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For most, \u201cchicken jockey\u201d seems like a random pair of words, almost poetic in how nonsensical they sound together. But the phrase is creating absolute pandemonium at showings of \u201cA Minecraft Movie<\/a>,\u201d turning the film into a viral phenomenon in addition to a box office smash<\/a>.<\/p>\n Essentially, the movie, based on the popular video game, has quickly become something akin to a new generation\u2019s \u201cRocky Horror Picture Show.\u201d In videos posted on social media, the mayhem begins when one star, Jack Black, exuberantly proclaims, \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d to announce the appearance of that creature from the video game. Young audience members go nuts, jumping up and down, screaming, even throwing popcorn at the screen in some cases.<\/p>\n Warner Bros. sees the reaction as \u201ca testament to the game\u2019s loyal fan base,\u201d as the marketing executive vice president Dana Nussbaum put it in a statement. The film\u2019s director, Jared Hess, approves of the trend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s way too funny,\u201d he said in a phone interview. \u201cIt\u2019s been a total blast. I\u2019m just laughing my brains out every time someone sends me a new video.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But why exactly is this happening? Let\u2019s unpack it as best we can.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a baby zombie that rides a chicken. (Don\u2019t worry. Nothing about this makes any logical sense. Just go with it.) Encountering a chicken jockey during gameplay is pretty rare, but Hess was intent on filling the movie with his favorite characters from the vast Minecraft universe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not something you see all the time, but I think it\u2019s adorable, and ridiculous and can murder you, and that\u2019s something that makes it special,\u201d Hess said.<\/p>\n In the film, Jason Momoa\u2019s Garrett Garrison has to battle the chicken jockey on the way to finding the orb that can take him back to the real world. He\u2019s accompanied by Steve (Black), a man who lives inside the game. Garrett first scoffs when his sparring partner, an innocent-looking chicken, enters the wrestling ring. But then a crate descends from a ceiling and drops the zombie on the chicken\u2019s back. The zombie smiles cutely before turning vicious. Cue Black\u2019s full-throated pronouncement, \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d<\/p>\n Hess and Black thought it would be funny if Steve announced everything that happens to him, stating the obvious with extreme intensity. Hess argued that Black\u2019s execution is one reason the \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d meme took off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cJack says it with such passion,\u201d he said. \u201cEverything that comes out of his mouth in the film is spoken with such authority and seriousness, like this is the most important thing anybody has ever heard in their life. I think people just love the craziness of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The fixation started even before the movie\u2019s April 4 release, according to the website Know Your Meme<\/a>. As soon as the first clip of the moment debuted in a trailer in February, social media users jumped on it, isolating Black\u2019s audio and remixing it<\/a>. With \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d already a catchphrase before the movie even hit theaters, fans were primed to transform the online meme into an in-person one. (As for the videos, no one these days really seems to have any qualms about taking out their phones during movies<\/a>.)<\/p>\n It\u2019s also not the only moment that has become a cue for audience participation. Others include when Black says \u201cflint and steel\u201d<\/a> and \u201cI am Steve.\u201d<\/a> (Steve is the default skin a Minecraft game player can use.) The enthusiasm for these utterances seems to stem partly from the fact that they are overt references to the Minecraft game and partly from Black\u2019s commitment to the bit. At the same time, perhaps overthinking it is not the point: \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d is just something that sounds very funny.<\/p>\n Some cinemas are cautioning patrons to behave. One theater in New Jersey said it would not allow unaccompanied minors<\/a> to attend the movie, which is rated PG (parental guidance suggested). In answer to an emailed question, the Township Theatre, in Washington Township, NJ., said that minors \u201ccan attend with a parent or responsible adult who sits in the theater with them.\u201d And according to the BBC<\/a>, an outpost of the Cineworld chain in Britain put up a sign warning that \u201cany form of antisocial behaviour\u201d like shouting would not be tolerated, adding, \u201cAnyone who is found to be acting in this manner will be removed from the screening and not entitled to a refund.\u201d And in at least one instance, the police were called to an American theater<\/a>.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s also money to be made in the madness. Cineworld announced that it had \u201ccreated special Chicken Jockey 4DX screenings at Cineworld cinemas nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n Ollie Jenks, a 22-year-old who posted a video of a raucous showing in Idaho Falls, Idaho,<\/a> told me that Minecraft\u2019s status as a generational touchstone probably contributed to the mood in the theater where she saw it. Some teenage boys, she said, were the loudest in the house.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it was probably a lot of excitement around the fact that something that is so popular, that is so near and dear to them, is represented in media,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I also think our generation and the younger generation just has a talent for picking up on the most niche things and turning them into memes.\u201d (See, for instance, the GentleMinions trend that emerged in 2022<\/a>, when moviegoers at \u201cMinions: The Rise of Gru\u201d wore suits to the theater.)<\/p>\nWhat is a chicken jockey?<\/span><\/h3>\n
How did \u201cChicken jockey!\u201d become a meme?<\/span><\/h3>\n
How are theaters reacting to rowdy crowds?<\/span><\/h3>\n
What do moviegoers say?<\/span><\/h3>\n