Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American teen comedy written and directed by John Hughes. Gedde Watanabe plays Long Duk Dong, the foreign exchange student staying with Samantha Baker's grandparents, whose awkward scenes became some of the film's most quoted moments. His yankie my wankie complaint survived through home video, cable repeats and later movie quote collections before moving to meme pages and soundboards. Although the character is now widely discussed as a dated stereotype, the isolated line remains popular as a short, recognisable reaction for hunger and impatience in edits.