ELI5: Why Is The Scream So Famous?

The Scream is so famous because it shows a feeling that everyone experiences in everyday life: being totally overwhelmed, stressed, and wanting to let out a giant shout.

Imagine you are having the most frustrating day ever. You spilled your cereal, you lost your favorite toy, and loud construction work is buzzing right outside your window. You might feel a wild buzzing inside your chest that makes you want to hold your cheeks and scream.

That is the exact moment this painting captures. Here is why people around the world connect with it in their daily lives:

• It shows an invisible feeling: If you scrape your knee, people can see the scrape. But if you feel nervous or worried, no one can see it. The artist, Edvard Munch, painted the invisible feeling of anxiety so clearly that anyone looking at it instantly understands it.
• The whole world feels the stress: In the painting, the sky is fiery red and the ground is twisting like a rollercoaster. This feels just like everyday stress, when a bad mood makes the whole world around you seem chaotic and dizzy.
• It acts like a universal emoji: Think of the classic shock emoji with its hands on its cheeks. The figure in The Scream has no specific age or gender, so anyone can imagine themselves in that spot when life becomes too loud or chaotic.
• Pop culture loves it: Because the face is so simple and powerful, people use it everywhere. You can see it on funny internet memes about Monday mornings, in cartoons, and even on Halloween masks.