Corecore

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About

Corecore refers to an aesthetic that's prevalent on TikTok under the hashtag "#corecore," specifically within so-called NicheTok circles of NicheTokers, that plays on the -core suffix by making a "core" out of the collective consciousness of all "cores." The aesthetic predominantly manifests into stylized video edits and meme compilations of glitzy, moldy and deep-fried shitpost videos akin to schizoposting and Gen Z signifiers. The aesthetic was first referenced on Tumblr in 2020 but was later viral on TikTok in 2022. Many corecore edits hark on sadness, depression and loneliness with many using sad slideshow audios. Others are more upbeat, using sped-up remixes and nightcore music. Originally, corecore videos used many British signifiers and harked on social change, global concerns and oversaturation of popular media. Going into 2023, corecore videos became more nonsensical. In January 2023, many news outlets like NBC, Time and Mashable shared articles about corecore.

History

The use of the -core suffix predates meme history, originally used to characterize musical genres with "hardcore" being the first. Starting in 2013, Normcore was then coined online, beginning what would later become a series of words with the -core suffix that didn't characterize music but rather aesthetics.

Due to the -core suffix's roots in musical genre characterization, the term "corecore" was first added to Urban Dictionary ^[1] to represent an imagined musical genre that is "the hardest musical form of all cores." Urban Dictionary user Kitty eM added the definition on September 9th, 2006. However, corecore music was not a real genre at the time.

Following the virality of "normcore," multiple -cores surfaced on platforms like Tumblr in the 2010s, such as Cottagecore in 2018 or Blokecore in 2021.

In 2020, Tumblr user muttgirl started using the hashtag "#corecore" frequently in the captions of their posts. For instance, on April 28th, 2020, muttgirl posted a Hannah Montana cigarette carton on Tumblr^[4] that used #corecore for the first time, gaining over 110 notes in two years (shown below, left). On October 29th, 2020, muttgirl posted an over-exploited If Nobody Got Me, I Know God Got Me meme to Tumblr^[5] with #corecore in the caption, gaining roughly 3,700 notes in two years (shown below, right).

Going into the 2020s, the concept of -cores became saturated, leading some to joke about the concept of "corecore." At first, these jokes were only based on the literal definition of the word "core." For instance, on December 14th, 2020, Twitter^[2] user rellortnocon tweeted, "corecore," in relation to items related to the movie The Core, gaining 11 likes in two years (shown below, left). On March 22nd, 2022, Twitter ^[3] user soupforeloise tweeted, "you've heard of cottagecore, now introducing Corecore," and attached four images of literal cores, gaining roughly 1,400 likes in eight days (shown below, right).

Inklings of the non-literal "corecore" concept surfacing on Twitter^[6]^[7] in the early 2020s, however, none of the utterances were viral.

Corecore on TikTok

Despite corecore's early usage on Tumblr, the aesthetic didn't become widespread until 2022 when TikTokers began posting stylized compilations using the hashtag "#corecore."^[8]

Starting in early 2021, video creators on TikTok began compiling seriously-toned movie scenes with meme references in videos that harked on sadness, disorientation and general confusion about the world. One of the earliest known, viral videos of such nature was posted on January 1st, 2021, by TikToker^[12] masonoelle who used clips ranging from American Psycho to Charli D'Amelio in order to portray an oversaturation of content that led to romanticized insanity in the consumer. The video received roughly 47,600 plays and 6,000 likes in two years (shown below, left). About a year later, on March 18th, 2022, TikToker^[13] highenquiries posted a similar video that used clips ranging from British filmmaker Adam Curtis to Nikocado Avocado. The video earned roughly 43,300 plays and 4,400 likes in nine months (shown below, right).

Both of the aforementioned TikToks, however, predate the use of the term Corecore and its coinciding hashtag #corecore" which later became associated with the video edit style. Between March 2022 and mid-2022, various Corecore-esque videos surfaced before the term's coinage. For instance, on May 18th, 2022, TikToker^[14] batmanisjustlikemefr posted a Corecore-esque video referencing Fight Club and Bladee, among other signifiers, that earned roughly 92,600 plays and 16,600 likes in seven months (shown below).

The first to post a corecore edit and coin the term on the platform was TikToker^[9] heksensabbat on July 16th, 2022, who clipped together scenes from the movie Taxi Driver (known for its influence on sigma male content), the movie Good Time and Family Guy, among others. Over the course of four months, the video received roughly 521,500 plays and 125,300 likes (shown below).

Following TikToker^[9] heksensabbat's video, others used #corecore en masse, gaining viral engagement. For instance, on July 19th, 2022, TikToker^[10] plantaniac made a stylized meme compilation with #corecore in the caption, gaining roughly 277,100 plays and 61,500 likes in four months (shown below, left). On October 26th, 2022, TikToker^[11] aka.gazz posted a corecore edit using a Bladee song and memes that were poignant at the time, such as scenes from DAHMER and My Reaction To That Information, gaining roughly 251,100 plays and 44,200 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

The genre of corecore edits went on to include many cat videos, video game footage and streamer content, among other seemingly randomized videos. By November 17th, 2022, #corecore had amassed roughly 39.8 million views on TikTok.^[8]