Death to the MPLA

About

Death to the MPLA refers to a clip from the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 in which military leader Jonas Savimbi rallies his troops against the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Online, the clip and an image macro based on it have been circulated as a bait-and-switch punchline, used to interrupt various videos and sexually suggestive content in particular. Other footage from the mission has also seen use in memes.

Origin

On November 18th, 2012, first-person shooter video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was released.^[1] During the first mission of the game,^[2] the main character Alex Mason is fighting under the command of the Angolan military leader Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, based on a real person of the same name. During the mission, Savimbi rallies his troops against the opposing side, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), by shouting various battle cries.

Our journey to victory has begun! Death to the MPLA!

On October 24th, 2018, iFunny^[3] user Khorshow posted a bait-and-switch meme in which Hit or Miss was interrupted by a still image of Savimbi holding a grenade launcher, captioned "Stop Watching This Brother, We Must Fight the MPLA." The post received over 460 smiles on the app in two years. On the same day, YouTuber^[4] Big Head ET reposted the video, gaining over 203,000 views in the same period (shown below).

Spread

In the following months, the clip and references to it saw a limited spread on iFunny. For example, on October 27th, 2018, iFunny^[5] user SPEEDWEED posted an alternative version of the image macro. On February 1st, 2019, iFunny user BasedSatan^[6] posted a Don't Look at Her meme that received 30 smiles.

On May 12th, 2019, Instagram user gaydoger^[7] posted a Boys Locker Room meme based on an extended version of the scene, gaining over 18,900 views and 3,500 likes. A May 14th iFunny^[9] repost of gaydoger's meme received over 490 smiles in one year (shown below, left). On May 13th, 2019, Instagram^[8] user fishn.chipss (bonelessjeff.mp4) posted another Boys Locker Room meme based on another clip from the mission, gaining over 12,500 views and 1,800 likes (shown below, right).

On May 17th, 2020, iFunny^[10] user Landland_Official posted the original clip used in the Hit or Miss meme, gaining over 1,200 smiles.

In the following year, the clip, together with similar clips and macros from Halo and other video games,^[11] saw extensive use as a bait-and-switch punchline in various videos, particularly on iFunny and Instagram, often used to interrupt sexually suggestive content. For example, an October 8th, 2019, meme reposted by iFunny^[12] user phantom115 received over 32,500 smiles in seven months. A November 23rd Hazbin Hotel meme by Instagram^[13] user andrew_lastname gained over 16,900 views and 2,700 likes.

Various Examples

Template

Search Interest

External References