Willem Dafoe Wide-Angle Close-Up

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About

Willem Dafoe Wide-Angle Close-Up refers to a wide-angle close-up shot of actor William Dafoe as Major John Gordo in the 2021 film The Card Counter. Starting in 2022, the image has been shared as a caption format and a reaction meme, often used to convey dejection and resignation.

Origin

On September 10th, 2021, the American drama film The Card Counter premiered. In the film, a close-up, wide-angle shot antagonist Major John Gordo, portrayed by Willem Dafoe, appears during a flashback sequence (still image shown below).^[1]

On April 22nd, 2022, X^[2] / Twitter user @Thafnineposted the earliest found meme utilizing the image, reacting to a game studio merging with Blizzard Entertainment. The post (shown below) received over 2,400 reposts and 20,000 likes in one month.

Spread

The image saw moderate spread on X through 2022. For example, on November 13th, 2022, X^[3] user @LolOverruleep made a viral caption post based on the image that received over 9,200 reposts and 166,000 likes in one year (shown below).

More notable caption memes based on the format were posted on X in 2023, with the image also being used as a reaction. For example, on July 26th, 2023, X^[4] user @BrndnStrssng posted a meme that received over 4,200 reposts and 53,000 likes prior to removal (shown below, left). On December 4th, tweleb @kirawontmiss used the image in a reaction post that received over 6,600 reposts and 126,000 likes on X^[5] in one day (shown below, right).