Brūcend:Russavia/Polandball

User-generated representation of Polandball.

Polandball, ēac cnāwen swā countryball, bið brūcendcened internet meme þe āwrīdod fram þǣm /int/ borde þæs Þēodisces imageboard Krautchan.net in þǣre lætre healfe 2009. The meme bið ypped in manig onlīne comics, hwǣr rīcum sind scēawed swā þōðrelic personas þe ymbweorc in oft brocen Englisc, plegende æt lēodlic stereotypes and geondrīcisc cȳððe. The comic's style mæg bið cliped ǣghwæðer swā Polandball (ac hit mæg gelimp þær ne bið Poland āmang the cartoon characters) oþþe swā countryball (oþþe, gadrigendlīce, countryballs).

Bæcgrund

Polandball hæfð his wyrta in an August 2009 'cyberwar' between Polish Internet users and the rest of the world on drawball.com. The website, which offers a virtual canvas, allows Internet users to draw whatever they want, and to draw over others' drawings. On the Polish Internet, an idea was raised to draw the Polish flag on the ball, and thousands of Poles together managed to take over the drawball with a painting of white on top of red, with the word "POLSKA" written in the middle. After co-ordination from 4chan, this was then covered over by a giant swastika.

Krautchan.net bið German-language imageboard hwæs /INT/ bord bið frequented by English-speaking netizens. Þæt anginn of the Polandball meme is credited to Falco, a Brit on /INT/, who in September 2009 created the meme using MS Paint in an apolitical way to troll Wojak, a Pole on the same board who contributes in broken English, after which Polandball cartoons were enthusiastically drawn by Russians.

Underweorpunga

An example of a Polandball comic, featuring Estonia and the Nordic countries.

Þæt forsettung Polandballes, þe wunnen folclufu æfter the crash in Smolensk þe cweled Polisc foresittend Lech Kaczyński, bið hit getācnað Polaland and his stǣr, sibb mid ōðre rīcum, and stereotypes, focussing on Polish megalomania and national complexes. Interactions between countryballs tend to be written in broken English and internet slang, reminiscent of the Lolcat meme, and by the end of the cartoon Poland, which is purposely represented as red on top of white (the reverse of the Polish flag), is typically seen weeping.

Some Polandball comics arise from the premise that Russia can fly into space, whilst Poland can not. One of the most popular Polandball cartoons begins with the premise that Earth is going to be struck by a giant meteor, leading to all countries with space technology leaving Earth and going into orbit around the planet. At the end of the cartoon, Poland, still on earth, is crying, and in broken English pronounces the canonical Polandball catchphrase "Poland cannot into space". In this humorous way, Russians put a halt to all discussion with Poles on which country is superior. In another Polandball comic which delves into historic-political satire, Poland is seen to be boring other countryballs, with its proclamation of "So when we crushed Russia and the turks [sic] were were the biggest country in the world... and..", leading other countryballs to laugh at it. Poland, by now irritated, utters kurwa, and holds up a sign saying "Internet serious business", which is an internet slogan used to deride others who treat subjects with disdain, and in Polandball convention, finishes by crying.

Ōðer countryballs

A user-generated representation of Britain in Polandball-style

Polandball can also include comics on other countries, but by convention these comics are usually still referred to as Polandball, although they can also be called countryballs. According to Lurkmore.to, Bavaria has its own ball, and other balls have been created for U.S. states, Catalonia and Siberia, amongst others. Singapore takes the form of a triangle and is called Tringapore; Israel takes the form of a hypercube (in reference to Jewish physics); Kazakhstan takes the form of a brick; and Britain is shown wearing a top hat and monocle.

Ūtra links

Wikimedia Commons hæfþ māran gemyndþrǣdas sibb mid: Polandball

• Polandball at Knowyourmeme.com
• Polandball at militaryphotos.net