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Him coming through the hedges was based on my childhood behavior of walking through hedges in my neighborhood.
I would pretend that I was dimension-hopping, Mirkin says.
Once it hit the mainstream, the meme mushroomed on Twitter, where quick-fire reaction GIFs are king.
), but Homer Backs Into the Bushes remains the most ubiquitous.
Its even inspired a surfing app game calledHide Homer.
As Mirkin points out, the Homer meme is no exception.
So its great the way its been changed, but its not the original intention.
I was brand new.
The internet loved the reference-within-a-reference, and evenTimemagazinecovered the rare instance of theSimpsonsuniverse folding in on itself.
Mazariegos was stunned by the reaction.
he remembers, calling the positive response a pretty fun, cool way to get welcomed into theSimpsonsfold.
So when I saw it as a meme, of course it went into my phone, he recalls.
It fits into whatever people are trying to say in that moment.
As for meme culture, he drew an analogy with early New York City rap.
Its a great compliment, says Mirkin of the cultural feedback loopThe Simpsonshas created.
Memes remain more alchemy than science.
After that, the culture takes over.
Make it weird and different enough like Homer teleporting through a hedge and maybe itll stick.
But, he adds, theres still a lot of luck involved.
Thats part of the fun of it.
It really is a roulette wheel, and youre just happy when something works.
