Feels Good Man review: A fascinating look at Pepe the Frog

Arthur Jones’ colorful documentary Feels Good Man traces the journey of Pepe the Frog from underground comic book character to alt-right hate symbol.

When it comes to internet culture as a whole, the general consensus towards memes is that they’re something not to be taken seriously – they’re popular in short, blazing bursts, and then burn out back into oblivion just as quickly when the internet’s next new fascination comes along. However, while most meme creators enjoy their five seconds of fame and milk it for all it’s worth, Feels Good Man takes a look at what happens when an image created to do nothing more than entertain and amuse becomes an instantly-recognizable symbol of hatred.

Directed by Arthur Jones, Feels Good Man tells the story of Matt Furie, the comic book artist behind the once-popular internet meme Pepe the Frog. The film traces Matt (and Pepe’s) journey from what initially starts out as harmless jokes from bodybuilders on Myspace turns into 4chan trolling, a political tool for Donald Trump’s election, and eventually a symbol of hatred and bigotry as branded by the anti-defamation league.

Straight from the start, Jones immediately establishes a unique tone to the film that mirrors its complicated subject matter – lighthearted, humorous, and colorful, but with a twinge of hopelessness and despair that’s a constant reminder of what has become of a once harmless idea. It’s not so much jumping between hot-and-cold as it is a constant paradox in terms of tone, which provides for, on the whole, a very enjoyable, entertaining viewing experience.

At the center of it all is Matt Furie – who is interestingly cast not necessarily as the hero of the tale, but more so as a well-intentioned young artist who finds himself in over his head and who often critically misunderstands his surroundings. Although his artwork is colorful, accessible, and visually distinct, the comics that Pepe is first featured in aren’t particularly insightful of groundbreaking – more like the kind of stuff that an aimless twenty-something artist would produce with his friends – which is exactly what it is.

This means that while Furie certainly isn’t hurting anyone, he clearly wasn’t the most well-equipped to deal with the sudden and bizarre snafu he found himself in after his character was co-opted by the alt-right. Furie seems to be a living embodiment of the film’s title (and Pepe’s catchphrase) – “feels good man” – he’s not necessarily apathetic, but he floats through the early years of Pepe’s popularity and doesn’t take the correct action until it’s too late.

However, despite Furie’s frequent ineptitude or lack of motivation, he’s still very much cast in a positive light – after all, he was just the unlucky fellow who found his art gaining massive media attention – he never intended for any of it to happen to him.

The way the film attempts to chronicle and break down the rise of Pepe in popularity is fascinating, just because it’s one of the first large-scale attempts we can think of where someone tries to chart how a meme gains popularity – which, by design, is nearly impossible. There’s no formula to create a meme, nor is there on that decides what will become popular, so the filmmakers have to work backward in order to explain how Pepe moved from being a MySpace reaction image to a 4chan icon to a fixture in Alex Jones’ merchandise.

Also fascinating from an analytical perspective are the people are chosen by Jones to be interviewed – everyone from Furie’s close friends to fellow animators, to political analysts and professors who’ve written books on internet culture. It’s almost laughable trying to watch well-educated, highly qualified professionals provide a concrete explanation as to why a frog pulling his underwear down to poop became a symbol for the alt-right, but at the same time, you have to credit them (and the filmmakers) for trying, because it’s an extraordinarily ambitious undertaking that few have succeeded in.

After analyzing (or attempting to analyze) the rise of Pepe as a meme, the film spends a surprising amount of time going into detail about how Pepe helped influence the election of President Donald Trump. Admittedly, we’re a little skeptical as to whether Pepe’s influence is as significant as the film makes it seem, but without question, Pepe’s presence engaged 4Chan politically in a way that was unheard of until that point – and the documentary does an excellent job of making sure the audience understands this.

The rest of the film is dedicated to the analysis (and impact) of the change (or lack thereof) of Pepe as a pro-Trump meme to a pro-alt-right meme, and as the documentary suggests, there seems to be a very fine line between the two categories at times. After seeing the economical and emotional impact that Pepe’s hijacking took on Furie, it’s difficult to watch clips of neo-Nazis proudly strutting around in Pepe merchandise, but as hard as it is to watch, it’s also necessary to understand why Furie struggled for so long with how to reign in the monster he’d inadvertently created.

In the end, Feels Good Man is a fascinating and wildly entertaining documentary that attempts to do to the impossible: Categorically explain how a meme becomes a meme. With interludes of original art by Furie, the film is a colorful and gripping story that could only be told in the 21st century.

Have you seen Feels Good Man? What’s your favorite documentary? Sound off in the comments below.