I’m going to come out and say it, I love Rick and Morty. It’s one of my top favorite shows...

I’m going to come out and say it, I love Rick and Morty. It’s one of my top favorite shows, and it’s one of the few things in life I look forward to and keeps me going. Yet before even giving me a chance to explain my reasoning for it, Holla Forums users will be as fast as lightning to tell me to go back to Reddit, or to dismiss Rick and Morty as “Reddit” in itself. At first, this merely seemed along the lines of the edgy contrarianism found within Holla Forums, much along the lines of the insufferable Star Wars prequels being “kino”. It seemed like nothing more than a mindless meme, so I paid them no mind and figured it would just die down eventually. But it didn’t, and only gained traction across many other boards on Holla Forums. It got so expansive that an infographic arose to explain why the show is dismissed as “Reddit”. The infographic starts with this opening statement: “When Rick and Morty discussion pops up on Holla Forums, many will rightly criticize the show for being “Reddit”, an observation that is often outright denied or criticized for being too vague. While “Reddit” is used disperagingly for a reason, the term could use some clarification. Put succinctly, “Reddit” is used as an adjective to describe a program with certain characteristics designed to appeal to the same audience that heavily uses Reddit. These characteristics are contrived enough that they are easy to spot, and are as follows:” So I read each and every one of the points on the infographic, and needless to say, none of them made sense to me. These are nothing more than baseless accusations that observe Rick and Morty in a surface-level manner with even more ignorance than the gullible normies swarming into the show’s fanbase, which pose a significant grievance to the fanbase’s veteran members, myself included. Rick and Morty has a unique integrity to it that I don’t think deserves to be ignored by the “Reddit” dismissal. Therefore, I’m going to debunk each and every one of the points that substantiate the claim that “Rick and Morty is Reddit”, exposing them for the fraudulent accusations they truly are. "Glut of surface pop culture references: A Reddit user’s cultural references are restricted to Hollywood science fiction films and other “nerdy” fictional worlds. While these works can display thoughtfulness on their own, Rick and Morty will often soullessly deploy their aesthetics and jargon (ray-guns, wormholes, etc) without any sense of wonder. The show is effectively signaling a creativity it does not possess while simultaneously comforting the viewers with familiarity. In lieu of actual memorable moments, Rick and Morty will occasionally also resort to specific references to established intellectual properties (“Mad Max”).” To start, the assumption that Rick and Morty’s science fiction references are not only heavily relied upon for the majority of its substance, but also that they stem from predominantly popular and well-known products like Mad Max or Star Wars, seems to imply that Holla Forums users are making such an assumption from first glance of a few episodes, or worse yet, jumping right into season 3 without having seen the rest of the show. While there are admittedly references to more popular science fiction works in the show, i.e. Inception, Nightmare on Elm Street, Jurassic Park, The Purge and Mad Max, the amount of far more obscure science fiction works Rick and Morty alludes to is in far greater abundance. These include, but are not limited to, Lawnmower Man, Event Horizon, OVA Kite, the films and cinematic style of David Cronenberg, Zardoz, Bad Boy Bubby, Cloud Atlas, When a Stranger Calls, Hyperion, Buck Rogers, and quite a few Stephen King references, including Needful Things and The Langoliers. And most of the previously mentioned references are from season one alone, and were only the more prominent references to be listed compared to many, many others. Fact of the matter is, Rick and Morty knows its sci-fi, and is profusely dense in its expanse of sci-fi. And it uses this to its advantage, utilizing a lot of B-movie and cult classic material to subvert either traditional societal mores, or even the source material itself. When it utilizes more popular science fiction references, it’s for the sole purpose of parody, which can be either direct or indirect, depending on the plot of the episode. Anatomy Park is a perfectly functional and very creative parody of Jurassic Park, going a step further than most Fantastic Voyage type parody plots by exploring how such shrinking technology could be fully capitalized on.

Rick and Morty’s pop culture references are, in all actuality, quite rarely surface-level compared to the plethora of more obscure references that only hardcore science fiction enthusiasts will recognize upon first glance. Reddit’s attention span cannot possibly allow for such extensive trivia expertise. “Juvenile nihilism: Much like the denizens of r/atheism, Rick and Morty espouses the view that, since God is Dead, life is meaningless and all emotions are the result of strictly biological imperatives. This philosophy explains the show’s gratuitous violence and narrow view of a cold, uncaring universe. Rather than taking any joy in the art of expression, Rick and Morty assumes the passive attitude of an emotionally-maligned undergraduate who has just read his first Camus novel.” I’m sorry, when has Rick and Morty ever explicitly stated that God is dead, or that life is meaningless?? Just because Rick is notorious for pontificating these blatant nihilistic broodings doesn’t mean that they reflect the attitude of the show itself. There’s a reason it’s called Rick and Morty, and not just Rick: The Show, or whatever. What appears to be Rick’s brand of nihilism is meant to be funny not because it’s pandered to fedora-adorned atheists via shameless preaching, but because of the results from the interactions Rick has with other characters of the show, specifically their discomfort and confusion. At least, that’s what the results warrant at first. As the show progresses, Rick’s influence on not just the people he’s around, but the very world they live in, takes an irreversible toll on them, as they involuntarily apply Rick’s influence to themselves, albeit in their own unique way. From being around Rick the most, Morty understands him the best, and the nature of Rick’s influence can be perfectly described by Morty in the season 3 premiere episode, The Rickshank Redemption. Just because Rick is arguably the most genius man in the multiverse doesn’t mean that his particular genius is anything to aspire to. Many fantasize about possessing unstoppably vast intellects and argue that knowledge is power. Rick’s intellect is a unique anthesis to this aspiration, deconstructing any notion that knowledge results in power, even when action is applied. However soul-crushing and hopeless as this may sound on the surface, Rick’s actions indicate that he sees life not as meaningless, but a constant adventure that he must throw himself into in the name of science, regardless of who’s affected along the way. In that sense, Rick’s personal philosophy is not nihilism, but rather egoism, doing anything he wants without letting anything stand in his way. In regards to the “God is dead” accusation, it’s implied in various instances in the show that Rick’s personal brand of atheism is likely a forced reaction from what could possibly be a religious upbringing early in his life, or maybe just theological insecurity. Despite his nearly godlike unstoppable intellect, Rick has had plenty of moments of weakness, reminding us that even his own vast genius cannot overcome his humanity, no matter how many times he insists he’s above it. His desensitization to the entirety of the multiverse in his travels, in addition to the enigmatic emotional baggage he must carry from his cryptic past, must beget a perspective of the universe that does seem quite cold and uncaring, hence is the only way he believes he can cope with it. All of this applies exclusively to Rick and his character, not the attitude of the show itself. “Toilet humor/wacky babbling: When Rick and Morty can’t bother to shovel any more pseudo-intellectual fuel into the furnace of its content, it resorts to silly catchphrases and toilet jokes. One of the recurring side characters has the prestigious moniker of “Mr. Poopy Butthole”, and other catchphrases include the mouth confusion “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub”.

These incidents could be excused as comic relief if they did not constitute the moments that fans quote most incessantly.”Quantifiably speaking, the toilet humor in Rick and Morty is not shown in as much abundance as is being implied from this particular accusation. Even when toilet humor is utilized in Rick and Morty, it’s done with arguably a better sense of creativity than other shows, i.e. Jerry peeing on the guns of sentient dogs to display ownership of the guns, only to have his face shoved in his own urine by the dogs as punishment. Another example of this is my personal favorite, when Morty is forced to kill a sentient space cloud, previously named “Fart” by Rick, to prevent him from eradicating all carbon-based life in the universe; following this tragic and difficult choice, Rick tells Morty there are more sentient clouds coming to visit, which Morty is at first devastated in hearing, only to reveal a coarse fart from Rick’s own ass. I normally can’t stand fart jokes, so for such a joke as that to get a laugh out of me is nothing short of impressive. There are actually far more intelligent meanings behind “Mr. Poopy Butthole” and “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” than on the surface; not to imply they’re genius-levels of comedy, they’re just smarter than they appear. In the fourth episode of season 2, Total Rickall, the house is invaded with alien parasites that infiltrate the memories of its hosts and implants themselves as wacky characters, convincing their hosts that they’ve been with them all their lives and have a close sentimental bond with them. One of these zany characters is implied to be Mr. Poopy Butthole, but at the end of the episode, when he’s still among the family, Beth shoots him, believing him to be a parasite, with the shocking reveal that he was real the whole time, and Beth shooting him left him critically injured. The episode’s ending and its after-credits are both unexpectedly dark and heavy-hitting, instantaneously resonating with the viewers as they collectively expressed their worried concerns for a character named Mr. Poopy Butthole. It was all an elaborate ploy from Justin Roiland, co-creator and voice actor on Rick and Morty, to fuck with all of us. And it worked. Therefore, the comedy of a juvenile name like Mr. Poopy Butthole doesn’t come from the potty humor of the name itself, but from the intricate practical joke played on the audience that ends up shattering the 4th wall in a completely new way. As for “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” and various other nonsense catchphrases, these are all meant to reflect the absurdity of the nature of such catchphrases as they’ve been previously utilized in other forms of media. Rick’s abundance of usage for “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” in the first season is revealed all this time in the final episode of season 1, Ricksy Business, that the phrase is an alien expression which, translated to English, says, “I am in great pain, please help.” This revelation deconstructs the absurd nature of the catchphrase that was thought to have encompassed it in its earlier usage in season 1, subverting it into an aspect of character depth for Rick. Granted, there’s no excusing the excess of these phrases being leaked into the more mainstream portion of Rick and Morty’s fanbase. What can I say? Normies will be normies, and these normies have likely only gotten into the series immediately following the launch of the Szechuan Sauce meme… very similar to how the excess of hate for Rick and Morty on Holla Forums and Holla Forums has launched around the exact same point. Coincidence? I think not. “Irreverent violence: Like its contemporary animated program Family Guy, Rick and Morty will often utilize scenes of extreme violence. While this is by no means unique to the show, its own approach lacks the more beguiling uses of hyper-violence employed by talented creators (i.e. Verhoeven’s visceral interrogations of grisly spectatorship).

you bore me

Often Rick and Morty will tactlessly employ violence for a cheap shock, or tie it into another pop culture moment for a lazy juxtaposition. Since most fans of the show have likely never experienced the true trauma of violence themselves, these moments will come off as “daring” instead of trite and predictable.” You know, I think this particular accusation can be perfectly combatted by this single quote from Morty in the eighth episode of season 2, “Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate”: “Maybe people who create things aren’t concerned with your delicate sensibilities, you know? Maybe the species that communicate with each other through the filter of your comfort are less evolved than the ones that just communicate! Maybe your problems are your own to deal with, and maybe the public giving a shit about your feelings is a one-way ticket to extinction!” In other words, the accusation in question is a straight-up Tumblrina-tier argument. I mean, God, it even reads like a haughty Tumblr post. In fact, it could even be argued that Morty’s outburst is meant to combat SJW attempts at filtering and censoring entertainment for the sake of “decency”, something I’d presume Holla Forums would be on board with from the start. Of all the things to pride itself of, I never thought Holla Forums would take inconsistency into account. Embarrassing, to say the least.“Corporate complicity: In one of the most egregious examples of product placement in recent memory, the season 3 premiere of the show included a subplot in which a main character laments the cancellation of a McDonald’s dipping sauce. The mention of this sauce cascaded into real life when the restaurant restored the sauce after much fanfare. Rather than viewing this incident with suspicion, fans of the show “ate it up” on social media, so to speak. Surely a program that is purportedly one of the “smartest shows on television” wouldn’t debase itself by catering to such obviously capitalist utilities?” This is seriously a deliberately narrow way of viewing the Szechuan Sauce incident, as there’s a lot more to it than mere corporate shilling. Not only that, but the focus of this accusation here seems to be put exclusively on the Szechuan Sauce incident and not of any other similar instance, of which, there are only three total… which can all be certifiably confirmed as purely satirical in nature. The first instance of this satirical corporatism is a flashback looked upon in Total Rickall, where Rick frantically informs the family of a Wal-Mart sale for Nintendo 3DS handheld gaming systems, explaining a way to “flip those sons of bitches for $230 bucks easy”, and finishing his frenzy by facing the screen towards the viewer and saying, “Nintendo, give me free stuff!” What comes off as hastily inserted and shameless advertising very quickly shifts into blatant advocation for scalping, with the gall of topping it all off with “Nintendo, give me free stuff” ensuring that Nintendo couldn’t possibly have sanctioned their mention in this particular scene. It’s actually quite savage when you think about it.

The only other two mentions of namedropping corporate brands in Rick and Morty are both in The Rickshank Redemption, the first being Shoney’s, a family restaurant chain along the Eastern US border that’s arguably fading into obscurity. The mention of Shoney’s can be seen in two different ways, the first being a charitable act of promotion to help raise awareness of Shoney’s existence to the show’s audience, and the second being the show’s way of expressing how they can name-drop whatever brands they feel like, regardless of whether or not they even have permission to do so. Advertising in entertainment is usually the decision of marketing executives, who perpetuate the idea that it’s a privilege for shows to be kept afloat on the airwaves thanks to commercials funding them to begin with. So for such a decision to lie within the hands of content creators without the jurisdiction of marketing executives, or even the regard thereof, is nothing short of a middle finger to the nature of advertising itself. The only remaining instance of this name-dropping is, of course, in the Szechuan Sauce itself. This sort of advertising is especially unique in that it’s not only solely the creators’ decision to include it in the show without McDonald’s having endorsed it to begin with, but that it’s a promotion for what was once a dead and forgotten condiment, one that was essentially resurrected by merely being mentioned on a show like Rick and Morty. The show is basically boasting a nearly unstoppable power now, a power that was once considered absolutely inconceivable and defies the very inherent nature of televised advertising itself: the power of the audience and creators over the advertisers, instead of it being traditionally the other way around. This is nothing short of revolutionary in the history of television. It isn’t debasing in the slightest, it’s actually the exact opposite. “In conclusion: Nobody cares if you enjoy watching Rick and Morty. However, the show is constructed so obviously that any denial of its formulaic appeal to the Reddit demographic is pure fraud. Additionally, any claim to its originality or intellectual status falls apart under close scrutiny. The fact that the show is so despised on Holla Forums is due to the fact that all of this evidence is clear to those denouncing it. It is so clear, in fact, that any given copypasta mocking the show will single out a few of these facets. Don’t get defensive when directed back to Reddit, rather take the advice you will end up in more appropriate company.”

This conclusion here basically cements the thickheaded denial that Holla Forums will display to any opposition to its forced memes and antagonistic nature, which is a subject entirely its own, and is better suited for another time. It’s basically brushing off any and all opportunity for legitimate debate over the quality of Rick and Morty by insisting it is exclusively Reddit and treats its testimony to such a flimsy excuse as essentially empirical in nature, without even having the slightest bit of self-awareness to the fact that the entire “Reddit” argument is, in every fiber of its being, a shameless ad-hominem, being utilized as a blanket statement to vilify the show as something it’s clearly not, solely for the self-satisfaction of the circlejerk mindset that opposes it to begin with. It’s an argument that refuses to acknowledge Rick and Morty’s merits as a show based upon its unconventional methods and sheer unpredictability. Yes, Rick and Morty is definitively unpredictable, and to deny that with such arrogant, baseless dismissals as it being “formulaic” would basically be admitting ignorance to the show’s true nature. Nobody could have possibly predicted a show like this doing things such as riding the beast of advertising like a racehorse, evoking the most absurd forms of investment from its fans, and even going as far as to air its third season premiere on April Fool’s Day with back-to-back repeats of the same episode up until midnight, all completely without warning. The given conclusion here resorts to intellectual intimidation, with the aim of denying others the ability to rebut the fallacious arguments intended to label Rick and Morty and its fans as “Reddit”, much in the same way as the Nazi establishment dismissed Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity as “Jewish physics”; how convenient that Holla Forums happens to be infected by Holla Forums all the same, isn’t it? If “nobody cares if you enjoy watching Rick and Morty”, then how come the mere mention of the show is immediately met with hostility and barbaric alienation? Don’t you figure the reason people are trying to discuss it on Holla Forums and other boards on Holla Forums without being met with the “Reddit” dismissal is because they don’t want to be on Reddit to begin with? The reason so many people turn from Holla Forums to Reddit is because they’re looking for a platform of legitimate open discussion, completely unfiltered from mob mentalities, regardless of whether such mentalities are in support for the subject at hand or not. To be met with an equally obnoxious echo chamber as Reddit itself reeks of the most bitter irony of all, that instead of serving as a haven from Reddit, Holla Forums and Holla Forums as a whole has fermented into the opposite side of the coin, the tails to the heads that is Reddit. As for my conclusion, I likewise don’t care if you don’t like Rick and Morty. What I do care about, however, is that if you dislike it, you actually voice your honest thoughts and opinions on it to be open to unfiltered debate, instead of brushing it off as “Reddit”, with the sole intent of eliminating any argument before they even form. Even as much of a fan of the show as I am, I’m perfectly willing to admit it isn’t perfect, and I have my gripes with it. The “Rick Dance” in Ricksy Business was cringeworthy for me, and it was thankfully forgettable. The fourth episode of season 3, Pickle Rick, as awesome as I personally found the episode itself to be, was not the best introduction to Susan Sarandon for me. And even I’ll admit that the third season’s writers might be a detriment to the show’s integrity, as can be seen with explicitly liberal tendencies inserted into the writing that ruin what could otherwise be enjoyable humor with obnoxious liberal identity politics. I would love to see more actual discussion over the show without any childish mob mentalities hindering the desire to express one’s honest thoughts on it, hence why the “Rick and Morty is Reddit” meme needs to fucking die. It’s forced, obnoxious, and thoroughly fallacious. It has no place in legitimate discussion of Rick and Morty, and it never did to begin with. So stop using it. For Christ’s sake, stop using it. Please.

The fanbase fucked it all up.
Maybe season 4 will return to form (season 1) but I doubt it.

Get out or here with this gay ass pasta no one gives a fuck about Rick and Memey

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Holy fuck what a rush.

autism lad is losing his mend

I AINT READING SSHIEET NIGGU

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Does that mean R&M is kino?

It's reddit, tho

Amazing posts, user. I couldn't agree more with your analysis that Rick and Morty has "transcended" Reddit.

R&M is like modern day Shakespeare. Drama, Comedy, Action, Love, Betrayal… you can experience the entire spectrum of human emotion in a single episode and still not feel intellectually compromised in doing so.

I will consider gracing your pitiful tract with a point-by-point rebuttal on the morrow if by happensatance none of my fellow 8channers are able to beat me to the punch; pray that it is one of they, those invariably inferior to my own intellect, who see fit to respond to your post.

its shit

Stop saging, faggots. Post webm related

TL:DR

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T. didn't even read the fucking essay

looks more like Zangief tbh

Nice copypasta from Holla Forums faggot.