The Nihilist

In January 2026 a clip taken from a clip of Encounters at the End of the World was shared on various social media including Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly known as "Twitter") becoming a widespread meme which was dubbed as "nihilistic penguin". The meme later became a sort of anti-conformist symbol, and a version was shared on social media by the Second Trump Administration during the Greenland crisis.