The 2016 U.S. presidential election was the first to showcase the power of internet memes, and no meme was more powerful than Pepe the Frog. Created by Bay-area artist Matt Furie for the 2006 cartoon collection Boy's Club, Pepe suddenly found himself in the midst of a battle over the soul of America. And no one was more shocked by this development than Furie himself.
In the new film Feels Good Man, documentarians Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini bring together the realm of academic theorists, the community of alternative comics, and the dark underworld of 4chan and internet trolls. They shine a light on the ugly social dynamics that can warp a good-humored cartoon character into a symbol of hate, and more hopefully on idealists across the globe who are reclaiming Pepe as an icon of peace and democracy.
- KBOO