''Feels Good Man'' is a 2020 American
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...
about the
Internet meme Pepe the Frog
Pepe the Frog () is an Internet meme consisting of a green anthropomorphic frog with a humanoid body. Pepe originated in a 2005 comic by Matt Furie called ''Boy's Club''. It became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across Myspa ...
. Marking the directorial debut of Arthur Jones, the film stars artist Matt Furie, the creator of Pepe. The film follows Furie as he struggles to reclaim control of Pepe from members of the
alt-right who have co-opted the image for their own purposes. The film premiered at the
2020 Sundance Film Festival
The 2020 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 23 to February 2, 2020. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 4, 2019. The opening night film was ''Miss Americana'' directed by Lana Wilson and produced by Morga ...
and won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker. It was also nominated in the U.S. Documentary Competition at Sundance.
Plot
Pepe the Frog
Pepe the Frog () is an Internet meme consisting of a green anthropomorphic frog with a humanoid body. Pepe originated in a 2005 comic by Matt Furie called ''Boy's Club''. It became an Internet meme when its popularity steadily grew across Myspa ...
, a character created by Matt Furie and first featured in a comic on
MySpace called ''Boy's Club,'' is one of four twentysomething postcollegiate slacker friends who live together.
In one installment, Pepe is caught by one of his housemates with his pants around his ankles, urinating.
Asked why, he replies, "Feels good man".
The image becomes a viral Internet meme and is co-opted by the alt-right.
Too late, Furie attempts to take Pepe back from the alt-right who have turned him from a cartoon character into a symbol for hate.
The film deals with the question of whether Pepe can be redeemed.
The
coda of the film alludes to Pepe's appropriation by pro-democracy demonstrators during the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
.
Development
''Feels Good Man'' is the directorial debut of Arthur Jones.
Jones described the film as:
Jones, who was also film editor, finished the edit two days prior to the premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
He described the editing process as a "slow-rolling panic attack", but said he was looking forward to showing the film at the festival.
Release
As of early February 2020 the film was seeking distribution.
It also appeared as part of
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
's ''
Independent Lens
''Independent Lens'' is a weekly television series airing on PBS featuring documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of ''Independent Lens'' were hosted by Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence H ...
''. In October 2020, it was broadcast by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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...
The film has earned critical acclaim.
, the film holds an approval rating of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's consensus reads, "A cautionary tale on internet culture, ''Feels Good Man'' is a compelling look at an artist's journey to salvage his creation." On
of 79 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Nick Allen of ''
'' wrote: "Jones' movie is a beacon of internet literacy about a whole new language—that memes are flexible, omnipotent, and pieces of a phenomenon more powerful than their creators".
'' called it "the most important political film of 2020".
''Feels Good Man'' won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker at the
.
It was also nominated in the festival's U.S. Documentary Competition.