You’ve seen him. He’s standing there, slumped shoulders, wearing that iconic bicorne hat, looking out over a desolate landscape while "Amour Plastique" by Videoclub plays in a slowed-down, echoing loop. It’s the napoleon there is nothing we can do meme. It turned a brutal 19th-century dictator into a symbol of modern-day "it is what it is" energy.
The internet is weird like that.
History buffs usually get annoyed when complex figures are reduced to 15-second TikTok clips, but this one feels different. It’s not just a joke; it’s a vibe. It captures a specific brand of nihilism that people are feeling right now. But honestly, if you look at the actual history of Napoleon Bonaparte, the phrase "there is nothing we can do" is the last thing he would have ever said—right up until the moment it was the only thing left to say.
Where did the Napoleon meme actually come from?
Memes don’t just pop out of thin air, though it feels like they do. This one started gaining serious traction in late 2023. The image itself isn't a photo, obviously. It’s a digital painting by an artist named Rhads (Artem Cheboha), titled "The Fallen Emperor."
It’s moody. It’s atmospheric. It looks like a cinematic still from a movie that doesn't exist.
The phrase napoleon there is nothing we can do is actually a translation (or a slight mistranslation) of a supposed sentiment from his final years in exile on St. Helena. After conquering most of Europe, the man ended up on a damp, windy rock in the middle of the South Atlantic. Talk about a glow-down.
Social media users latched onto this image because it perfectly illustrates the feeling of being defeated by circumstances you can't control. Whether it’s a failed exam, a breakup, or just the general state of the world, the "Napoleon" reaction became shorthand for "I give up, and I'm going to be dramatic about it."
The Song: Why Amour Plastique?
The music is half the battle. "Amour Plastique" by the French duo Videoclub provides this synth-pop melancholy that makes the whole thing feel nostalgic for a time you never lived through. When you slow it down—the "reverb" version—it turns into a funeral march for your own motivation.
People started pairing the "nothing we can do" caption with the song and the image to create a template for failure. It’s high-effort low-spirits.
The historical irony of "There is nothing we can do"
If you asked the real Napoleon in 1805 if there was "nothing he could do," he probably would have had you shot for being a pessimist. This was a guy who basically willed himself into becoming an Emperor. He didn't believe in "fate" in the way we do; he believed in The Star—his own personal destiny.
He famously said, "Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools."
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So, seeing him represent the "I give up" movement is hilarious to anyone who has read a biography by Andrew Roberts or Alan Schom. Napoleon was a micromanager. He was the guy who stayed up until 3:00 AM organizing bread rations for soldiers three hundred miles away. He was a doer. He was a fixer.
But then came 1812. Russia happened.
The actual moment of "Nothing we can do"
If there was ever a real-life version of the meme, it wasn't a single moment but a slow realization. Imagine the retreat from Moscow. It’s minus 30 degrees. Your "Grand Armée" is literally freezing to death around you. The horses are dead. The food is gone.
By the time Napoleon was exiled to Elba (the first time), he was still fighting it. He escaped! He went back to France, raised another army, and fought Waterloo. It wasn't until his second exile to St. Helena that the napoleon there is nothing we can do reality finally set in.
He spent his final years gardening, arguing with his British captor Hudson Lowe about how many bottles of wine he was allowed, and dictating his memoirs. He was trapped. The British Navy was constantly circling the island. There was, quite literally, nothing he could do.
Why this meme works for us in 2026
We live in an era of "doomscrolling." The internet gives us a front-row seat to every disaster, economic shift, and geopolitical conflict in real-time. It’s overwhelming.
The Napoleon meme resonates because it’s a way to process that overwhelm with humor. It’s "doom-posting" with a historical coat of paint. By identifying with a fallen world conqueror, we're making our own small problems feel epic.
"I forgot to defrost the chicken? There is nothing we can do (cue French synth-pop)."
It’s a defense mechanism.
It’s not just Napoleon
We’ve seen similar trends before. Remember the "This is fine" dog sitting in a burning house? Or the "Sisyphus" memes where the guy keeps pushing the rock up the hill?
Napoleon there is nothing we can do is just the 2020s version of that. It takes a historical figure known for his ego and his agency and strips it all away. It’s the ultimate "humanizing" moment for a guy who once tried to dominate the entire planet.
Misconceptions about Napoleon’s "Failure"
A lot of people using the meme think Napoleon was just a loser who got lucky and then crashed. That’s not really it. He was a genius who overreached.
- He wasn't actually that short. He was about 5'6" or 5'7", which was average for the time. The "short" thing was British propaganda.
- He didn't hate his life on St. Helena at first. He thought he might be able to charm the British into letting him move to America.
- The meme image isn't French. The artist, Rhads, is Russian. There’s a bit of irony there, considering Russia was the beginning of Napoleon's end.
How to use the meme (The right way)
If you’re going to participate in the napoleon there is nothing we can do trend, you have to nail the timing. It’s not for when you’re slightly annoyed. It’s for when you have reached the absolute limit of your influence over a situation.
- The Setup: A situation where you are clearly outmatched by fate or your own mistakes.
- The Visual: The Rhads painting, cropped to show the face.
- The Audio: Slowed-down "Amour Plastique." If you use the original speed, you’ve failed.
- The Caption: "There is nothing we can do."
It’s a bit like the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" theme, but instead of being awkward, it’s grandly tragic.
Beyond the Meme: What can we actually learn?
Is there a lesson here? Maybe.
Napoleon’s downfall wasn't because he was weak; it was because he didn't know when to stop. He didn't know how to exist in a world where he wasn't the protagonist. The meme mocks that. It’s a reminder that no matter how big you think you are, eventually, the world catches up.
Honestly, there’s something kind of comforting about it. If the guy who conquered Europe had to eventually sit on a rock and realize "there is nothing we can do," then it’s probably okay if you can’t fix your life in a single Tuesday afternoon.
Actionable Takeaways from the Meme Trend
If you find yourself stuck in a "Napoleon" moment, here is how to actually move past the meme:
- Audit your "Uncontrollables": Napoleon's mistake was trying to control the Russian winter. You can't control the market, the weather, or other people's opinions. Stop trying.
- Embrace the Nihilism (Briefly): The meme is a great way to vent. Post it, laugh at the absurdity, and then get back to work.
- Change the Soundtrack: If you’re feeling like "Amour Plastique" is becoming your life’s theme song, it’s time to listen to something with a bit more tempo.
- Look at the "Elba" Phase: Remember, Napoleon escaped his first exile. Just because there's "nothing you can do" now doesn't mean the situation is permanent. It just means you need a different strategy.
The napoleon there is nothing we can do phenomenon is a testament to how we use history to explain our own modern anxieties. It’s funny, it’s dark, and it’s surprisingly deep for something that lives on a vertical video feed.
Next time you see that sad emperor staring into the distance, remember that even the most powerful people in history had days where they just wanted to delete their accounts and go home. They just didn't have TikTok to tell everyone about it.
Next Steps for Researching Napoleon's Real Life:
Read Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts for the most balanced view of his rise and fall. If you're more interested in the psychology of his defeat, check out The Invisible Emperor by Mark Braude, which covers his first exile on Elba and how he nearly pulled off the greatest comeback in history before finally hitting the point of no return.