'Who are we?' The unknown story behind popular memes

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Even if you haven't heard of Allie Brosh, or read her book, Hyperbole and a Half, you would be familiar with her cute paintbrush pictures sweeping Chinese social media.

Created with the title "Who are we?", the paintings depict the inner world of present-day people from all walks of life, all of whom desperately want to vent their exasperation accumulated in the workplace.

This set of pictures received little attention when it was first published in China in 2013. This time, however, things have changed. On Wednesday, the number of people searching for the pictures rose dramatically. Popular accounts such as People's Daily reposted the memes, giving the paintings a further boost.

But how much do you know about the stories behind these humorous memes?

The drawings were first featured on Allie Brosh's humorous, autobiographical blog "Hyperbole and a Half" in June 2010. She wrote stories about her life and illustrated them with brightly colored yet intentionally crude drawings.

In 2011, an editor of PC World included it on a list of the funniest sites on the internet, and in 2013, Advertising Age included Brosh in its annual list of the year's most influential and creative thinkers and doers.

But in reality, Brosh had long been suffering from depression. Many of her most popular posts have been upsetting. In fact, when Brosh stopped blogging for about a year and a half, her readers were worried about her. 

She finally came back to her blog fully recovered and released a new book — also called Hyperbole and a Half — that collected her blog posts as well as new illustrated stories.

In an interview with NPR, she said that she wanted to encourage those who were also suffering from depression, and to help them escape this perilous trap.

One thing I wrote that resonated with a lot of my readers was a couple of posts about my struggle with depression… Depression can be such an isolating experience, and it's deceptive… You think, 'Surely I'm the only one that's ever gone through this, or felt this depth of misery.'

Her hard work paid off. It's no surprise that her fan base had an emotional connection to Brosh. Any look at the comments section of relevant articles or forums would find hordes of fans caring for each other, as if they are close friends.

The excitement for Brosh's return was short-lived. On Nov 13, 2014, Allie Brosh tweeted, "The great social media paradox: share, and expose myself as the sort of egotistical maniac who'd do that, or languish in No-Attention Land?" This was the last day she tweeted to her fans. 

As she writes in Hyperbole and a Half, "I'd love to hang out, but I have to go sit in my house by myself." She'll come out when she's ready.

The next time you repost these humorous memes, don't forget the moving story behind them.

Sources: NPR, Rawckus

Editors: Jiao Jie, Zheng Peihan (intern)

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