Since the release of the new ‘Minions’ movie on July 1st – ‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru’ – many teenagers, primarily boys, have been reportedly seen to be dressing up to see the film.
A TikTok user Bill Hirst started this internet meme and trend, calling themselves the
#gentleminions
. This internet trend might have contributed a lot to the movie’s success. Analytics estimate that the film earned 164 million dollars from ticket sales on the first weekend.
One boy, in particular, was not part of the swarm of dressed-up teenagers but saw them after his movie ended.
“After we finished the movie, we went out, and we were going down the escalator,” said Joshua Law, an 18-year-old student. “And then we saw this bunch going up the escalator, and we sort of met halfway.”
However, even when the
#gentleminions
may be named that way, don’t get fooled since they are usually not gentle. It has been reported that many people, after the movie, threw bananas – a minion’s favorite food – all over the place, disrupting the film and many other things that would displease an average person going to the movies.
Because of all the mayhem these minion enthusiasts have been causing, many cinemas have banned suits inside the theater and warned teens watching ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ not to disrupt the movie.
“They got exposed to it because they’re all seeing TikTok, and so they [become] aware of it,” Grygiel said. “I think it leads to that type of participation. You know, sometimes social media ends up functioning like a big water cooler.”
Many people think this trend came to life because of how the internet now primarily functions in social media. Most of the time, teenagers will see a funny post and want to be part of it. Many teenagers would do it because, according to NPR, typically, the answer will be: “I think we’re just bored. There’s not really anything else better to do.”
A TikTok user Bill Hirst started this internet meme and trend, calling themselves the
#gentleminions
. This internet trend might have contributed a lot to the movie’s success. Analytics estimate that the film earned 164 million dollars from ticket sales on the first weekend.
One boy, in particular, was not part of the swarm of dressed-up teenagers but saw them after his movie ended.
“After we finished the movie, we went out, and we were going down the escalator,” said Joshua Law, an 18-year-old student. “And then we saw this bunch going up the escalator, and we sort of met halfway.”
However, even when the
#gentleminions
may be named that way, don’t get fooled since they are usually not gentle. It has been reported that many people, after the movie, threw bananas – a minion’s favorite food – all over the place, disrupting the film and many other things that would displease an average person going to the movies.
Because of all the mayhem these minion enthusiasts have been causing, many cinemas have banned suits inside the theater and warned teens watching ‘Minions: The Rise of Gru’ not to disrupt the movie.
“They got exposed to it because they’re all seeing TikTok, and so they [become] aware of it,” Grygiel said. “I think it leads to that type of participation. You know, sometimes social media ends up functioning like a big water cooler.”
Many people think this trend came to life because of how the internet now primarily functions in social media. Most of the time, teenagers will see a funny post and want to be part of it. Many teenagers would do it because, according to NPR, typically, the answer will be: “I think we’re just bored. There’s not really anything else better to do.”
