You think you just fell out of the coconut tree? Buddy, do I have news for you.
If you're like me, you found out about Joe Biden ending his presidential campaign and endorsing Kamala Harris not through an official news alert, but through a meme texted into a group chat filled with 25-year-olds. The meme was probably riddled with coconuts, Harris's manic laughter, and a slime-green color filter. But why? Allow me, Lifehacker's resident Gen Z whisperer, to do my best to explain.
But first, a little about my authority when it comes to memes: I have over 11 million likes on TikTok, I'm in multiple group chats that share tweets around the clock, and I do not remember 9/11. So, if you're confused about the connection between coconuts, "brat summer," and presidential candidate Kamala Harris, you can trust I know what I'm talking about. Here's what you need to know to understand what the young people are talking about.
Let's begin with a brief assessment of the state of meme culture. First, post-irony is in. Or maybe even meta-irony. All you need to know is the crux of a lot of jokes these days is not being able to tell where the truth lies.
For instance, when Hillary Clinton's "Pokémon GO to the polls" was making the rounds, people were earnestly and truly mocking Clinton. But when it comes to Harris and her coconut tree, there are so many layers of irony involved that the resulting confusion is itself part of the joke. Take this thread of Kamala fancams (that is, fan-made video edits idolizing and romanticizing Harris). The sincerity behind a "Kamalafied" club remix is pretty unclear. So as we dig into the origins of all the Harris memes, it's important to understand that the line between the earnest and the ironic is going to be blurry. And that's the joke.
The number one Harris-inspired meme involves the coconut tree. I can vouch for the popularity of these coconut memes over the past year; they started long before Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris. Their origin story lies in a speech Harris delivered at a White House event way back in May 2023. As the vice president spoke during the swearing-in ceremony of commissioners for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, she focused on the idea that “none of us just live in a silo."
More specifically, Harris shared some words of wisdom from her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan: "You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." In this bit of oratorical poeticism, the (coconut) seed of the meme was planted.
Why did Gen Z jump on this clip? Gun to my head, I'd say it's not just the quote itself, but the three-act play of a delivery: First, it's the fact that Kamala brings up coconuts (inherently funny). Then, she breaks into her signature unbothered, slightly manic laugh (heightening the absurdity). But then, Harris sobers up to deliver a truth bomb that hits the universal human experience. This, then, is the kicker: The humor lies in the sudden contrast of silly and serious. We were just talkin' coconuts, and now you're reminding me that my ancestors have felt every emotion I have and more? It's all ripe meme territory.
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Simply put, "you think you just fell out of a coconut tree?" is code for "This is all bigger than you, man." It speaks to Gen Z's omnipresent reckoning with existential dread. It's been a meme for months now, and the recent news sent coconut references skyrocketing.
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"Brat" and "brat summer" refer to pop star Charli XCX's latest release, unofficially but anecdotally the album of the summer. Brat, with its slime-green cover and hyperpop sound, is a whole aesthetic, independent of Harris memes. Remember the "hot girl summer" of yore? It's like that.
"Brat summer" can be summed up as "feral party girl meets the aforementioned Gen Z malaise." Party girls don't get hurt, after all. Party girls party through their existential dread. And that "party through the pain" mentality is the perfect launchpad for ironically-not-ironically hyping up a presidential candidate, especially if you think she's your best, imperfect hope against fascism or whatever.
Charli XCX herself endorsed the memes, tweeting "Kamala is brat," and the internet went characteristically feral for it. (It should be noted that Charli XCX is British and not, in fact, eligible to vote in the U.S.)
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All you really need to know is the leftist politics of Gen Z meme makers, the sentiment of the coconut tree, and the aesthetic of brat summer are all seamlessly merged. Take this image that connects quotes from Karl Marx, Harris, and Charli XCX:
While post-irony memes are in charge, the humor comes not from mocking Kamala, but from earnestly taking her words in stride. But for non-Gen Z outsiders, this adds another layer of confusion: What is sincere, and what's not? Why was Clinton roasted as a meme, while Kamala gets fancams? I believe it has less to do with the substance of what these politicians say, and more about the kids' relationship to earnestness.
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Hillary, trying too hard, was cringe. Kamala, being unintentionally funny—"unbothered," as described in the tweet above—leads to organic meme idolization. But watch out: The moment she tries to control what makes her funny to Gen Z, the humor of it will disappear. This tweet from former Washington Post columnist Jules Terpak captures the logic at play: "These types of movements are only culturally compelling if they feel organic and user/voter-driven. Once institution, company, etc energy tries to capture the moment…it begins to feel corny."
It's like when you were a teen and your dad tried to use your slang. His bid for connection surely backfired; he maybe even made the cool word sound so uncool you regretted ever using it. If Harris wants to keep benefitting from all this meme propaganda in her favor, remaining "unbothered" is the name of the game.
