What do you do when a nine-hour documentary about the world’s most documented rock band just kind of hanging out over a half century ago becomes the biggest pop culture event of a long holiday weekend? Well, you make fun of it, obviously. Not out of malice or derision or condescension, but because of the sheer weirdness of the whole thing. Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back packs a few revealing glimpses into the collapse of the Beatles’ personal and professional relationship into a marathon of mundane ephemera. If you’ve ever been in a band you know how soul-deadening it can be to make a record—it’s like 90% sitting around, just waiting—and Get Back captures the absolute boredom of that experience better than anything else I’ve ever seen. Good job, Jackson: you’ve turned boring the hell out of people into something kind of fascinating.
Since the first episode of Jackson’s three-part epic landed the day before Thanksgiving, social media has been full of memes and jokes about the thing. Many have been about how unwieldy Get Back is, many have been about specific moments in the movie, many have simply been about the general atmosphere in the room as the four Beatles and their entourage try to prep material for their first live show in three years. Here are our favorites—the funniest memes and tweets about The Beatles: Get Back.
absolutely love that while paul is coming up with Get Back for the first time ringo is sitting there looking like his dog just died and george harrison is yawning and ready for bed pic.twitter.com/fuwGOprWI6
I’m only half an episode into The Beatles documentary but so far I can really relate. I also sometimes went and sat extremely quietly with men I was dating while they played music with their friends and I also did not break up those bands.
Watching Yoko Ono in Get Back and having the realization that if I were her and was invited to quietly sit beside my husband’s band while they jammed and made history, I … would’ve absolutely stayed home.
About to start the Beatles doc. Don’t have Disney+ so I’m watching it through a neighbor’s window and playing the songs I think they’re working on in my earbuds. pic.twitter.com/IREOT59Y6j
I got to watch an hour of Get Back before the 9 year old came in and complained that nothing was happening. She put on something called Dogs In Space in which, I admit, lots of things happened.
Get Back really reminds me of my old improv team. We had a Paul (the genius but bossy one, married to Linda McCartney), John (killed in 1980), George (hare krishna) and Ringo (says “peace and love” a lot). Oh and I forgot to mention I used to be on an improv team w/ the Beatles
