What is Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do?

It's a TikTok photo slideshow trend where a rage comic or painted Napoleon responds to any prompt with There's nothing we can do, followed by paintings of him in exile on St. Helena, all set to a slowed remix of Videoclub's Amour plastique[1].

Where did Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do come from?

TikToker @history.awakes.around posted the first slideshow on August 15th, 2023, using rage comic figures of Napoleon and one of his men after their exile to St. Helena[1].

What does Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do mean?

The phrase plays on Napoleon's real exile and death on St. Helena in 1821 to express theatrical hopelessness about small modern problems, from failing tests to accepting personal defeat[4].

How do you use Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do?

Typical posts open with a setup prompt, cut to Napoleon delivering the catchphrase, then transition through paintings of him on St. Helena over the slowed Amour plastique sound[3].

Is Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do still popular?

The trend peaked between August and late September 2023, when the primary TikTok sound crossed 22,600 posts, and is now treated as a recognizable history meme format from that period[4].

Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do

2023photo slideshowclassic

Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do is a TikTok photo slideshow trend from August 2023 that pairs a rage comic Napoleon saying the title line with paintings of his exile on St. Helena, all set to a slowed remix of Videoclub's Amour plastique. Creators use it to dramatize small defeats with imperial gloom.

slideshow memes tiktok sound trends rage comics resigned acceptance memes

Overview

Napoleon There Is Nothing We Can Do is a TikTok photo slideshow trend that opens with a setup prompt, cuts to a rage comic Napoleon flatly delivering the line There's nothing we can do, then slides into somber oil paintings of the exiled emperor staring out at the sea on St. Helena1. The whole sequence plays over a slowed remix of the 2018 French synth pop track Amour plastique by Videoclub2.

The joke leans on Napoleon's real historical ending, where he died in exile on St. Helena in 1821, to milk maximum melodrama out of tiny modern problems like flunking a math test or realizing you peaked in high school4. The visual arc, from meme prompt to defeated emperor gazing at nothing, gives every setup the same dour punchline.

How It Spread

Two days later, on August 17th, 2023, TikToker @historylover67 replicated the format and pulled about 219,500 plays in a month4. Wider adoption didn't hit until mid September. On September 16th, @theyhatexog reworked the setup to reference the Literally Me Syndrome trend, cutting from Batman and Homelander to Napoleon and racking up around 776,600 plays in five days5.

On September 18th, TikToker @walter00blanco flipped the format toward everyday despair with a slideshow about an upcoming math test, hitting roughly 2.6 million plays and 460,500 likes in three days3. The same day, @svenccy posted a video iteration in the What I Learned / What I Remembered format using the same TikTok sound and Napoleon paintings4.

By September 21st, 2023, the primary TikTok sound behind the trend had been used in over 22,600 posts4, turning the phrase into shorthand for accepting any minor loss with imperial resignation.

How to Use This Meme

The typical build is a three beat slideshow. The first image is the setup, a prompt or problem the poster is reacting to. The second is the rage comic Napoleon or a painting of him saying There's nothing we can do. The final beats are paintings of Napoleon on St. Helena, often sitting or facing the sea, played over the slowed Amour plastique sound1. Video edits often swap the slideshow beats for the same story pattern, keeping the audio as the anchor4.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (5)