“Tartar Sauce,” affectionately known as Grumpy Cat, appeared on the internet meme scene in 2012, and quickly made his way into the cold, beating hearts of disgruntled youth throughout the globe. He is a testament to staying true to one’s self, and lives with the sincerity and awareness non-paralleled in this day and age.
Grumpy Cat is often dressed in unconventional cat garb, by his unforgiving masters—a true sentiment about the societal pressures we all face every day.We are bombarded by images of what socially constructed beauty should look like, and feel as though our moral compass is off kilter, because we are indoctrinated into buying into trends and “keeping up appearances” in order to keep our social and professional relevancy. Grumpy cat personifies the internal struggle for authenticity in the modern age by his silent protest.
When one looks at Grumpy Cat and sees his look of discontent, it reminds us about the superfluous rituals we as cats and humans play. We are expected to always be happy, to be happy is to be successful and likable, but part of the human condition is bearing the cross of life’s darkness. Tartar Sauce has made himself a leader of social disobedience by making his private persona public. He has liberated himself from the confines of “playing face” in the public eye, even though he may be pegged as a “one-trick kitty” or stereotype; he knows he is a multi-faceted cat-being.
Grumpy Cat speaks volumes about living life fully; he is an anachronism in a world of dogs and snakes in the grass. Grumpy Cat aspires to break the traditional mold of chasing the treat at the end of the string and ponder the more existential questions, living a life of pensive stoicism. I commend you, Tartar Sauce, your icy brooding stares cut right to the core of me.
