Entanglement: The Value Of Sad Reaction Images

It’s hard to see a positive force of energy like Will Smith reduced to tears. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what we got earlier this month. Well, minus the “hard to see” part -- people across the web are actually having a pretty good time with poor Smith’s sorrow.

Rumors of Jada Pinkett Smith and R&B singer August Alsina’s affair started circulating in April 2020. All the rumors came to a head on July 10th, when Will appeared on his wife’s Facebook talk show, Red Table Talk, to confirm her affair.

In the interview, she assures viewers that Will didn’t give her permission to have the affair, as Alsina had previously implied. Instead, she describes it as an “entanglement” after a rough patch in their marriage. Her use of the word “entanglement,” combined with a screenshot of Will appearing as if he was on the verge of tears, quickly went viral. Sad Will Smith, also known as Entanglement, is now a staple of sad reaction images,.

Sad Will Smith joins the ranks of other sad reaction images, like Sad Keanu, Crying Michael Jordan, Sad Kanye, Sad Morpheus and Sad Papaw. To name every sad reaction image, or “sad react,” used in memes would be a monumental task. There’s a lot of sadness across the web -- at least, that’s how it appears considering the vast number of sad reacts used on a daily basis. From Crying Cat to the majority of Wojaks, you never have to look far to find a sad face on Twitter or Reddit. There are whole Facebook pages dedicated to sad reactions, known as “sad reacts only” pages. From an outsider's perspective, the internet's proclivity for sad reacts can appear almost concerning.

Happy reactions have their place, too, but sad reactions seem to be the first avenue many memers travel down. Before Sad Will Smith popped up, there were already a few examples of happy WIll Smith memes, such as Will Smith With A Camera, just like there’s a Sad Keanu and a Happy Keanu. Nearly every other Will Smith meme depicts him with a smile on his face. These aren’t always used as mere happy reaction images, though. Instead, they’re used almost exclusively as meme formats with a deeper meaning.

Sad Will Smith acts as both. You can insert the raw screenshot into any comment section to show your misery, and the emotion comes across hard -- everyone feels his sorrow. But why do we like to openly display our sadness through images like this on the web?

Schadenfreude is a German term that describes the experience of feeling pleasure from others’ pain. In meme culture, schadenfreude happens almost every time a celebrity shows a form of public sadness. Celebrities hold a high place in our culture, including internet culture. For many, they rule social media just by signing up for it, with some of the highest follower counts and most subscribed YouTube pages (ahem, Will Smith). Considering this, it’s no wonder memers are so eager to dunk on celebrities when the opportunity presents itself. There’s no way Smith wants to see his sad face plastered all over the web, but that decision is ultimately out of his control. As a society, it's fair to say that we typically love seeing figures of happiness or success knocked down a peg -- it’s schadenfreude, what can you do?

Not everyone shares sad reactions to fulfill feelings of schadenfreude, though. Others feel a sense of comfort by sharing in their sadness through the use of sad reactions. These sad images give users a sense of comfort and show them they’re not alone in their feelings. A study from Scientific Reports supports the idea that people with depression prefer sad memes to happy ones, as they uplift the poster more than happy memes. A similar phenomenon occurs by listening to sad music when you’re down. Research shows that doing this actually makes people happier and gives them a sense of wellbeing. In the same way, sad reactions show us that everyone -- even Will Smith -- succumbs to sadness. Not everyone is necessarily trying to make fun of Smith here, as many are simply trying to relate to him through mutually shared emotions. That's hard to do when he's acting in a big movie or bungee jumping into the Grand Canyon from a helicopter. It is easier when he's showing such raw, human emotion on the web because it's relatable.

When it comes down to it, it’s no surprise that sad reacts are often more valuable than happy ones, especially in a year as riddled with turmoil as 2020. So, keep sharing Sad Will Smith, memers. There’s no shame in enjoying a good sad react.

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