macro to /r/dankmemes[14] titled "*snaps back to reality*" joking about the struggle of waking up from a good dream, garnering over 6,300 upvotes in five days (shown below).
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
[1] YouTube – Snap back to reality
[2] YouTube – snap back to reality
[3] Instagram – squidysgalaxy
[4] YouTube – snap back to reality
[5] Instagram – pampam.mp4
[6] YouTube – Snap back to reality – meme
[7] YouTube – snap back to reality meme
[8] Twitter – Seconds are down below
[9] YouTube – Snapback to Reality
[10] YouTube – snap back to reality memes
[11] YouTube – Snapback to reality
[12] YouTube – VanAnimation – Pink hair girl animation
[13] Reddit – snap back to reality
[14] Reddit – snaps back to reality
[15] Know Your Meme – Suicide set 1/3
[16] VR Scout – VR Headset Uses Robot Arm To Feed You Candy
