What Is The 'I Saw The TV Glow' TikTok Trend? The Meaning Behind The Viral Trans Acceptance Trend Explained

Editor's Note: This explainer contains spoilers for I Saw the TV Glow; read at your own caution.

Many viewers are calling I Saw the TV Glow one of the most important movies of the year, and now, it's inspired a massive trend on TikTok.

The film, which is tied together with a heartwrenching allegory about the trans experience, has LGBTQ+ TikTokers and users, in general, sharing their experiences of both allowing the TV to glow and letting the glow dim, much to their regret.

But what exactly is the "I Saw the TV Glow trend" and what does it mean to "let the TV glow?" Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'I Saw The TV Glow' TikTok Trend?

I Saw the TV Glow is about a teenager named Owen and his friend Maddy, who bond over a show called The Pink Opaque, which is about two friends with psychic connections. Later in life, the friends reconnect and determine that they are the characters in the show, but they've been sent to another world. Maddy tries to get Owen to return to the world of The Pink Opaque, but he refuses and his life falls into shambles.

The movie is wrapped in an allegory for the transgender experience, with Owen ultimately refusing to be himself and live as a trans person, which results in him having an unfulfilled life. Throughout the movie, the glow of a TV is used as a metaphor to represent Owen's desire to be himself.

In mid-November 2024, TikToker @rekiloverr_r posted a video captioned, "when the TV is glowing but I've been trying to dim the light my whole life," garnering over a million views in a week.

While it's unconfirmed if this is the true start of the trend, further videos about the metaphorical glow of the TV started appearing on TikTok over the following days.

How Is 'I Saw The TV Glow' Used In Memes?

In the I Saw the TV Glow trend, TikTokers use the metaphor from the film to tell their own stories of either deciding to let the TV glow or ignore it. In many cases, this is used in reference to being trans, with letting the TV glow meaning the user has accepted their trans identity and ignoring it or letting it dim meaning they decided to shy away from it.

In a broader sense, the metaphor is being used outside of the trans experience to reference other ways of being yourself.

While the film is mainly about the trans experience, with the writer and director also being trans, it can also be seen as an allegory for being yourself despite what others think. This has resulted in a lot of both heartbreaking and hopeful examples on TikTok throughout November.

For the full history of the I Saw the TV Glow meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.