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As thousands of Bay Area residents prepare for the region to go dark in a planned shutdown organized by Pacific Gas & Electric to mitigate wildfire risk amid dangerous weather conditions, others have taken to the internet while they still can.
Playing off the letters P, G and E in the title of The Purge, a film franchise about 12-hour periods in which any and all crime is legal, content creators are making light of the impending darkness with gifs and memes across social media. The films often begin with a countdown to the 12-hour period and a warning broadcast prior to a power outage, which one of the memes references:
San Lorenzo native Cole Smith, who now lives in Redding, said he was “just goofing around,” when he made the video meme by merging footage from a KPIX Channel 5 news cast with the broadcast from the films. Smith made several other memes, posted to Facebook and shared by the Bay Area Meme Council page.
Smith also remixed a film poster and added text that said PG&E would be sponsoring the upcoming Purge:
Memers also targeted PG&E in more benign references to Scary Movie and Spongebob Squarepants.
Got memes from the PG&E power outage and other newsworthy events you’ll grant us permission to post with credit? Send them to Dbouscher@bayareanewsgroup.com or via DM @DylanBouscher on Instagram and Twitter.
CLICK HERE for full coverage of the PG&E power outage.
CLICK HERE to see our Area 51 meme gallery.
