Subtle Foreshadowing

Submission 260

Part of a series on Non-Linear Storytelling. [View Related Entries]

About

Subtle Foreshadowing is a catchphrase used ironically in specific non-linear storytelling memes in which the climax of a funny video is played several times throughout the video leading up to the actual moment, therefore foreshadowing the moment in the least subtle way possible. The non-linear storytelling meme started in mid-September 2024, with the catchphrase becoming specifically popularized in October a month later.on sites including YouTube, TikTok and X / Twitter.

Origin

On September 15th, 2024, the Instagram^[1] page @verylegendairy posted a video of a young boy trying to run through a spinning farm instrument, interspersing clips of him falling throughout the video, long before the video comes to an end and showing how he fell. The post gathered over 3.5 million likes in two weeks. This is the earliest known version of the non-linear storytelling meme.

It is unconfirmed exactly when the phrase "subtle foreshadowing" was first used alongside a non-linear storytelling meme. Some of the earliest examples were posted to YouTube^[2]^[3] on September 30th, 2024 by YouTubers CrustySoup (shown below) and OXYGENFREE, garnering over 14,000 and 4,200 views respectively in 10 days. Each video is titled "Subtle Foreshadowing."

Spread

The phrase became increasingly popularized alongside non-linear storytelling memes throughout October 2024, becoming the more well-used name for the meme trend as it spread. The trend became particularly prevalent on TikTok.

For example, on October 7th, an example of the meme titled "subtle foreshadowing" was posted to the subreddit /r/spunchbob,^[4] garnering over 2,000 upvotes in four days. On the same day, X^[5] user @yapture posted, "Addicted to those subtle foreshadowing videos 😭😭," garnering over 22,000 likes in the same span of time.

On October 8th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @.m0nst3rz posted a subtle foreshadowing video in which they added the text "subtle foreshadowing" over the edit, garnering over 4.8 million views in three days.

On the same day, TikToker^[7] @joshandmattdesign posted a video following the trend that gained over 2 million views in two days. The official Peppa Pig Instagram^[10] page posted a version of the meme that day, garnering over 74,000 likes in two days.

On October 10th, 2024, Forbes^[8] published an editorial about the trend. That same day, YouTuber^[9] Lessons In Meme Culture posted a video on the trend that gained over 300,000 views in a day.