Do you miss Dawson’s Creek? Specifically, do you miss the highly emotive face of James Van Der Beek? Judging from a recent Internet craze, there is indeed a demand for Dawson face time. And now, thanks to a new website from the actor himself, all of your James Van Der Beek face needs have been answered.
The new website, James Van Der Memes, features little more than a series of animated GIFs depicting the many faces and emotions of the actors. From “happy” to “yawn” to “eyebrow string dancer,” you can use the images to express every emotion you’ve ever felt (and several that you haven’t).
Why does James Van Der Memes exist? There’s almost a valid reason. Apparently, the nebulous community that is the Internet has come up with a brief GIF animation of Dawson crying after his Joey break-up. It’s one of the more ridiculous depictions of sadness out there, so you know it was never meant to show any valid emotion.
As James Van Der Beek put it: “The more I saw it in website comments sections, mocking the sadness of others, the more I realized what the Internet was really demanding: more intense emotional close-ups of my face.”
The website therefore features 25 of Van Der Beek’s best(?) faces.
Watch the explanation for the website here:
Vandermemes from James Van Der Beek
While most of the faces are general enough for common usage, a few are more specific. The “lilo eye roll” face is specifically designed for comments that have to do with Lindsay Lohan. The “10th anniversary crying edition” face is for the true Dawson’s Creek fan needing to express sadness in the long absence of the show. The “in da club” face is meant for… Actually, I have no idea what the purpose of that could be. It’s probably not good though.
There’s even a “dramatic Dawson,” in which Van Der Beek convincingly imitates everyone’s favorite Internet squirrel!
What about the original clip? “Restored and re-mastered.” Because a special, high-resolution image of Dawson’s tears is what the universe truly lacked.
I don’t claim to have been pining over the loss of Dawson in recent years. I really didn’t need more of him. How wrong I was! Now, thanks to James Van Der Memes, I finally understand what I wasn’t missing.
What do you think? What’s your favorite James Van Der Beek face? Let us know in the comments!
(Images courtesy of James Van Der Memes and video courtesy of FunnyorDie.com)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
