Kubrick Stare

About

Kubrick Stare refers to a copypasta and catchphrase written by Twitter user @SAMOYEDCORE (formerly @DxGGEAUX) that gives a short description of a "directorial technique" employed by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick in which an actor's derangement is portrayed by them glaring at the camera menacingly with a forward tilt to their head. The copypasta was first written by its original author in 2019 and reposted in 2020, often alongside a four-photo grid showing various Kubrick characters doing the stare, with one of the images swapped out for a meme or joke reference.

Origin

The "Kubrick Stare" sometimes called the "Kubrick Glare" refers to a frame often seen in Stanley Kubrick's films. The phrase "Kubrick Crazy Stare" is a term that was used by Kubrick's director of photography, Doug Milsome, and first mentioned in a Kubrick biography written by Vincent LoBrutto.^[1]

In June 2019, now-deleted Twitter^[2] user @DxGGEAUX posted a tweet about the Kubrick stare, alongside a four-panel photo block containing examples of the Kubrick Stare. The last photo in the block was Dennis (portrayed by Glenn Howerton) from the show It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. The original tweet received an unknown number of likes and comments and was reposted to Imgur on June 28th, 2019, gathering over 2,000 upvotes (seen below).

The copypasta reads:

The “Kubrick Stare” is one of Stanley Kubrick‘s most recognizable directorial techniques, a method of shot composition where a character stares at the camera with a forward tilt, to convey to the audience that the character in question is at the peak of their derangement.

Spread

In 2019, the copypasta was used several times on Twitter, with one of the images in a grid of Kubrick stills being switched out for a joke image. On July 7th, 2019, Twitter^[3] user @NoahPasternak posted the copypasta with a picture of the Nostalgia Critic. The post gathered over 9,000 likes in over three years (seen below, left). On May 2nd, 2020, Twitter^[4] user @tyesheriidan posted the copypasta with a picture from the movie Radio Rebel, gathering over 170,000 likes in over two years (seen below, right).

On June 17th, 2020, Twitter user @DxGGEAUX new account, @SAMOYEDCORE^[5] posted a version of the meme where the fourth photo was switched out for San Francisco Karen. The post gathered over 69,000 likes in roughly two years (seen below).

On January 9th, 2022, Twitter^[6] user @mikehbackupacc quote tweeted a clip of Elmo from Sesame Street with the copypasta, gathering over 30,000 likes in a year (seen below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References