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The 'James Franco "First Time?"' meme features a still image from the 2018 Western film *The Ballad of Buster Scruggs*. In this scene, James Franco, portraying an unnamed cowboy character, is depicted standing on the gallows about to be executed. He turns to another condemned man next to him, who seems visibly distressed, and delivers the line, "First time?" The image captures Franco with an expression that blends indifference and mild amusement. This template is commonly used to make light of situations where someone is experiencing a bizarre or extreme scenario for the first time that is ironically typical for others.
The scene used in the "First Time?" meme originated from a trailer released by Netflix on September 12, 2018, for *The Ballad of Buster Scruggs*. The trailer, which can be viewed on YouTube, concludes with the memorable moment of James Franco's character addressing a fellow prisoner on the gallows. The meme began to gain popularity after a post on Twitter (now X) by user @Ayub_dz on November 25, 2018. The post featured the screen-captured image from the film alongside a caption related to an unexpectedly dire situation, sparking widespread usage of this meme format.
Origin: 2018
Also known as: james-franco-first-time
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