Fortnite's hilarious emotes are plucked straight
out of pop culture — and we've got the rundown
on where some of the most popular ones came
from.
Confused
If you've ever seen Quentin Tarantino's Pulp
Fiction, you'll probably remember John Travolta's
ill-fated character, Vincent Vega.
And, chances are, you'll also recall his super
weird body language in the scene where he
first meets his boss' wife, Mia Wallace.
Well, Vincent Vega's bewildered body language
has been immortalized as an emote in Fortnite.
That means there's nothing stopping you from
pulling your best John Travolta impression
from the comfort of your sofa — sick dancing
skills not required.
Floss
You can thank Katy Perry for this one.
During a 2017 performance of Perry's "Swish
Swish" on Saturday Night Live, a young man
pulling a stone face and wearing a backpack
made his way to the center of the stage and
performed a move called "flossing."
Thus the legend of Backpack Kid was born — and
hell was unleashed upon the internet.
Honestly, flossing looks like it was made
to have its own Fortnite emote.
Appropriately named "Floss," the emote is
another example of Fortnite's obsession with
weird, wacky, and downright wonderful pop
cultural phenomena.
Dab
The "dab" doesn't take a background in theater
to pull off.
Some believe the move started with hip hop
artists in Atlanta.
And while others dispute that, most agree
that it became popular once Carolina Panthers
quarterback Cam Newton started incorporating
dabbing into his touchdown dances.
In light of Newton's usage, the dab seemed
to take on an air of disrespect — and, because
nothing is sacred, it eventually made its
way into Fortnite.
You score on someone?
You dab on them.
And as there are no gentlemanly handshakes
following a match, the dab became something
of the Fortnite generation's teabagging.
Too young to know what teabagging is?
"Goooooood."
Fancy Feet
Michael Jackson's music was awe-inspiring
— and so were his moves.
He's so iconic that you can probably walk
up to any crowd, say the word "Thriller,"
and watch as at least one person busts a move.
For Fortnite to leave out a Michael Jackson
dance — well, that would be blasphemy.
That's where the Fancy Feet emote comes in.
Fancy Feet resembles a dance Jackson did to
his hit "Billie Jean."
Viewing the two side by side, it's hard to
deny the similarities.
Hey — it's not perfect, and it's no "Thriller."
But we'll take Fancy Feet over dabbing any
day.
Orange Justice
In 2018, a child in an orange shirt bravely
uploaded a video entry for an official Fortnite
emote dance contest.
His dance — which looked like, well, this
— won the hearts of the Fortnite fan base.
In the end, it wasn't selected as the contest
winner.
But, because the internet is both beautiful
and terrifying, gamers started petitions to
get the boy — now known as "Orange Shirt
Kid" his own dance emote.
At the beginning of May 2018, players logged
into Fortnite and found the Orange Justice
emote waiting for them in the Battle Pass.
And no one was more surprised than Orange
Shirt Kid himself, who tweeted, "THEY ADDED
IT OMGOMG."
Groove Jam
Napoleon Dynamite took pop culture by storm
way back in 2004 — and we like to think
it had less to do with the hero's unique expressions:
"Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!"
... and more to do with the movie's message:
to always follow your passions, even when
the world tries to crap all over them.
For the four people or so who still somehow
haven't seen the movie, it ends with Napoleon
totally breaking it down — and bringing
down the house.
Fortnite's Groove Jam emote is a spot-on rendition
of Napoleon's iconic moves.
If you're a fan of the movie, it's one you'll
most certainly want as part of your collection.
And if you're one of the few nerds who's never
seen Napoleon Dynamite — seriously, what
are you waiting for?
Llama Bell
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription
is more cowbell!"
After it entered the pop cultural lexicon
following an episode of SNL in 2000, Christopher
Walken's iconic line became damn-near inescapable.
Despite its age, it continues to show up in
new memes and jokes.
Like, for instance, when it popped up in Fortnite
as the "Llama Bell" emote.
Of course, it doesn't come with "Don't Fear
the Reaper" playing in the background.
That's probably a bit more money than Fortnite's
willing to spend.
But who cares about that song?
It didn't have enough Llama Bell anyway!
