Pepe the green frog has left an indelible mark on the Internet since his creation by Matt Furie for his webcomic Boy’s Club back in 2005. Since then, he’s become one of the most beloved memes across social media channels such as Tumblr.

Pepe the Frog has come to represent the internet’s ability to unite communities across the world and form connections among its users. He’s been used as an icon for protest and resistance movements against certain policies or movements while amplifying and spreading misinformation or propaganda; while he’s been pulled in different directions by different subcultures, Pepe’s prevalence as a cartoon character prevents him from being fully co-opted.

As the Internet has evolved into a platform for commerce and information exchange, its proliferation as an avenue of profit has also allowed certain elements to gain entry to its system with the intention of capitalizing off it. Facebook algorithms aim to increase engagement with posts to generate more impressions and revenue – an approach that has led to certain internet memes such as Pepe being commercialized through normification processes.

Normification doesn’t need to be seen as inherently bad; however, it must be remembered that it can act as both a source and source of friction for users. Sometimes normification can serve as a powerful way to highlight what users find most relevant; making users aware of them in ways they weren’t before. Pepe’s widespread presence on social media has allowed activists and protestors to use his likeness for awareness-raising campaigns while at other times his presence on these platforms has given Pepe an association with white supremacy or hate groups.

Furie wasn’t amused with Pepe’s association with extremism and felt it represented an “icon of hatred.” In a Time essay he described this transformation of Pepe as being an absolute nightmare; ever since then he’s tried reclaiming him but has encountered many obstacles on his journey back.

Feels Good Man is a documentary directed by Arthur Jones and Giorgio Angelini that follows Pepe as he navigates his way through the internet and his descent into hate-symbol territory. The film explores its origins, how it works and Furie’s attempts at reclaiming Pepe from being consumed by internet memes. Well worth checking out – available now on Netflix.