This phrase is coined from the French slogan meaning "They shall not pass". The slogan is used to express determination to defend a position against an enemy. It was most famously used during the Battle of Verdun in World War I by French General Robert Nivelle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_shall_not_pass). A successful internet meme would be the phrase that Gandalf used in the Lord Of The Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring. Gandalf utters the phrase "You shall not pass" when he was preventing the Balrog from pursuing them on the stone bridge in the Mines of Moria. After doing so, he raises his staff and strikes the bridge causing it to break and crumble and falls into the abyss with the Balrog on it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings).
It is a successful meme due to the fact that The Lord of The Rings trilogy is a well-known movie. Also according to wikipedia, it is the third best-selling novel ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. This would help the phrase to spread quickly among people and also the fact that it is catchy. Uses of this meme can be for anything really, examples are those from the pictures below. The one which I really like is the "motivational" picture which states: "If you don't study, You Shall Not Pass!"
Some facts about the movies from Wikipedia: The
three films together were nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards,
of which they won 17, a record for any movie trilogy. The Return of the
King (the last of the trilogy) won in every category in which it was nominated, an extremely rare
feat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy#Academy_Awards).
A video of the scene can be found through this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlaiBeLrntQ
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