As Donald Trump’s mug shot from his arrest in Fulton County, Georgia, took off online Thursday night, spawning memes of every shape, stripe and color, one compilation stood out among the rest.
And while the rousing meme sent Trump up in appropriate fashion — and certainly wasn’t alone in that regard — it served a dual function, proving that while the legendary director Stanley Kubrick is no longer with us (he died in 1999), his legacy has stood the test of time.
In the meme, Trump as jail bird joins a photo montage of villains from three of Kubrick’s Warner Bros. classics — Malcolm McDowell as Alex in 1971’s “A Clockwork Orange,” Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance in 1980’s “The Shining” and Vincent D’Onofrio as Private Pyle in 1987’s “Full Metal Jacket.”
“‘The Kubrick Stare’ is one of director Stanley Kubrick’s most recognizable directorial techniques,” the X user Cry-Baby Chloe’s tweet reads atop the montage. “A method of shot composition where a character stares at the camera with a forward tilt, to convey to the audience that they are at the peak of their derangement.”
It remains uncertain whether Trump’s denouement is upon him, but one thing seems clear — Cry-Baby Chloe is onto something.
Trump turned himself into the Atlanta jail Thursday night on state charges of interfering with the 2020 election. It became the fourth criminal case he faces and the fourth time he has turned himself in.
But it was the first time a mug shot was required.
He later vowed to “never surrender.”
Check out the “Kubrick Stare” meme below.