You Are Like Papa

Submission 11,867

Part of a series on Stranger Things. [View Related Entries]

About

You Are Like Papa is a line said by the Stranger Things character Eleven as she accuses her adoptive father Jim Hopper of lying to her just like Dr. Brenner, aka Papa, did during her childhood. In July 2022, the soundbite from the scene gained virality on TikTok, while fans of the show used the catchphrase to humorously complain about others telling them truths they don't want to hear.

Origin

On October 27th, 2017, episode four "Chapter Four: Will the Wise" of the Netflix mystery drama series Stranger Things premiered.^[1] In one scene of the episode, the character Eleven, portrayed by Millie Bobby Brown, argues with her adoptive father Jim Hopper, accusing him of lying and behaving like Dr. Brenner (referred to by Eleven as "Papa"), who's a manipulative father figure from her past (video shown below).

- You have got to understand that there are consequences to your actions.
- You are like papa!

On June 13th, 2022, TikToker^[2] mediaclipped uploaded the clip to the app. The upload received over 2.3 million views and 307,000 likes in one month (shown below, left). On July 17th, 2022, TikToker edenkyonas posted the earliest found viral TikTok^[3] that used the soundbite from the upload, with the video gaining over 1.3 million likes in nine days (shown below, right).

Spread

In the following days, the sound effect achieved massive virality on the app, with over 47,300 videos using it uploaded as of July 26th, 2022.^[4] For example, on July 20th, TikToker^[5] nicholasflopmon posted a lip sync clip that gained over 1.7 million views and 480,000 likes in six days (shown below, left). On the same day, TikToker^[6] sashacleaver made an upload that gained over 3.1 million views and 627,000 likes in the same period (shown below, center). On July 22nd, 2022, TikToker^[7] @anskies4 posted a video based on the scene that gained over 4.6 million views and 1.4 million likes in four days (shown below, right).

The viral spread of the soundbite on TikTok was followed by the recognition of the catchphrase on Twitter and other platforms. For example, on July 21st, 2022, Twitter^[8] user @fruityfourlvr made a post about it that gained over 7,600 retweets and 92,100 likes in five days (shown below, left). On July 24th, 2022, Twitter^[9] user @h_aley made a tweet that gained over 22,200 retweets and 159,000 likes in two days (shown below, right).