Contents
- 1 Quick Video Explainer: WTF is “Press F to Pay Respects”?
- 2 The Origin
- 3 Criticism
- 4 Meme Spread
- 5 Conan O’Brien
- 6 Intense Paying Respect
- 7 The 21 Best Press F to Pay Respects Memes
- 8 Stan Lee Lego Respect
- 9 VR Tic Tac Toe Respects
- 10 Reddit Gaming Dark Souls Respect
- 11 Hot vs New On Reddit
- 12 Demon’s Souls Online Service
- 13 USSR Ending
- 14 Elon Musk Dank Meme
- 15 Hawaii Fallout Gamers
- 16 History Memes
- 17 B Emoji Ban
- 18 Mexico’s Rescue Pup, Frida Muralized
- 19 PC Parts Shop Fire
- 20 Sid Meier’s Civilization
- 21 Fake Kenyan Doctor
- 22 Dank Memes
- 23 Wii Shop Channel Shuts Down
- 24 LeafyIsHere Dead Channel
- 25 @Keemstar Account Suspension
- 26 Water Cooled Ram
- 27 Anime Meme
- 28 Scottish People Twitter
- 29 Summing Up
In this post, we examine the Press F to Pay Respects Meme, evaluating its origin, dissemination, and also 21 of the best memes that emerged from this viral, gaming catchphrase.
The Press F to Pay Respects Meme comedically references a funeral cutscene phrase that occurs in the 2014 first-person shooter Advanced Warfare (Source).
In recent years, the phrase “Press F to Pay Respects,” gets used in different ways. To some, the phrase functions sarcastically, especially when a streamer or speed runner experiences an epic fail. However, there are some who will use the phrase genuinely in times of grief. But what are its true origins?
Quick Video Explainer: WTF is “Press F to Pay Respects”?
The mundanematt YouTuber took a deep dive into the meme- watch below for the complete backstory:
The Origin
In the year 2014, the “Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare” got released. In this game, you play as Jack Mitchell a US Marine Corps. You fight invaders from South Korea and other terrorist organizations. At the end of the game, Private Will Iron, Jack’s best friend dies. Jack also losses his left arm in the action.
After the mission, you attend Mr. Iron’s funnel. During the cutscene, the game requests you to press F to pay respect for Iron as a fallen soldier.
Criticism
The cutscene received a lot of criticism from players and the media after the release of the game. Most of them claimed that it was a forced element that did not cohere with the memorial services.
Meme Spread
Despite this, the cutscene generated a lot of gifs, Vine videos, YouTube memes, create hilarious comics, and tons of Reddit threads with people pressing the F button on their keyboards in gallant salute to different ‘fallen’ heroes. Strangely, it’s sometimes used seriously- but from what we’ve seen, it’s typically used in a joking fashion. Reddit was huge in popularizing this meme- so big that the Out Of The Loop subreddit was called in to help explain the situation:
Why are people making fun of ”Press X to pay respect” from CoD: Advanced Warfare? from OutOfTheLoop
Conan O’Brien
Conan O’Brien even got into the act during his Clueless Gamer Segment:
In typical Conan fashion, he wasn’t impressed by the Xbox game and especially criticized the “Press X to Pay Respects” scene.
Intense Paying Respect
Another popular YouTube meme to come out of all this was created by the NFKRZ YouTube channel who produced this seizure-inducing video of “Intense Respect Paying”, which climaxes with a psychotic funeral sequence towards the end of the clip:
The 21 Best Press F to Pay Respects Memes
Stan Lee Lego Respect
One of the top posts on Reddit that uses this phrase ocurred after the death of Stan Lee, the Marvel impressario. It showcases him in a Lego form and many Redditors lined up to press F to pay respects to this comic entrepeneur.
VR Tic Tac Toe Respects
Reddit Gaming Dark Souls Respect
Hot vs New On Reddit
Demon’s Souls Online Service
Other users memorialized the death of the Demon’s Souls Online Service, which apparently was terminated.
USSR Ending
27 years ago, the USSR officially ceased to exist. Press F to pay respects from HistoryMemes
The ironic folks over in the History Memes subreddit paid tribute to the the USSR’s demise.
Elon Musk Dank Meme
A hugely popular post on Reddit asked Redditors to pay respects to Elon Musk who became the victim of a meme. The post reads “When you’re asking for memes but you become the meme”, showing a pensive, somewhat melancholy Musk considering his fate.
Hawaii Fallout Gamers
History Memes
A funny Tom & Jerry meme dealing with John F. Kennedy and funding cuts.
B Emoji Ban
Mexico’s Rescue Pup, Frida Muralized
PC Parts Shop Fire
A pc parts shop caught fire last night. Press F to pay respects. from pcmasterrace
Sid Meier’s Civilization
Fake Kenyan Doctor
Dank Memes
Wii Shop Channel Shuts Down
LeafyIsHere Dead Channel
@Keemstar Account Suspension
Water Cooled Ram
This one’s a bit confusing- one Redditor speculated that all these components were discarded because the technician was drilling holes for custom water cooling.
Anime Meme
This one goes over our heads, but according to a Redditor, the guys on first panel are Ugly Bastard and NTR guy. Though the Redditor isn’t sure who the third person is behind them with glasses.
Scottish People Twitter
If you can interpret the Scottish parlance here, the screenshot commands you to press F to pay respects for an impaired wheely bin that apparently was maimed during a “gaff party”.
Summing Up
A lot of Twitch, YouTube and Discord chats now use this phrase in moments of ironic and real grief. A good example is with the recent incident of shooting at Jacksonville. The shooting left at least two dead and many others injured. And during the live tribute stream, the “Press F to Pay Respects Meme,” phrase filled the sidebar.
The Press F to Pay Respects Meme is a pretty funny meme that doesn’t seem like it will go out of fashion any time soon. It keeps getting revived in various ways and seems to have long-term sustainability- a rarity in the fast-moving world of memes.
