Alcoholic Grandfather Meets Insecure Grandson: A Rhetorical Analysis of "Rick and Morty"

In today’s world of technological advances and digital natives, people seem more connected than ever, with more opportunities than ever. That’s the dream, the idealized image of our information saturated society. Instead, we’ve received an entitled, instant gratification seeking, depressed, and emotionally disconnected generation of teens and young adults who are desperate for something to relate to. They may have found it in Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s Rick and Morty. The Adult Swim show follows the crazy adventures of alcoholic and slightly insane scientist, Rick, and his insecure, accident-prone, but good-hearted grandson, Morty, as they travel the spacetime continuum to ridiculous dimensions and planets, wrecking havoc along the way. The show brings to light many controversial topics and ideas, adding a comedic edge to them, which has a particular allure to today’s millennial generation. In this paper, I will be examining the rhetoric of Rick and Morty based upon it’s utilization of theories such as nihilism, absurdism, and escapism, and why this show appeals so much to today’s young adults, through psychoanalytic and culture-centered lenses respectively.

The first theory to consider is nihilism, which is commonly defined as the philosophical belief that life is meaningless, with the rejection of all religious and/or moral principles. It’s creation is commonly attributed to Albert Camus, (Candelaria). In countless ways the show demonstrates this idea of nihilism through cosmic horror, “exposing how inane life is on a universal scale,” (Candelaria). For instance, in the episode “Get Swifty,” Earth is terrorized by a group of flying heads, the Crumulons. The people of Earth decide these creatures must be gods of some sort, and resign to worship them, even making human sacrifices in their honor. Unbeknownst to humanity, these floating heads’ only purpose is to make a reality TV show about a singing competition, with the losing planet being annihilated. This shows firstly how meaningless an entire planet of beings is on the universal scale, and secondly human’s innate desire to find meaning in life, and the ultimate pointlessness of doing so. This episode “highlights the illogical ambiguity of faith and the uncertain interpretations that accompany it,” (Koltun). In another episode, “The Ricks Must Be Crazy,” Rick creates an entire micro-verse filled with people in order to power his bar battery. Something so small and unimportant in our world, but which their entire existence is for in their world. Upon entering the micro-verse, it is discovered that the people their also believe Rick to be a higher being of some sort. “They have no idea that their lives’ purpose is to power a vehicle; like the people who died as sacrifices to the Cromulons had no idea that their planet was part of a game show… In these instances, even though the individuals are serving a higher being’s purpose, these purposes are ultimately meaningless,” (Candelaria). We can see the deeply nihilistic themes within the show through these few episodes, with countless more not mentioned.

The show itself is not the only exemplifier of nihilism, the characters help build this theme as well. The show’s main character, Rick, almost perfectly exemplifies this idea of nihilism, as shown through his actions, behaviors, and various lines throughout the show. In an essence, Rick does not believe there is some grand purpose to life, he is aware of the multiverse and of the infinite number of versions of himself. Due to this knowledge, and his own personal character, he recognizes that his own actions do not matter, because another version of himself has already done or not done it, or done the opposite, and, in the grand scene of things, it does not matter either way. “Rick, quite possibly the most nihilistic fictional character ever conceived, is quick to sell weapons to assassins, participate in another planet’s purge, and even enslave entire species to either run his car or add to the hive mind of his on-and-off girlfriend, Unity,” (Candelaria). Rick maintains this idea of life’s meaninglessness, that nothing matters and thus the morality of situations is mute. “Nihilism merely requires that one realize life’s insignificance and not care one way or the other on ethical matters,” (Candelaria). Through these characteristics and behaviors of Rick, we can clearly see his nihilistic tendencies.

Nihilism frequently disregards institutionalized ideas such as religion, government, etc. (Koltun), as does Rick. We can see these most clearly through quotes of his throughout the show. In the very first episode of the show, Rick says, “There is no god, Summer, gotta rip that Band-Aid off right now,” (Candelaria). Throughout the entirety of the show, Rick will go on to discount and rebel against a variety of institutions or ideas. About school he says: “I'll tell you how I feel about school, Jerry: it's a waste of time. Bunch of people runnin' around bumpin' into each other, got a guy up front says, '2 + 2,' and the people in the back say, '4.' Then the bell rings and they give you a carton of milk and a piece of paper that says you can go take a dump or somethin'. I mean, it's not a place for smart people, Jerry. I know that's not a popular opinion, but that's my two cents on the issue.” (LaGrotta, “Pilot”). Through this, Rick points out many real flaws in the education system, while also addressing his own nihilistic thought patterns. About marriage he says: "Listen, Morty, I hate to break it to you but what people call ‘love’ is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. It hits hard, Morty, then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. I did it. Your parents are gonna do it. Break the cycle, Morty. Rise above. Focus on science,” (LaGrotta, "Rick Potion No. 9"). Rick’s perceptions about marriage stem from his own failed marriage and his daughter’s unsteady one, which his analytic, scientific mind has rationalized into this quote. In the episode “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind,” Rick and Morty encounter the Council of Ricks, made up of Rick’s various self from alternate dimensions who govern all of the Ricks. To them, Rick says, “I’m the Rick, and so were the rest of you before you formed this stupid alliance. You wanted to be safe from the government, so you became a stupid government. That makes every Rick here less Rick than me.” Rick refuses to accept any governing body or institutional authority, even one made entirely of himself, (Koltun). Through these examples, we can clearly see that Rick maintains a nihilistic belief system in line with the shows overall theme.

In tangent with nihilism comes the theory of absurdism. Joll and Kind state, “Camus defines absurdism as a conflict between the individual and the universe where the individual attempts to find meaning in the universe and the universe provides none,” (qtd. in Candelaria). In our attempt to reconcile events by finding purpose in them is absurd, (Candelaria). Thomas Nagel is considered the most renowned philosopher of the absurdist theory, but does not believe the universe is inherently absurd. He states that the absurd occurs when we continuing living even though we are being told by the external perspective that it is meaningless to do so, (Joll/Kind, qtd. in Candelaria). Rick is an explicit example of this theory in that, though he repeatedly and constantly says that nothing matters, including morals and emotions, it is clear that he cares about Morty.

The character of Morty provides a contrast to Rick. Where as Rick supposedly cares about nothing and sees no value in other life forms, Morty is the exact opposite and cares or worries about everyone and everything. The clearest example in these to characters differences can be found in the sixth episode of season one in which Rick and Morty are burying the body’s of themselves from another dimensional timeline, in which they are about to replace. Rick is entirely unaffected, devoid of emotion despite having just killed himself, another Rick, a human being. Morty, on the other hand, is first reduced to tears before entering a shellshocked state of bewilderment and silent terror, (Morales). However, the show often uses Morty’s kindness and humanity against him to prove the show’s point, that there is no meaning and that attaching meaning to such things will get you no where. An example of this can be seen in the episode “Mortynight Run” in which Morty attempts to save the life of a gaseous being. While attempting to do this, several innocent police officers and “gear people” die during a police chase. To this, Rick asks Morty, “How do you feel about all these people that are getting killed today ‘cause of your choices?” In the end, the gaseous being reveals its intentions of destroying other dimensions, forcing Morty to kill it. Thus concluding the idea that Morty’s good intentions and morality were ultimately pointless and absurd, that all these people died for nothing and that, in the end, that also doesn’t really matter.

Another absurdist aspect of the show is the character of Jerry, Morty’s father, and who’s personality is the antithesis of Rick. “Jerry’s entire personality is a distraction from life’s meaninglessness…If anyone should believe that the universe is devoid of any meaning, it should be Jerry, the jobless, talentless, and cowardly idiot who is either too dumb to realize he is in a failing marriage or too spineless to do something about it,” (Candelaria). Despite these things, Jerry is remarkably happy, while Rick, who is the most “aware,” is also the most depressed. Thus representing the absurdity of the absurd, which is to say that our awareness of how pointless everything is is not anymore freeing and in no way relieves any of the consequent anxieties of living.

The show also has deep notes of of escapism, which is the tendency to seek relief or distraction for unpleasant realities, be that situations or thoughts. The very plot of the show, traveling to alternate dimensions and realities, and crazy, Si-Fi planets, is escapism from everyday life such as work and school and family problems. This is most notably represented by Rick. “It is always assumed that something dark happened in Rick’s past to cause his alcoholism; giving him a need for the escapism it offers,” (Candelaria). Rick is depicted in the show as always drinking and as preferring past times which will distract him from what is really happening in his life. Similarly, his daughter Beth has a tendency to drink during hard times. She is seen shakily pouring herself a drink immediately after accidentally shooting a close family friend, or after learning that her alternate reality is living a much more fulfilling life than her, or when problems arise in her marriage or in her relationship with her father, Rick. Through these examples, we can see the shows obvious escapism theme.

Our final question, and perhaps the most meaningful, is: why does this show appeal so much to today’s millennial generation? Millennials are defined as American youth born between the years of 1982 and 2000, (Koltun). “As of 2015, the US census estimated their size at 83.1 million people, representing over one quarter of the US population,” (Koltun). That’s a large group of people all enchanted by Rick and Morty. Many media outlets have identified Rick and Morty as, “Millennials’ Favorite TV show”8 and the “No. 1 TV Comedy Among Millennials,” (Koltun). Koltun attributes this infatuation to the sociological context of the contrast between upbringing and reality. In essence, the millennial generation grew up in “a world that promised them everything but neglected to deliver,” (Koltun) leading to a disenchanted youth with high expectations that are rarely matched by reality. Jean Twenge has looked into this “you can be anything you want to be” mentality so prevalent in the millennial generation. Her study revealed that, “in 2002…80% of sophomores in high school expected to graduate from a four-year university, compared to just 59% in 1990, just twelve years before…In 1999, teens predicted that they would be earning, on average, $75,000 a year by the time they were 30. The average income of a 30-year-old that year? —$27,000, or around a third of the teens’ aspirations,” (Koltun). Clearly, the expectations of millennials are not being met. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, millennials are the “first in the modern era to have higher levels of student loan debt, poverty and unemployment, and lower levels of wealth and personal income than their two immediate predecessor generations,” (Koltun). Now, what does this information have to do with Rick and Morty?

The themes of nihilism coupled with cosmos horror, absurdist humor, and escapism, provide a much needed relief for the millennial generation from their daily stressors and societal expectations. Millennials were raised with such hopefulness, only to have that veil torn away as they entered adulthood, leaving them in a state of utter despair. From this despair, millennials are turning to ideas such as nihilism to rectify their disappoint and impending doom of the future for which they are unprepared for. If nothing matters, then nothing matters, so why worry about it?

“On top of this economic instability, millennials also experience institutional uncertainty at unprecedented levels. Millennials have exhibited lower involvement and trust in traditional institutions such as religion, marriage, and politics. Compound this with the chaotic and anxiety-inducing nature of the Information Era that they have grown up in, and one starts to see the negative psychological effects of it all, as much research has shown…A 2014 Pew Research Center survey revealed that approximately three in ten millennials don’t affiliate with any religion and that half of them self-describe as politically independent….” (Koltun).

Millennials strongly identify with common ideas in the show presented by Rick and other characters, such as the disregard for marriage, school, government, religion, etc. Mental health issues are potent in millennials, particularly college age students, with more than 5 million reported to be struggling with some form mental health issue according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, (Koltun). The show uses humor to lighten the mood surrounding such depressing realities for millennials. A few quotes from millennial students capture what this show means to them:

“From Kelly Benning on Comicverse: Absurdism provided this outlet because it makes the real-life absurdity feel a little more bearable... Millennials identify with absurdist humor because, while teetering on the line towards escapism, the humor does offer a direct criticism of the current state of the world. From Sarah Gibb on Medium: we turn towards memes, Netflix, and a variety of other distractions. Comedy is the unsung hero of our age, turning shitty things into shitty jokes, and making everything terrible on the news a little more stomach-able. It’s from this needed juxtaposition of humor and harsh reality that Adult Swim’s hit show, Rick and Morty, was born.”

Rick and Morty speaks of all the things millennials deal with on a daily basis, the ways they’ve been disappointed by the world, and the preferences they’re beginning to have as a generation born into technology and a harsh reality.

Millennials are beginning to identify more with ideas such as nihilism, to appreciate the absurdity of life, and even to practice escapism from the ugly world they’ve been given. Rick and Morty not only reflects the existential ideas of it’s viewers, but also provides a framework for navigating the disorder and disappointed of postmodern America, (Koltun). In short, we millennials love Rick and Morty because we’re sad and angry and so is the show, but it tells us that it’s okay, too. If nothing matters, if there are no gods and no hell and no future, then it doesn’t matter how far into debt I go. It doesn’t matter if I buy a house and have kids and live up to my parents expectations. The rhetoric of the show Rick and Morty can psychoanalytically be seen through the theories of nihilism, absurdism, and escapism, as can it’s rhetorical appeal to the millennial generation be seen in connection to these theories through both psychoanalytical and culture-center lenses.

References

1. Candelaria, Rene L. (2018) "Absurdist Sci-Fi Humor: Comparable Attitudes Regarding Absurdism in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Rick and Morty," OUR Journal: ODU Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 5 , Article 1. Available at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/ourj/vol5/iss1/1

2. Koltun, Kim. "Rick, Morty, And Absurdism: The Millennial Allure Of Dark Humor". The Forum, 2019, pp. 99-125., Accessed 8 Dec 2019.

3. LaGrotta, Dominick. "Top 10 Rick And Morty Quotes". The Odyssey Online, 2016, https://www.theodysseyonline.com/rick-and-morty-top-10.

4. Morales, Jorge. "Nihilism And Escapism In Rick And Morty (2013)". Curso Monográfico De Literatura Y Cultura Anglo-Norteamericana, 2016, pp. 1-11. Curso Monográfico De Literatura Y Cultura Anglo-Norteamericana, Accessed 8 Dec 2019.