Overview

The 'Are You Two Friends?' meme is a two-panel object-labeling format derived from a scene in the Star Trek: Voyager series, featuring characters Ensign Kim and Tuvok giving contradictory answers to the question of their friendship.

Background

The meme gained initial traction in July 2020 and saw a significant increase in popularity in April 2021. It plays on the humorous contradiction in the characters' responses, making it a versatile template for various contexts.

Meme History

The origins of the meme trace back to the January 15, 1997 episode titled 'Alter Ego' from season three of Star Trek: Voyager. In this episode, Ensign Kim and Tuvok find themselves in a love triangle involving a character named Marayana. During a pivotal scene, Marayana inquires whether Kim and Tuvok are friends, prompting them to give simultaneous but opposing answers: 'Yes' and 'No.' This scene inspired its first known meme on October 27, 2016, when Tumblr user captainsblogsupplemental shared images of the scene, gaining over 7,600 likes and reblogs over five years.

Internet Reaction

The meme saw further dissemination shortly after its initial spread, particularly through the Facebook page United Federation Of Leftist Memes, which posted the earliest known meme based on this scene on July 12, 2020. This post garnered over 1,600 reactions and 910 shares within a year. In mid-July, the format began to circulate more broadly, with significant engagement on Reddit, including a notable post in the /r/COMPLETEANARCHY subreddit that achieved over 4,400 upvotes. The format truly exploded in popularity on April 10, 2021, when Redditor duganaok's meme amassed over 20,300 upvotes in just 18 days, leading to widespread use across Reddit and Facebook.