What’s up guys? Jared here with another vlog. Season 4 of Rick and Morty starts this
weekend and accordingly, we’re relaunching our Rick and Morty podcast, The Squanch. So
to celebrate, I thought I’d take a little time to do something very, very stupid- I’m
going to dissect the infamous Rick and Morty copypasta.
If you’re unaware of what I’m referring to, a Rick and Morty copy-pasta went viral
in mid-2017, and is likely plastered all over the comments sections of this video. For the
less internet obsessed of you, a copy pasta is a copied block of text that is pasted in
response to a post, usually as a means of trolling the writer of said post. The Rick
and Morty one, often used to sarcastically rebut criticisms of the show, or make fun
of its diehard fans, goes
like this:
Even if this copypasta was written as a joke, we’ve all probably met this person. How
could you, you ignorant pleb, ever understand true art like I do, a person who has read
upwards of 30 wikipedia articles? Regardless, it’s hilarious. But, me being me, I really
clung to the literary references. I’m going to sound like a douche here, but I’ve read
Fathers and Sons, which is supposedly the inspiration for Wubba Lubba Dub Dub. I haven’t
read it in years, but I remember enough to know that this claim is obvious bullshit,
and that chances are, the writer was pulling some random Russian novel out of their ass
to make fun of certain people on the internet who cite obscure works of philosophy and literature
when talking about cartoons. Bravo internet. But then… recently… I was awakened by
a sinking thought. A thought I would try desperately to push back in to my subconscious. What if
this copypasta is actually…. Not entirely bullshit?
So humor me as I dig my own grave in this vlog on Overthinking the Rick and Morty Copypasta.
Now the copypasta is funny for a few reasons. 1- Because this guy is making egregious interpretive
leaps in order to elevate his favorite cartoon. 2- because he’s just so damn smug. And 3-
we can’t help but love a little
roast of people who, like us, love literature and philosophy, but allegedly unlike us, are
total dicks about it.
The origins of the pasta are disputed. According to knowyourmeme.com, the earliest known variation
was posted by a redditor named Niekisch on /r/CringeAnarchy. Some believe the writer
was entirely in earnest in their proclamation that the show can only be understood by geniuses.
Others think they were being ironic. After thinking about it for a while, I’ve come
to the conclusion that whoever wrote it was serious. Let’s dive in.
The original writer of the pasta makes three big claims:
1. That you have to have working knowledge of theoretical physics to understand the jokes
in Rick and Morty. This is clearly false. Although some of the jokes pay lip service
to scientific ideas, the show is not overly concerned with scientific fidelity, nor should
it be. We covered a bit of this in the last part of our Philosophy of Rick and Morty video,
so if you want the specifics, check that out.
2. That Rick’s nihilism draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature
Narodnaya Volya, for those of you who don’t truly get Rick and Morty, was a radical organization
in Russia during the 19th century that assassinated a bunch of Csarist officials, eventually culminating
in the killing of Czar Alexander II. Narodnaya Volya “literature”, I’m assuming, refers
to the nonfiction texts that influenced the movement, such as the works of figures like
Sergey Nechayev, Mikhail Bakunin, or Pyotr Lavror. But I couldn’t find “Narodnaya
Volya literature” specifically in my research. Unless they mean pamphlets or something, but
I digress. Many involved in this movement, or the similar one that preceded it called
The Narodniks, believed that anything in service of revolution was justified, and thus, were
labeled “nihilists.”
In this specific Russian context, nihilism meant agitating for revolution against the
tsarist order, a sentiment popular among the younger generation. Writer Maia Stepenbourg,
quoting historian Nicholas Riasanovsky, claimed that nihilism “meant above all else, a fundamental
rebellion against accepted values and standards: against abstract thought and family control,
against lyric poetry and school discipline, against religion and rhetoric.”
Nihilism as we refer to it today is similar but maybe more universal: it’s a rejection
of any standards of value, meaning, or morality. And as we’ve covered in a handful of videos,
Rick and Morty is saturated with this sentiment, primarily through Rick:
“Nothing you do matters! Your existence is a lie! Because, you know, that’s exactly
how we all die.” “When you know nothing matters, the universe
is yours.”
Now I’m going to be VERY generous to the writer of the copypasta and say that he or
she was probably thinking that since the overtly nihilistic Rick is an anti-federation revolutionary,
who eventually brings the entire thing crumbling to the ground:
“The road your father and I walk together is soaked deeply with the blood of both friends
and enemies. The war in which we fought is far from over. We live our lives in hiding.
The galactic government considers us terrorists.
he bears similarities to the attitude of Narodnaya Volya. But there’s little to no connective
tissue to prove that Rick’s personal philosophy is specifically drawn from this organization.
There’s nothing about being a nihilistic political rebel that is unique to this particular
movement, so the connection is perhaps paper-thin, but not nonsensical.
Which brings us to the writer’s third point: that wub-a-lub-a-dub-dub is a cryptic reference
to Ivan Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons.”
“Wub-a-lub-a-dub-dub! Morty, that’s my catch phrase remember? Remember, how I-I cemented
that catchphrase?”
I was almost certain that this citation was pulled at random in an effort to sound smart.
But again, there is some logic to the author’s thinking.
I hate to admit it, but I scoured this book trying to find any justification for the claim
that wub-a-lub-a-dub-dub has some bearing in the text, and of course, inasmuch as I’m
able to tell, it’s bullshit. But it’d be remiss of me not to mention that there
are some key similarities between Fathers and Sons and Rick and Morty.
According to Stepenberg, the nihilist movement in Russia was reacting to two main things:
1. Turmoil following the emancipation of the serfs. And 2. The publication of two books
that spoke to the younger generation’s disillusionment. They were: What is to be Done? by Nikolai
Chernyshevsky, and “Fathers and Sons” by Ivan Turgenev. Now, importantly, Turgenev
was not part of Narodnaya Volya, nor was Fathers and Sons explicitly associated with them.
However, the book did speak to the growing nihilism of the Russian youth. It was hugely
controversial at the time of it’s release. Readers couldn’t quite figure out if Turgenev
was promoting nihilism, or denigrating it.
Fathers and Sons focuses on the Kirsanov family, as their son Arkady brings his radical friend
Yevgeny Bazarov to his family’s estate after graduating from university. A nihilist, Bazarov
challenges, and calls for the destruction of, all of the old Russian ideas that don’t
have any basis in reason or science. His demeanor deeply disturbs Arkady’s family, but Bazarov
dies before he’s able to realize any of these ideas.
The book is essentially about the gulf between the value systems of fathers and sons during
this time period. If I were, again, being extremely generous to the writer, I’d say
that yeah- there’s a similarity in the way Rick constantly trivializes anything not bound
in science:
“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.”
to the nihilistic Bazarov. Some of his diatribes speak to the same sense of cosmic insignificance
Rick and Morty often reflects on.
But again- there’s no reason to make this connection. There are plenty of characters
in literature that struggle with such ideas, and citing this book seems like cherry picking.
So does Rick and Morty draw from Narodnaya Volya, and include specific references to
essential texts during the nihilist movement in 19th century Russia? No. Definitely not.
But does Rick and Morty, as a cultural artifact, as one of the most successful animated shows
on cable, have a similar function in the zeitgeist that Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons did? Of
introducing the masses to nihilistic ideas? Of presenting a flawed central character that
leaves the audience not knowing if they should identify with his worldview or condemn it?
I’m inclined to say probably.
So there you have it. You now can pedantically discuss the dumbest thing on the internet.
You’re welcome. Anyway, thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to our Rick and Morty
podcast the Squanch. It’s on Google Play, Apple Podcasts, and our channel Wisecasts.
We’ll be breaking down every episode of this very short season. And as always, thanks
for watching guys. Peace.