Are You Serious Face

2011Rage comic face / reaction imageclassic

Also known as: Seriously?

Are You Serious Face is a 2011 rage comic reaction image of American Atheists president David Silverman's bewildered expression, rendered as a black-and-white hand-drawn face used to express scorn and disbelief.

Are You Serious Face is a black and white hand-drawn reaction face used in rage comics to express disbelief at someone's ignorance or stupidity2. The drawing originated from a screencap of American Atheists president David Silverman making a bewildered expression during a Fox News debate with Bill O'Reilly in January 20112. It became one of the standard faces in the rage comic toolkit during the format's peak years.

fox news memesatheism memesdebate memesfrustration memesrage comics

TL;DR

Are You Serious Face is a black and white hand-drawn reaction face used in rage comics to express disbelief at someone's ignorance or stupidity.

Overview

The Are You Serious Face is a simple black and white sketch of a person with a furrowed brow and slightly open mouth, conveying a mixture of confusion and exasperation2. The expression captures that specific moment when someone says something so baffling that you can't quite process it. Both male and female versions of the face exist, though the male version based on David Silverman came first2. Within rage comics, the face typically appears in the final panel as a punchline reaction to an absurd statement or situation.

The face traces back to a televised debate between Bill O'Reilly and David Silverman, president of American Atheists, on Fox News2. During the exchange, O'Reilly deployed his now-infamous "tide goes in, tide goes out" argument for the existence of God. Around the two-minute mark of the clip, Silverman made a deeply perplexed expression that perfectly captured wordless disbelief2. That same argument later spawned the separate "You Can't Explain That" image macro meme2.

On January 18th, 2011, a Reddit user posted a thread titled "Do your worst:) (FIXED)" that included a black and white drawing tracing Silverman's expression2. This hand-drawn version stripped the face down to its essential lines, making it easy to drop into the multi-panel rage comic format that dominated Reddit and other platforms at the time.

Origin & Background

Platform
Fox News (source footage), Reddit (meme format)
Key People
Unknown, David Silverman
Date
2011
Year
2011

The face traces back to a televised debate between Bill O'Reilly and David Silverman, president of American Atheists, on Fox News. During the exchange, O'Reilly deployed his now-infamous "tide goes in, tide goes out" argument for the existence of God. Around the two-minute mark of the clip, Silverman made a deeply perplexed expression that perfectly captured wordless disbelief. That same argument later spawned the separate "You Can't Explain That" image macro meme.

On January 18th, 2011, a Reddit user posted a thread titled "Do your worst:) (FIXED)" that included a black and white drawing tracing Silverman's expression. This hand-drawn version stripped the face down to its essential lines, making it easy to drop into the multi-panel rage comic format that dominated Reddit and other platforms at the time.

How It Spread

The face spread quickly through Reddit's rage comic communities, where users adopted it as a go-to reaction for depicting encounters with frustrating ignorance. It joined a growing roster of rage faces like the original Rage Guy, Forever Alone, and the Troll Face. The "Are You Serious" face filled a specific emotional niche that the other faces didn't quite cover: not anger, not sadness, but pure bewildered disbelief.

The female version of the face appeared sometime after the original male drawing, expanding its use to a wider range of comic scenarios. Both versions became standard fixtures in rage comic generators and template libraries across sites like Reddit, 9GAG, and dedicated rage comic communities throughout 2011 and 2012.

As rage comics declined in popularity during the mid-2010s, the face's usage dropped along with the format. But the underlying expression and concept survived in other reaction image formats.

How to Use This Meme

The Are You Serious Face works best as a reaction to statements or situations involving obvious ignorance, flawed logic, or baffling stupidity. In the classic rage comic format, the face typically appears in the final panel after a setup showing someone saying something ridiculous. Common scenarios include:

- A friend or coworker making an obviously wrong claim with total confidence - Encountering absurd rules, policies, or instructions - Hearing someone misunderstand a basic concept

The face is often paired with the text "Are you serious?" or just "Seriously?" as a caption. In modern usage outside rage comics, the original Silverman screencap or the drawn face can work as a standalone reaction image in group chats or comment threads.

Cultural Impact

The Are You Serious Face rode the broader rage comic wave that dominated internet humor from roughly 2010 to 2013. Rage comics were one of the first truly participatory meme formats, where anyone could create their own comic using a shared vocabulary of expressive faces. The "Are You Serious" face was part of this shared language, recognizable to millions of internet users during that era.

The source material also had its own cultural moment. The Bill O'Reilly vs. David Silverman debate became a touchstone in online atheism communities, generating multiple memes beyond just this face. O'Reilly's "tide goes in, tide goes out" line became a shorthand for confidently incorrect reasoning.

Fun Facts

The face captures David Silverman's expression at approximately the 2:00 mark of the O'Reilly debate clip.

Both the "Are You Serious" face and the "You Can't Explain That" meme came from the exact same televised exchange.

The Reddit post that launched the meme was a "(FIXED)" post, meaning it was a response or correction to someone else's earlier submission.

Derivatives & Variations

Female "Are You Serious" Face:

A version of the same expression drawn as a female character, used interchangeably with the male version in rage comics[2].

"You Can't Explain That" image macros:

The same Bill O'Reilly debate that produced Are You Serious Face also spawned a separate meme featuring O'Reilly's "tide goes in, tide goes out" quote as a template for mocking circular reasoning[2].

Frequently Asked Questions

Are You Serious Face

2011Rage comic face / reaction imageclassic

Also known as: Seriously?

Are You Serious Face is a 2011 rage comic reaction image of American Atheists president David Silverman's bewildered expression, rendered as a black-and-white hand-drawn face used to express scorn and disbelief.

Are You Serious Face is a black and white hand-drawn reaction face used in rage comics to express disbelief at someone's ignorance or stupidity. The drawing originated from a screencap of American Atheists president David Silverman making a bewildered expression during a Fox News debate with Bill O'Reilly in January 2011. It became one of the standard faces in the rage comic toolkit during the format's peak years.

fox news memes atheism memes debate memes frustration memes rage comics

TL;DR

Are You Serious Face is a black and white hand-drawn reaction face used in rage comics to express disbelief at someone's ignorance or stupidity.

Overview

The Are You Serious Face is a simple black and white sketch of a person with a furrowed brow and slightly open mouth, conveying a mixture of confusion and exasperation. The expression captures that specific moment when someone says something so baffling that you can't quite process it. Both male and female versions of the face exist, though the male version based on David Silverman came first. Within rage comics, the face typically appears in the final panel as a punchline reaction to an absurd statement or situation.

The face traces back to a televised debate between Bill O'Reilly and David Silverman, president of American Atheists, on Fox News. During the exchange, O'Reilly deployed his now-infamous "tide goes in, tide goes out" argument for the existence of God. Around the two-minute mark of the clip, Silverman made a deeply perplexed expression that perfectly captured wordless disbelief. That same argument later spawned the separate "You Can't Explain That" image macro meme.

On January 18th, 2011, a Reddit user posted a thread titled "Do your worst:) (FIXED)" that included a black and white drawing tracing Silverman's expression. This hand-drawn version stripped the face down to its essential lines, making it easy to drop into the multi-panel rage comic format that dominated Reddit and other platforms at the time.

Origin & Background

Platform
Fox News (source footage), Reddit (meme format)
Key People
Unknown, David Silverman
Date
2011
Year
2011

The face traces back to a televised debate between Bill O'Reilly and David Silverman, president of American Atheists, on Fox News. During the exchange, O'Reilly deployed his now-infamous "tide goes in, tide goes out" argument for the existence of God. Around the two-minute mark of the clip, Silverman made a deeply perplexed expression that perfectly captured wordless disbelief. That same argument later spawned the separate "You Can't Explain That" image macro meme.

On January 18th, 2011, a Reddit user posted a thread titled "Do your worst:) (FIXED)" that included a black and white drawing tracing Silverman's expression. This hand-drawn version stripped the face down to its essential lines, making it easy to drop into the multi-panel rage comic format that dominated Reddit and other platforms at the time.

How It Spread

The face spread quickly through Reddit's rage comic communities, where users adopted it as a go-to reaction for depicting encounters with frustrating ignorance. It joined a growing roster of rage faces like the original Rage Guy, Forever Alone, and the Troll Face. The "Are You Serious" face filled a specific emotional niche that the other faces didn't quite cover: not anger, not sadness, but pure bewildered disbelief.

The female version of the face appeared sometime after the original male drawing, expanding its use to a wider range of comic scenarios. Both versions became standard fixtures in rage comic generators and template libraries across sites like Reddit, 9GAG, and dedicated rage comic communities throughout 2011 and 2012.

As rage comics declined in popularity during the mid-2010s, the face's usage dropped along with the format. But the underlying expression and concept survived in other reaction image formats.

How to Use This Meme

The Are You Serious Face works best as a reaction to statements or situations involving obvious ignorance, flawed logic, or baffling stupidity. In the classic rage comic format, the face typically appears in the final panel after a setup showing someone saying something ridiculous. Common scenarios include:

- A friend or coworker making an obviously wrong claim with total confidence - Encountering absurd rules, policies, or instructions - Hearing someone misunderstand a basic concept

The face is often paired with the text "Are you serious?" or just "Seriously?" as a caption. In modern usage outside rage comics, the original Silverman screencap or the drawn face can work as a standalone reaction image in group chats or comment threads.

Cultural Impact

The Are You Serious Face rode the broader rage comic wave that dominated internet humor from roughly 2010 to 2013. Rage comics were one of the first truly participatory meme formats, where anyone could create their own comic using a shared vocabulary of expressive faces. The "Are You Serious" face was part of this shared language, recognizable to millions of internet users during that era.

The source material also had its own cultural moment. The Bill O'Reilly vs. David Silverman debate became a touchstone in online atheism communities, generating multiple memes beyond just this face. O'Reilly's "tide goes in, tide goes out" line became a shorthand for confidently incorrect reasoning.

Fun Facts

The face captures David Silverman's expression at approximately the 2:00 mark of the O'Reilly debate clip.

Both the "Are You Serious" face and the "You Can't Explain That" meme came from the exact same televised exchange.

The Reddit post that launched the meme was a "(FIXED)" post, meaning it was a response or correction to someone else's earlier submission.

Derivatives & Variations

Female "Are You Serious" Face:

A version of the same expression drawn as a female character, used interchangeably with the male version in rage comics[2].

"You Can't Explain That" image macros:

The same Bill O'Reilly debate that produced Are You Serious Face also spawned a separate meme featuring O'Reilly's "tide goes in, tide goes out" quote as a template for mocking circular reasoning[2].

Frequently Asked Questions