The Coen Brothers' 2018 Western Movie Was Nominated For 3 Oscars & Has 89% On Rotten Tomatoes, But You Probably Know It Because Of A Meme

The Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is one of the greatest westerns of the 21st century — but the movie’s legacy has been reduced to a meme. Released on Netflix in 2018, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an anthology movie showing several very different perspectives of the Old West. It’s named after its opening sequence, in which a joyful singing cowboy played by Tim Blake Nelson is challenged to a gunfight, but the five shorts that follow range from lighthearted comedy to harrowing tragedy.

There’s a segment in which a mismatched group of travelers share a stagecoach ride to Fort Morgan, Colorado. There’s a segment in which Liam Neeson’s aging impresario exploits a disabled man for money — and when the man stops being profitable, he meets a grim fate. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is one of the Coens’ best movies, and a totally unique take on the western genre. But in the years since its release, it’s been reduced to a meme template.

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs' "First Time?" Meme Explained

It's A Perfect Example Of Gallows Humor

Everyone’s seen the “First time?” gallows meme template, but not everyone knows it’s from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. In the movie’s second segment, “Near Algodones,” James Franco plays a bank robber who’s sentenced to be hanged. As he stands on the gallows with a noose around his neck, he turns to the distraught man next to him and quips, “First time?” This is an old joke, and one of the earliest examples of gallows humor. Of course, a person can only be hanged once — it’s a morbid gag in the face of certain doom.

Of course, a person can only be hanged once — it’s a morbid gag in the face of certain doom.

The meme template has become bigger than the movie, but it removes all the gallows humor from the original gag. It’s often used between fandoms and communities to express solidarity. When Matrix fans are disappointed by a long-anticipated legacy sequel, Star Wars fans — who have already been burned three times — will ask, “First time?” While Witcher fans wait a long time for the next season of their favorite show, Stranger Things fans — who have to wait years between seasons — will ask, “First time?”

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs Is A Great Movie, But Its Legacy Has Been Hijacked

This Movie Deserves A Much Better Legacy

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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a really great movie, and it deserves a much more substantial legacy than just being a widely circulated meme template. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs tells six great stories in one, it has a star-studded ensemble cast, and it has a completely unique tone within its genre. There are popular meme templates from Toy Story 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, but they’re all remembered for more than just the memes. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs deserves so much more.