The Brief: A historical TikTok trend has people dancing to an instrumental version of "Hips Don't Lie" in front of Medieval paintings.
DEEP DIVE
The Medieval “Hips Don’t Lie” TikTok trend consists of creators jauntily improvising dance moves in front of Medieval paintings on a green screen to an instrumental Bardcore cover of “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira. Usually, these videos have captions explaining that this is how they feel after doing an everyday task in a way that seems old-fashioned.
@lily_macdonald #greenscreen this is probably historically inaccurate. don’t try me 😾. #medieval #history #peasant #cottagecore
♬ This turned into a trend I dont know how (Shakira- Hips Don’t Lie) – Lichen Decay Forest
In these videos, TikTokers may perform vaguely Baroque/Rennaissance/Medieval-inspired dance moves while wearing improvised costumes made out of materials like bath towels. The low production value of the videos is a signature TikTok style, adding to the joke by reminding viewers that they’re still in the year 2020.
@dietblack Sir Geoffrey is typing…. #foryourpage #fyp #foryou #PerfectAsIAm #PopcornDuet #funny #comedy #relatable #history #meme #dietblack
At the time of writing, over 9,700 videos have been made using the instrumental “Hips Don’t Lie” clip, and videos associated with the hashtag #Medieval have been viewed over 97 million times on the app. Overall, the medieval Hips Don’t Lie TikTok trend doesn’t have much of a point or message other than that we need more old-timey covers of popular songs (there are already plenty out there).
@veganhotdog26 oh to be a humble shepherd boy gazing out over his flock, wondering how he shall survive thy great plague #medieval #ActionLines #history #ArtLessons
@maxxxyandrews I will use these shillings to buy mincemeat for my wife and child #WhatsYourPower
@stinkyrattictok I legit feel so…💅accomplished💅 if I don’t go on my phone for a while😫✅ #greenscreen
@angele.tarte this doesn’t need a caption❤️
@joshthorleyy Just saw this trend and couldn’t help myself #fyp #foryou #funny #trend
@shinydwarf
Some TikTokers used this trend to act out moments in history, giving a mini-lesson to their followers.
@lucas_millership Only 16th century kids will understand 😤 #henryVIII #henrythewomanizer
With a global plague pandemic, Medieval times don’t seem too far away from the present day…
@ittsjoya the covid 19 plague #greenscreen #covid #wearyourmask #comedy #pandemic #funnyvideos