The TikTok meme featuring Napoleon Bonaparte uttering "There Is Nothing We Can Do" (also written "There's Nothing We Can Do") emerged as a humorous yet somewhat melancholy reflection on certain situations, leveraging historical imagery to evoke a sense of hopelessness. The meme portrays the French Emperor responding to various prompts with the phrase "There is nothing we can do," often depicted in painted images reflecting his time of exile on the island of St. Helena. This meme trend commenced on August 15, 2023, when a TikToker under the username @history.awakes.around posted a photo slideshow. The slideshow begins with two rage comic characters resembling Napoleon and one of his men, exiled to St. Helena. When Napoleon's man inquires, "Napoleon, what will we do?" Napoleon responds, "There's nothing we can do." The slideshow then transitions to numerous paintings showing Napoleon on St. Helena, embodying a somber mood, often staring at the ocean or sitting contemplatively. The slideshow was set to a slowed remix of the song "Amour plastique" by Videoclub, which had been added as a TikTok sound by another user, @akos5000_ (formerly @german__dude), on July 17, 2023. The original post by @history.awakes.around received about 1.2 million plays and 139,600 likes within a month. Following the initial post, the meme format saw replication and variations by other TikTokers. Despite its August inception, the meme didn't gain widespread popularity until late September 2023, with one notable variation posted by TikToker @theyhatexog on September 16, showcasing characters like Batman and Homelander alongside Napoleon. Another version by TikToker @walter00blanco on September 18 expressed dread over an upcoming math test using the meme format, amassing roughly 2.6 million plays and 460,500 likes in three days. Beyond slideshows, video iterations also surfaced, like a post by TikToker @svenccy on September 18, 2023, employing the meme to illustrate a "What I Learned / What I Remembered" theme. The meme's humor lies in the exaggerated despair conveyed through Napoleon's historical persona, resonating with TikTok users facing everyday challenges or commenting on various topical or whimsical themes. The trend exemplifies the creative blending of historical imagery with contemporary digital culture on social media platforms like TikTok, fostering a shared humorous narrative among its community.
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