In our current era of media specialization, where television series cater to smaller niche audiences, few comedy programs have reached any significant level of cultural prominence in America. No modern comedies have quite reached the same level of mass cultural appeal as Seinfeld or The Cosby Show, nor shape culture in the same manner as those programs. However, the modern allowance for specialized humor has allowed many series to flourish despite not resembling the traditional sitcom formula; series that appeal to a young Americans who have grown up in conditions wildly different than any generation before it. For proof of this phenomenon we do not need to look any further than the current top rated comedy among people under 34 in America, Rick and Morty.
The brainchild of showrunners Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, Rick and Morty follows the sci-fi misadventures of alcoholic mad-scientist, Rick, considered the smartest man in the universe, and his average, teenage nephew, Morty. The show mimics the typical family sitcom formula by centering around the unremarkable middle-class Smith family, which also includes the father, Jerry, mother, Beth, and teenage sister, Summer. But unlike the typical sitcom, Rick and Morty is irreverent, violent, black-humored and, above all else, cynical. Drawing from the sci-fi traditions of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, which “emphasizes the terror of that which is outside our grasp to comprehend,” a typical Rick and Morty episode will pose some version of the question “what gives life meaning,” allow its protagonists to explore some possible answer, before returning to the unceremoniously absurd conclusion that their lives are insignificant.
A running motif within Rick and Morty is its brutally uncaring universe, a longstanding trope of cosmic horror but a radically new addition to mainstream American culture. In addition to the culture of American exceptionalism, the post-WWII economic benefits in the United Sates allowed for a sense of optimism that permeated until the end of the century. However, as other nations have developed their economies in the globalized markets, the United States has lost its advantage. In S1E6, Close Encounters of the Rick Kind, Morty learns that there are infinite versions of him across multiple universes and that Mortys are generally considered disposable by their uncles. Morty’s realization mirrors that of many young Americans whose lived experience directly contradicted the exceptionalist narrative. Following the Great Recession, younger Americans, fed a narrative that a degree meant a fulfilling job, often found themselves unemployed or valued very little by downsizing corporations. Unlike older white Americans, millennials were the first in the television era to collectively experience the uncaring nature of global Capitalism.
Though the show’s main protagonist, Rick, suggests nihilism as a response to politics, the series’ most acclaimed episode to date, S3E7 The Ricklantis Mix-up, suggests that pessimism is the main draw. A bottle episode, The Ricklantis Mix-up focuses on a distant planetary civilization constituted of exclusively Ricks and Mortys. Their society is revealed to have alienated workers, corrupt cops, oligarchical capitalism, spectacle elections, and immense poverty. There is even a group of soon-to-graduate Mortys who do not have faith that their lives will improve upon exiting school. This is clearly coded as unjust by the episode’s narrative, betraying a progressive political core of the show’s writers. Distinct from a show like Seinfeld, which does not suggest an underlying moral ideology, Rick and Morty seems to assume its viewership cares about injustice but are also cynical toward existing political structures. This assumption reflects the known political attitudes of young people, who are generally progressive but are not likely to vote.
To further understand how Rick and Morty appeal to younger Americans, we must examine the shows ties to internet culture. To many older Americans, the show’s dark humor and extreme violence may offend, disturb, or even traumatize. However, these elements rarely can surprise anyone who grew up with the internet. The internet not only reflects much of humanity’s strangest, most bigoted, and most violent impulses, much of that behavior is even favored by major site algorithms to the point that almost young people have some internet horror story. The character, Summer Smith, encapsulates this experience after her mother complains about young people being coddled, retorting “bitch, my generation gets traumatized for breakfast.” Also a radically bold departure from the sitcom formula, the show makes frequent references to and jokes about depression and suicide. Rick, whose nonsensical catchphrase is said to mean “I am in great pain,” is in a continuing state of depression and once attempts to kill himself. While suicide and mental health have generally been taboos to Americans, Rick and Morty reflects a very recent shift by young people in removing that stigma, often through internet meme humor. This may be due to the collective, though mostly hidden, anxiety that life in America is slowly getting worse.
A show like Rick and Morty, which seemingly mocks the traditional sensibilities of Americans (religion, optimism, corporatism, etc.), could not had such positive reception without a major shift in the national culture. The writers can only suggest that its audience reject those values, but what caused such a massive group of young people to accept their offer? As previously established, much of the millennial generation may be economically worse off than their parents, or downwardly mobile. A study by Stijin Daenekindt seems to suggest that moving downward socially may increase people’s “social disorientation,” or confusion regarding their circumstances and “individual utilitarianism,” or rejection of social structures towards individualism. This may not only imply that downwardly mobile people are more likely to question their society’s beliefs, but also that they are more likely to focus on their individual happiness out of cynicism. This exact shift is also evident in a similarly cynical art movement, Dadaism. “Dada was born out of World War I and embraced a philosophy of rejecting societal views of progress and rationalism defined by technological advancement.” Following Dada’s example, many German middle-class youth rejected the horror of politics, war and science, and instead looked inward for meaning. In line with than rejection, Rick doesn’t use his own technology for societal advancement so much as his own intense drug use and personal entertainment. And millions of young Americans, disgusted by the effect’s recession and political stagnation, have delighted in Rick and Morty’s model.
American television, and its culture at large, has always promised its youth that their lives would be better than their parents. And until the late 2000s, that promise always seemed feasible. But as young Americans have woken up to the new economic, environmental, and social state of being, that promise has become a source of anxiety rather than hope. As products of an individualistic culture, to not make due on that expectation seemed like a point of personal failure, no matter the surrounding circumstances. Rick and Morty resonates with young people because it rejects the traditional model of meaning, in addition to almost all others.
In S1E8 Rixty Minutes, Summer falls into a state of a panic. She has just discovered her parents very nearly aborted her, and now she is unsure of her place, her concept of self, her life’s meaning. Morty takes the moment to reassure her:
“Nobody exists on purpose. Nobody belongs anywhere. Everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV.” Every young person watching joins in the collective sigh of relief.
Bibliography
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Daenekindt, Stijn. “The Experience of Social Mobility: Social Isolation, Utilitarian Individualism, and Social Disorientation.” Social Indicators Research 133, no. 1 (2016): 15-30. doi:10.1007/s11205-016-1369-3.
Lorenz, Taylor. “Why Does Everyone on the Internet Want to Die? How Suicide Memes Took over the Web.” Mic, Mic Network Inc., 11 July 2017, mic.com/articles/181752/why-does-everyone-on-the-internet-want-to-die-how-death-memes-took-over-the-web#.yhCUxw4cX.
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