About
Baneposting, also known as “For You”, is an image macro and quote meme that refers to a scene from the 2012 superhero film The Dark Knight Rises. The meme originated on 4chan and received mainstream media attention after users from the site flooded a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” interview with Tom Hardy with references to the meme.
Origin
The Dark Knight Rises was released in July 2012. Although the film received positive critical reception, some felt that certain scenes featured unnatural or “clunky” dialogue. Users of 4chan focused on the opening scene of the movie, in which a group of hooded men are captured by a CIA agent (Aidan Gillen). The agent takes the men aboard a plane and interrogates them by threatening to throw them out the window if they do not divulge information about the mysterious mercenary Bane (Tom Hardy). One of the hooded men is revealed as Bane himself, and after an exchange of threats, Bane’s team attacks the plane and rescues him.
4chan users took issue with various lines of dialogue in the scene; in particular, the following:
CIA agent:“If I pull that [mask] off, will you die?”
Bane:“It would be extremely painful…”
CIA agent:“You’re a big guy.”
Bane:“…for you.”
The editing of the scene and Hardy’s delivery of the dialogue makes it unclear whether his meaning is “I’m a big guy, compared to you” or “if you pull my mask off, it will be extremely painful, for you.” Although the issue was hotly debated among members of 4chan’s /tv/ (Television and film) board during the summer of 2012, the debate eventually died down.[3]
Spread
The controversy was revisited on April 23, 2014 when it was announced that Tom Hardy would be hosting an “Ask Me Anything” interview session on Reddit, in which users can ask him questions. 4chan decided to “raid” the interview and ask Hardy questions pertaining to the now-infamous scene from The Dark Knight Rises. Users were encouraged to downvote legitimate questions about the subject of the interview (Hardy’s new film Locke) and only upvote questions featuring references to the opening scene of TDKR. Hundreds of 4chan users descended on the AMA session, asking a variety of questions that contained various references to the scene, such as the phrases “big guy” and “for you” and variations of the question “Tell me about Bane, why does he wear the mask?”[1]
Hardy initially responded to some of the questions, but Reddit’s moderators eventually intervened when they realized what was happening and shut down the thread. Of particular note, one user asked Hardy what Bane meant by “for you,” and Hardy replied that "It was written meaning it would be painful for you, but I intoned it meaning “I’m a big guy for you.”"[2] Many users on 4chan, and even some media sources, joked that they had “crashed the thread, with no survivors,” as a reference to Bane’s threat in the scene.[3]
In the wake of the Hardy AMA, “Baneposting” rapidly spread throughout 4chan’s /tv/ board. By April 26, a huge number of submissions involved some reference to the meme. Many of the lines from the movie’s opening scene are referenced as part of the meme:
- “Dr. Pavel, I’m CIA.” Aidan Gillen’s otherwise unnamed CIA agent introduces himself in this manner, leading to 4chan users simply calling him “CIA,” as if this were his name.
- “The masked man.” One of Bane’s undercover henchmen says “masked” with an accent, causing some users to suggest he is saying “mask-eta” or “mosquito” and subsequently refer to Bane as “the mosquito man.”
- “Bane?” The CIA agent’s response to the above line. Gillan delivers the line in an odd manner that makes him sound accusatory or angry rather than inquisitive.
- “If I pull that off, will you die?” “It would be extremely painful.” “You’re a big guy.” “For you.” Described above. In many cases, a user will respond with “for you” in a context where it does not make sense.
- “Was getting caught part of your plan?” and “What’s the next step of your master plan?” From the CIA agent’s interrogation of Bane.
- “Crashing this plane…with no survivors!” Bane’s response to the above line. This line received particular criticism, as Hardy initially delivered it in a more menacing tone in the December 2011 IMAX preview of the scene. For unclear reasons, all of Hardy’s dialogue was redubbed for the final film, giving him a different accent and tone.
- “Somebody get this hothead outta here!” A line from a different character in an unrelated scene, that is typically used as a response to someone criticizing the Baneposting meme. The line was also used repeatedly during the Reddit AMA when moderators tried to retake control of the thread.
Additionally, on April 20, Aidan Gillen’s Game of Thrones character, Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish, returned to the series after a lengthy absence. This coincidental timing led to many /tv/ users crossing over the Baneposting meme with Game of Thrones. The Baneposting meme, like many rapidly growing memes on 4chan, has been criticized by users who feel it is detracting from discussion on /tv/ and other boards.
Notable Examples
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External References
[1]Reddit – Tom Hardy “Ask Me Anything” session / 4-23-2014
[2]Yahoo Movies Canda – The 7 Bane-iest responses from Tom Hardy’s Reddit AMA / 4-24-2014
[3]The Daily Dot – 4chan hilariously derailed Tom Hardy’s AMA, and here’s why / 4-24-2014