Meme Overview

The Anakin and Padme meme, also called the 'For the Better, Right?' meme, is a four-panel exploitable image format based on scenes from the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. This format typically features a setup, response, and punchline, with a unique arrangement that combines the setup and punchline in the first panel, followed by auxiliary panels.

How It Began

This meme originates from a scene where Anakin Skywalker (portrayed by Hayden Christensen) and Padmé Amidala (played by Natalie Portman) share a romantic picnic, discussing their differing views on the governance of the Galactic Republic. While the dialogue includes the phrase 'I Don't Think the System Works,' the lines used in the meme are entirely fabricated and not present in the actual film. The first instance of this meme appeared on Twitter on April 21, 2021, by the account @starwarsposting, which focuses on sharing humorous fake Star Wars quotes. This tweet received around 100,000 upvotes and 16,000 retweets within two months. Additionally, the meme's first significant post on Reddit was made by DaltarIT24 in the /r/memes subreddit, garnering 42,300 upvotes in one month.

Meme Evolution

The meme gradually gained popularity across various subreddits following its initial posts. The first notable spread occurred when Redditor XipingVonHozzendorf shared it in the /r/dankmemes subreddit on May 21, 2021, achieving 83,200 upvotes in just 12 days. It wasn't until early June that it began to gain traction in /r/PrequelMemes, where users noted that the dialogue was not from the film. A specific post highlighting this fact was made by Redditor kyrroti on May 31, 2021, resulting in 32,700 upvotes within three days.