6 Things The Weeknd's 'Super Bowl' Halftime Show Looked Like, According to Twitter
Well, folks, the most wonderful time of the year, the day in which we eat hot wings, Doritos, and a variety of strange, cheesy chip dips, with reckless abandon, has come and gone -- the 2021 Super Bowl.
Amid the confusion over cardboard cutouts populating the Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Florida, a bizarre once-banned commercial for alternative milk taking our TV screens by storm, and The Tampa Bay Buccaneers absolutely steamrolling the Kansas City Chiefs, winning the big game by 31-9, Uncut Gems star and longtime Daft Punk collaborator, The Weeknd, took to the field for a rousing halftime show. Defined by bandaged dancers, a choir with red, glowing eyes, and extreme close-ups, the internet, as per usual, had several opinions on the 14-ish minute spectacular, namely, what the Hell everything looked like.
1. Jawas from Star Wars
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In 2017, Lady Gaga forever raised the bar for Super Bowl halftime performances -- literally -- after yeeting herself from the stadium window, down onto the stage below. Although The Weeknd didn't take the flying squirrel approach to his Super Bowl entrance, a masked figure with red, glowing eyes slowly descended upon the crowd, meeting a choir of other masked figures. Although it seems the pop star may have been aiming for some sort of religious metaphor, complete with an almost gregorian-sounding choir and the descending figure's cross pose, to some Star Wars fans, the motif read like an angelic army of Jawas, a.k.a those little humanoids with glowing red eyes from the desert planet of Tatooine. While some noted the uncanny resemblance ...
... others questioned their fair compensation ...
.. and even their future availability.
The Jawa Tabernacle Choir, ladies and gents, a Super Bowl hit.
2. Us doing, well, pretty much everything.
Later in the performance, The Weeknd leaves the Jawa stage behind, heading into a brightly-lit tunnel, as viewers get an extemely close view of the pop star. As the camera stayed fixed on his face, even when uncomfortably close and blurry, viewers saw themselves in the intimate shot. From expecting magical results from our refrigerator ...
... to getting lost, even when someone just told you where to go ...
... to helping dad reset the router ...
... to gazing at our gametime snacks ...
... to avoiding the wrath of our moms ...
... and even looking for her at the supermarket ...
... the intense angle of the Canadian singer is pretty much applicable to every situation.
3. That one meme of Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob
It seems The Weeknd's extreme close up is more than just an allegory for us viewers, also acting as a modern version of that blurry. Mr. Krabs meme, first popularized in 2016. Following the performance, several Twitter users noticed similarities between the Krusty Krab founder's spinning image and the artist's Super Bowl rendition of "Can't Feel My Face" ...
... suggesting The Weeknd could serve as a 2021 take on the classic meme ...
.. and even drawing parallels between the beloved crustacean and the halftime show's cameraman.
4. Jordan Peele's Us
Shortly after this intense zoom, several performers sporting bandages and masks began dancing around the star, wearing a look similar to the one the singer has been donning for the past year. Many, however, noticed several likenesses between The Weeknd's backup dancers and Pluto from Jordan Peele's Us ...
... questioning if the performance was actually a secret Peele-directed sequel to the modern horror classic ...
... and even using gifs of the character to express how, well, lit the performance was.
5. Mario's Shy Guy
And it's not just Pluto -- people also think The Weeknd's masked dancers look like Shy Guy from Mario, comparing his red outfit and white mask to the dancers surrounding him ...
... and questioning their fashion choices.
6. Literal Mummies
Of course, readers, you can't have bandaged dancers without someone bringing up mummies. Several Twitter users flocked to the platform to make the Halloween-y comparison, commending the show's unique theme ...
... its neon aesthetic ...
... even calling for a reboot of the 1999 film starring The Weeknd.
Now that is a remake I would watch.
Well, folks, with that, it seems the Superb Owl has flown. 'Til next year, my friends!
For more internet nonsense, follow Carly on Instagram at @HuntressThompson_, on Twitch.tv @HuntressThompson_ and on Twitter @TennesAnyone.