You Don't Say

Extracted from the 1988 vampire film Vampire's Kiss, Nicolas Cage's maniacal expression became the internet's default response to obvious statements around 2011. The wild eyes, the sarcastic grin, the theatrical "YOU DON'T SAY?" energy—it was peak Cage, weaponized for passive-aggression.

The format thrived during the golden age of rage comics and Advice Animals, when expressing contempt required an image macro and proper impact font. Every obvious observation deserved a Cage face. Every "the sky is blue" statement demanded theatrical mockery.

But the format was a victim of its own success. Overuse dulled the sarcasm. The rage comic aesthetic became cringe. By 2015, deploying You Don't Say marked you as terminally stuck in 2012. The theatrical sarcasm that once felt cutting now just felt dated.

Nicolas Cage's filmography continues to provide meme material—the man is an inexhaustible resource—but this particular expression has been retired. The sarcasm lives on in other formats; the face rests.