10 Movies That Created Endless Memes

One does not simply fade into meme-based obscurity.

When Sean Bean uttered the now infamous quote of "One does not simply walk into Mordor" 22 years ago, it is unlikely that the beloved character actor was aware that he had just set off a chain of events that would create one of the most famous memes of all time.

The original snippet of dialogue is derived from a scene from The Lord of the Rings trilogy's first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring. During the council of Elrond at Rivendell, the quote is used by Bean's character Boromir as he passionately argues for using the Ring as a weapon, with the apprehensive soundbite being used to highlight the difficulty of destroying Sauron's creation by casting it into Mount Doom.

And thus, an online phenomenon was born. Substituting "walk into Mordor" with just about any real-life situation imaginable - "one does not simply insert the USB correctly on the first attempt" etc. - and adding the text over the screenshot of Boromir gesturing resulted in a meme that is still doing the rounds on the internet to this day. Selections from the remainder of the trilogy featuring Gandalf, Legolas and Theoden have all gained traction over the years but have never come close to topping the original.

One meme to rule them all. Bean himself is fine with the situation, wryly remarking that the image will likely be his unintended legacy.