Today in Pop Culture Conspiracy Theories: Is Netflix Manufacturing ‘Bird Box’ Memes?

We come to you now with a very important story. Perhaps the most important story you will ever read. Since Bird Box dropped on Netflix December 21, the internet has been inundated with Bird Box memes. Lots of them. So many, in fact, that it’s starting to get suspicious. Now, a new conspiracy theory has surfaced suggesting Netflix is creating the memes themselves, in an effort to drum up more awareness for the Sandra Bullock film. Who knows how high his conspiracy goes!?

My mom trying to wake me up @ 5 am for school. #birdbox #birdboxnetflix #birdboxmemes pic.twitter.com/sga9LUVzEI

— Mel (@SisterMelondy) December 27, 2018

Me pretending to see none of these bird box memes… pic.twitter.com/5iA7FAIe6Q

— Elvin. (@ElvinAdan_G) December 26, 2018

girl and boy looking at each other when sandra bullock said one of them has to look #birdbox pic.twitter.com/IFqPFNLKma

— ? (@balencigars) December 25, 2018

Above, you’ll see just a small sample of the many Bird Box memes that have been flooding the web since the film hit Netflix on December 21. Memes cropping up after a film’s release is nothing new – Get Out, for example, spawned memes almost immediately. But something seems…off here. Is Bird Box really that popular? Sure, the film stars well-known actress Sandra Bullock, and it debuted right before the holiday weekend, giving more people time to watch it. And yet, at the same time, the popularity seems to be too strong, and sudden.

There’s a new theory floating around that might explain everything: the memes are being created by Netflix, using fake accounts. Before we go any further down this crazy rabbit hole, let’s just say there is no proof that this is true! It’s just a wild theory, and even if it is true, it’s kind of harmless and funny. But several people have floated this idea, including film critic Emily Yoshida.

I was kind of shocked after looking for my Bird Box review on friday to see the zone so flooded with memes… almost as if they had been pre-made, waiting in a folder on an intern's computer… ready to launch at 2:00AM ET

— Emily Yoshida (@emilyyoshida) December 28, 2018

This may sound like a lot of effort in the name of advertising a Sandra Bullock movie, but it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility. And it’s working – in the sense that it’s getting the Bird Box name out there. Typing Bird Box memes into Google brings up a whole slew of websites aggregating those memes, further spreading their reach.

Of course, this doesn’t mean every meme related to Bird Box is fake. If there’s any truth to this theory, what’s likely happening is normal people are spotting the abundance of memes, and deciding to get in on the action as well. This furthers brand awareness. It’s win-win for Netflix. As has been reported in the past, the streaming service doesn’t gauge interest via viewer numbers. Instead, it looks for online engagement. The more an original film or TV show is talked about on social media, the more successful Netflix considers it. With that in mind, the possibility that Netflix is counterfeiting these memes seems highly likely. We’re through the looking glass here, people. Black is white, and up is down.

Or this is all a misunderstanding, and people really love Bird Box. Either/or.

The post Today in Pop Culture Conspiracy Theories: Is Netflix Manufacturing ‘Bird Box’ Memes? appeared first on /Film.