Oceans Are Now Battlefields

Submission 19,348

Part of a series on Catchphrases. [View Related Entries]

About

Oceans Are Now Battlefields is the opening text from the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which reads, "Napoleon is master of Europe, only the British fleet stands before him, oceans are now battlefields." The quote became the subject of memes throughout the 2020s as a catchphrase and copypasta while the movie gained a reputation as a film that men perceivably enjoy. In March 2023, a man went viral online for getting the quote tattooed on his back, subsequently causing a resurgence of the meme.

Origin

On November 14th, 2003, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a movie about the Napoleonic wars, was released in theaters. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic the film seemingly started to see increased interest on streaming services.^[1]^[2] On September 21st, 2020, Twitter^[3] user @stephensajdak tweeted a photo of the opening text from the film, writing, "First time watching this one… are you guys aware that oceans are now battlefields?" garnering over 100 likes in three years. On December 31st, Twitter^[4] user @notabigjerk tweeted a similar image in the context of an if you play this song on New Years meme, garnering over 770 likes in three years (shown below).

April – 1805
Napoleon is master of Europe
Only the British fleet stands before him
Oceans are now battlefields

Spread

Memes referencing the quote became increasingly popularized over the following years. For example, on March 26th, 2022, Twitter^[5] user @iAmTheWarax made a post referencing the quote, garnering over 1,200 likes in a year. On November 7th, Twitter^[6] user @growing_daniel made a post about being a "Master and Commander guy," garnering over 11,000 views in four months.

On January 29th, 2023, Twitter^[7] user @JamColley posted a meme using the phrase "which means the oceans are now battlefields," garnering over 9,800 likes in two months (shown below).

On March 20th, Instagram^[8] tattoo artist nickcolella posted a photo of a man who got the opening text from the film tattooed on his back, garnering over 1,300 likes in two days (shown below). The post was shared to the subreddit /r/moviescirclejerk^[9] that day, garnering over 500 upvotes. It was also shared by Twitter^[10] user @thom_weights, garnering over 23,700 likes in two days.