Flyana Boss’s Viral Fame Is Changing the Way People See Running Scenes

No matter how often Flyana Boss dashes across my feed or FYP, I’ve never skipped past them. Not even once. I’ve done my due diligence as a new fan of indie artists and streamed their music. Since mid-June, it’s been a constant cycle of Janelle Monáe, Rina Sawayama, and this rap duo. You might have noticed them taking over TikTok with all these running videos set to “You Wish.” All this to say, I can’t get enough. Now, their hard work has resulted in more exposure via memes. While some people have decided to loudly declare that this music is not for them in the most obnoxious way possible, others find the song has breached their cell walls, forever changing how they see running in pop culture. And the memes are taking off.

For those that only saw the first Madagascar or two, this is Captain Dubois chasing the animals in Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Not all the references are from cute animated movies. At least one person thought of the 2019 single-shot WWI drama 1917, where Lance Cpl. Schofield (George MacKay) races into enemy territory to deliver a message that could turn the tides of the war.

Other edits include Peach flawlessly navigating through an obstacle course in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and footage of Crash Bandicoot running from a giant boulder. Within a few hours of the season two trailer of Jujutsu Kaisen, @ileiaamvs on TikTok shared an edit of Utahime Iori running over “You Wish.” However, one of the peak edits is also the first one to go viral.

Yes, that’s a compilation of Captain America (Chris Evans) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) chasing each other across different MCU movies. It was so popular that user @yourmillennialauntie presented a cut with a less viral but no less great part of the song.

All the baddies, please stand up

Just seeing some motion will result in a fan edit of this earworm. Before these edits, there was no dominant trend to share this song in online videos. Sure, some stylists and make-up artists used it for their fun transitions. However, the song, which is Black AF, sex-positive, and silly, really took off with the running trend. The song also inspired some fan cams of other badass women duos, including some of the most powerful besties in comics history, Jean Grey and Ororo Munroe (Storm).

Others are combining the two memes, with baddies from pop culture running during the Flyana Boss tune. Like this clip of Vixen running alongside John Stewart in Justice League, which hits perfectly with the song.

This fan edit was created by comic book writer Stephanie Williams, who has previously used rap hits by Black women to express her love for Vixen. Back in 2020, Williams made an edit of Vixen over Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “W.A.P.“ I dare you to watch Vixen the same way ever again.

What’s the best edit you’ve seen online? Let us know in the comments!

(featured image: Warner Bros. Animation.)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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