With each passing day it becomes harder and harder to convince myself that I haven't unknowingly stumbled onto some sort of elaborate prank show.

The world is dealing with an unprecedented pandemic, I've been social distancing at home for the past 53 days, and the U.S. has a president who's obsessed with TV ratings, throws tantrumsat news conferences, and tells jokes that literally make the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases facepalm.

During challenging times like these I can't help but feel like there mustbe a camera nearby just waiting to capture my reactions to the seemingly never-ending absurdity.

I've been searching for a way to describe the swirl of confusing emotions so many of us are feeling right now, and I finally realized that the *stares directly into camera* meme perfectly sums up this ridiculous era.

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For years, people have been tweeting the phrase *stares directly into camera* in response to a myriad of things, but the words are often a reaction to concerning, surprising, or ironic news. Perhaps that's why the meme seems extra applicable to our current reality.

Saying that you're staring directly into a camera is also a nod to the popular television trope of "breaking the fourth wall," which occurs whenever characters directly acknowledge the existence of their audience. That's why so many fans of The Office associate the meme with Jim Halpert, who's known for shooting puzzled glances and smirks into the lens of the Dunder Mifflin documentary crew's cameras.

In some cases, the meme is even formatted as, *looks at the camera like I'm on The Office*.

The classic Jim Halpert move

The origin of the Halpert version of the meme has been traced back to a Tumblr post from 2014 that shared a photo of John Lennon along with the caption, "john lennon: *looks at the camera like hes in the office*".

Since then, however, the meme has been used to express emotions related to everything from perplexing exam questions and Trump meltdowns to Tom Nook's lectures on finances in Animal Crossing.

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I've been thinking about the meme more frequently the past few weeks. It's gotten to the point where I've started physically looking around the room in search of an imaginary camera whenever I hear Trump criticize reporters, say things like he refuses to wear a mask, or make other unprofessional comments in his nightly news briefings.

While Jim's camera stares were occasionally the result of him successfully pranking Dwight or being uncomfortable in the presence of Roy and Pam, the majority of his looks were reactions to inconceivable actions and jokes from his boss, Michael Scott. I've drawn parallels between Michael Scott and Donald Trump's behavior before, so when I think about it, feeling like Jim as I watch the president attempt to handle the coronavirus situation sort of makes sense.

And as it turns out though, I'm not the only one who's doing takes to non-existent cameras during this stressful time.

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Jim has stared into the camera so many times that "The Jim Look" is an urban dictionary entry and The Officewas able to make a 10-minute long video of all of his glances, but other characters in the sitcom — and on different shows — have also used the move.

The enduring allure of the camera stare

The Officemight be the most widely known source of camera stares today, but I have vivid memories of watching people on hidden camera shows like Candid Camera (1948-2014) and Punk'd(2003-2007) looking to camera — and sometimes even being told to wave — after it was revealed they were being pranked.

More recently, shows like Fleabagand Hulu's adaptation of High Fidelity show their protagonists constantly breaking the fourth wall by not only looking to the camera, but sharing their internal monologues with viewers. According to a video shared by the Prime Video YouTube channel, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's character looked to camera a whopping 231 times over the course of the show's two seasons. People must have loved it, because Fleabaghas been highly praised as "some of the best television in history."

So what exactly makes the camera stare so appealing to viewers? Well for one thing, the trope allows us to feel like we're connecting with characters on a deeper level. It's like these people on-screen are searching for anyone out there who just witnessed whatever bizarre feat or interaction they had to endure, and looking into the lens acknowledges and solidifies a bond between themselves and the viewer.

That's the same reason I feel the *stares directly into camera* meme is so relevant today.

There's an overwhelming amount of news to react to

Looking to an invisible camera or using the *stares directly into camera* meme is such a mood right now, because everything is so unbelievably chaotic that reality has started to feel surreal.

As coronavirus updates continue to unfold and more unprecedented guidelines go into place, the meme feels especially pertinent. On one hand, you can't help but wonder if you're part of some elaborately staged scheme — like Candid Cameraor Punk'd. But on the other hand, because everything feels ridiculous and scary you want to share your emotions with others and know that you're not alone in feeling them — just like Jim Halpert, Fleabag, and Rob from High Fidelity did.

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The world is a very weird place right now, and it's getting harder and harder to put emotions into words.

Perhaps if we keep staring at our surroundings we'll eventually find a camera and learn that this whole thing was a cruel prank, but until then, let the *stares directly into camera* meme provide you with a small amount of comic relief and a succinct way to sum up what you're feeling.

TopicsThe OfficeMemesCOVID-19