LeVar Burton’s Homophones

This meme’s strategy is simplicity. The KISS (keep it simple silly) principle hard at work. Ingenious!

The central part of the joke is that ‘Due’ and ‘Do’ are homophones and sound the same when spoken. But in this case, they have nearly opposite meanings. It’s funny because we can relate strongly to both hating deadlines and procrastinating. We feel so strongly in fact that the hand gestures just don’t seem expressive enough. It’s a goofy thought to wave your hand at deadlines like you were passing on cranberries at Thanksgiving.

Second, this meme uses and abuses a classic template. The original meme showcases the musician Aubrey Drake Graham. Drake’s Wiki has two (!) sections discussing general controversy and his many public feuds—some serious tea on this Wiki. As you can imagine, people have some strong feelings about previous iterations of the meme. So, to gain virality and avoid stigma the maker of the meme swapped the rapper for beloved star LeVar Burton- teacher and overall cool guy. The best part: his Wiki doesn’t even have one controversy section!

With the wholesome meter at max, this meme is relatable, sharable, and good clean family fun. And that gets hahas at the Thanksgiving dinner table, and laugh reacts online. The dream!