John Travolta pictured in 2013, before he was confused. Photo via Ales Studeny/Shutterstock
A scene from John Travolta’s past is putting the actor back in the spotlight, but not in a way he might have expected.
Lest ye forget, John Travolta kicked off 2015 in memes following his creepy Oscars behaviour, but the year-end GIF creation coming out of Imgur has been dubbed by New York magazine as Travolta’s best role in years.
Imgur user ILikeToWonkaMyWilly posted what appears to be the original Confused Travolta GIF on Imgur in November, capturing the challenge that is Christmas shopping without clear instructions.
As you can see, not only did ILikeToWonkaMyWilly bring us this fantastic GIF, they also provided instructions on how to make your very own. How helpful! And what a gift to the internet community!
Armed with newfound abilities to put Confused Travolta in any situation, the meme spread like wildfire, launching a subreddit and a Facebook page to share the multitude of confounded creations that cropped up.
In case you’re not familiar with the Quentin Tarantino canon, the original Confused Travolta comes from a scene in cult sensation, Pulp Fiction, in which Vincent Vega (played by Travolta) is looking for an intercom.
But Vega/Travolta is confused by many things. He is confused by snow.
He is confused by car parks.
He is confused by international politics.
via GIPHY
He is confused by Microsoft software.
He is confused by Where’s Wally?.
He is confused by strange goings-on at London’s King’s Cross.
He is confused by Hank Scorpio’s jokes.
Watching the evolution of this meme, New York magazine could be right – just look at the acting talent on display here. Confused Travolta can play anything, such as a serial killer’s sidekick.
He makes a convincing sci-fi villain.
He can even take on multiple roles at once.
He can be a scary genetically engineered dinosaur.
He could cameo as a disturbing vision in a horror masterpiece.
He can bring to life the story behind a classic work of art.
He can portray the internal mechanics of a machine of war.
With a resumé like this he might just land himself a career-reviving role in the next Star Wars.
The real secret sauce behind the success of Confused Travolta is that we’ve all been there. Confusion is a common feeling, making this a reaction GIF of perpetual application.
Keep watching Siliconrepublic.com as we look back on the greatest memes of 2015. Let us know your favourite at @siliconrepublic on Twitter.
Main John Travolta image by Ales Studeny via Shutterstock
