The Brief: Based on a scene in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, "He a little confused, but he got the spirit" memes illustrate scenarios in which someone comes close to getting something right, but isn't quite there.
DEEP DIVE
Similar to the premise of the subreddit “There Was An Attempt” these memes poke fun of instances in which someone gives something a sincere try, however they ultimately miss the mark. “He a little confused, but he got the spirit” memes can also depict a situation in which someone is earnest, but goes overboard in their attempt to get something right.
This line comes from a scene in “Those Were The Days:” season 2, episode 20 of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. In this scene, the characters Will Smith and Kellogg “Cornflake” Lieberbaum, who is white, handcuff themselves together in a protest at their school. Will says “There is no point in trying to reason with the man when the man isn’t reasoning with you,” to which Cornflake responds “Yes! Power to the people! Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud!” Will then says “All right, my man Cornflake got the spirit. He’s a little confused, but he’s got the spirit.”
These Fresh Prince image macro memes reapply Will’s line to a variety of contexts in which someone is “a little confused” but still “got the spirit.” This meme format is particularly popular on Reddit.
A climate strike poster on the Club Penguin shutdown:
Jesus: "Oh no you ain’t" *thanos snap* from dankchristianmemes