A someone's who's watching the third season for the first time I find the episodes where Rick is constantly winning a bit boring.
The toxic Rick and Morty episode was quite good because it showed a bit of depth to Rick other than how awesome he is at everything.
Characters like Rick are a difficult balance walk. On one hand, you cant have them lose too much or they lose their main appeal. On the other, never losing runs the risk of turning the characters into unlikable mary sue's. They've sort of written themselves into a corner with Rick because he HAS to be the best or the literally infinite enemies he's made throughout the multiverse would slaughter him.
Yeah that makes sense, if Rick wasn't as powerful as he is the show would have less chance to do all the crazy stuff it does.
A someone's who's watching the third season for the first time I find the episodes where Rick is constantly winning a bit boring.
The toxic Rick and Morty episode was quite good because it showed a bit of depth to Rick other than how awesome he is at everything.
Characters like Rick are a difficult balance walk. On one hand, you cant have them lose too much or they lose their main appeal. On the other, never losing runs the risk of turning the characters into unlikable mary sue's. They've sort of written themselves into a corner with Rick because he HAS to be the best or the literally infinite enemies he's made throughout the multiverse would slaughter him.
Yeah that makes sense, if Rick wasn't as powerful as he is the show would have less chance to do all the crazy stuff it does.
There's infinite Ricks, only thing you need is the confidence to say your C137 Rick in front of someone you think will survive the circumstances.
What's the difference in changing due to an action you have performed in the past and changing due to having performed different actions in the past to an observer who saw neither of those chain of events - or more importantly saw both but out of context? Two Ricks, two Mortys - close enough that the two can't tell they've got a doppelganger at first should one specific event not get mentioned. Once they mix we now have four different combinations of near identical R&Ms and so on - but chances are by the time you realise a mistake was made, the consensus is now that Rick has mistaken a Morty and confused them with some adventure they don't remember. Though Mortys do get mind wiped, so that consensus is even more broad, might be an alternative reality, or just Rick being a dick/responsible guardian.
Would it matter if we followed a Rick and Morty that wasn't the original one we followed, but the reason we followed them was down to actions taken by that original pair?
So the basic argument I'm getting here is that there's no way to responsibly create media like Scarface, Breaking Bad or Rick & Morty because some unquantifiable percentage of the fanbase will ignore everything in that work saying "don't be like this person" in favor of idealizing them instead.
I brought up Steven Universe earlier as an example of a very positive show with an arguably toxic fanbase, but let me go into a bit more detail:
- The background of the setting is that thousands of years ago there was a war between a colonializing empire that divided its citizens into a rigid caste system and a rogue colony that wanted to create a more free society. The rebellion nearly exclusive took prisoners in order to introduce them to their worldview and ideally make them into new converts for the rebellion, while the empire's soldiers just killed their enemies. Eventually one member of the rebellion got fed up with her allies being slain and wanted to convince the rebellion's leader to use a weapon she developed to start slaughtering their enemies instead of taking prisoners. The show portrays this as a bad thing, but a vocal segment of the fanbase was outraged and believed that this childrens' show should have advocated mercilessly killing the pawns of an oppressive empire (an empire that until relatively recently every member of the rebellion had been a part of).
- One aspect of the show that many fans like is the positive representation of various body types. For example, the character Rose Quartz is very often described as beautiful but is also decidedly plump. This kind of representation is good! What isn't good is that one fan artist who drew a thinner version of Rose Quartz and posted it on Tumblr received so much harassment over it that she attempted suicide (she survived, thankfully).
- At least one writer deleted his Twitter account after receiving a ridiculous amount of harassment over some minor inconsistency.
There's more I half-remember, but I figure I'll leave it at that.
So the basic argument I'm getting here is that there's no way to responsibly create media like Scarface, Breaking Bad or Rick & Morty because some unquantifiable percentage of the fanbase will ignore everything in that work saying "don't be like this person" in favor of idealizing them instead.
I brought up Steven Universe earlier as an example of a very positive show with an arguably toxic fanbase, but let me go into a bit more detail:
- The background of the setting is that thousands of years ago there was a war between a colonializing empire that divided its citizens into a rigid caste system and a rogue colony that wanted to create a more free society. The rebellion nearly exclusive took prisoners in order to introduce them to their worldview and ideally make them into new converts for the rebellion, while the empire's soldiers just killed their enemies. Eventually one member of the rebellion got fed up with her allies being slain and wanted to convince the rebellion's leader to use a weapon she developed to start slaughtering their enemies instead of taking prisoners. The show portrays this as a bad thing, but a vocal segment of the fanbase was outraged and believed that this childrens' show should have advocated mercilessly killing the pawns of an oppressive empire (an empire that until relatively recently every member of the rebellion had been a part of).
- One aspect of the show that many fans like is the positive representation of various body types. For example, the character Rose Quartz is very often described as beautiful but is also decidedly plump. This kind of representation is good! What isn't good is that one fan artist who drew a thinner version of Rose Quartz and posted it on Tumblr received so much harassment over it that she attempted suicide (she survived, thankfully).
- At least one writer deleted his Twitter account after receiving a ridiculous amount of harassment over some minor inconsistency.
There's more I half-remember, but I figure I'll leave it at that.
It's more that the characters themselves are fundamentally irresponsible because on some level, they will always function as a power fantasy. It's like in The Order Of the Stick where one of the villains points out that it doesnt matter if a hero shows up and kills an evil emperor after 30 years of brutal rule, he still got 30 years to live like a god. Do you focus on the fact that you died, which everyone does anyway, or the fact that you got to indulge in all the dopamine-releasing hedonism you wanted?
Part of the problem is that you cant portray crime realistically in tv and film, because it'd basically turn every crime fiction into Trainspotting, and no one would watch it. People watch this stuff because it's exciting and distracts them from their boring, unfulfilling lives.
So the basic argument I'm getting here is that there's no way to responsibly create media like Scarface, Breaking Bad or Rick & Morty because some unquantifiable percentage of the fanbase will ignore everything in that work saying "don't be like this person" in favor of idealizing them instead.
I brought up Steven Universe earlier as an example of a very positive show with an arguably toxic fanbase, but let me go into a bit more detail:
- The background of the setting is that thousands of years ago there was a war between a colonializing empire that divided its citizens into a rigid caste system and a rogue colony that wanted to create a more free society. The rebellion nearly exclusive took prisoners in order to introduce them to their worldview and ideally make them into new converts for the rebellion, while the empire's soldiers just killed their enemies. Eventually one member of the rebellion got fed up with her allies being slain and wanted to convince the rebellion's leader to use a weapon she developed to start slaughtering their enemies instead of taking prisoners. The show portrays this as a bad thing, but a vocal segment of the fanbase was outraged and believed that this childrens' show should have advocated mercilessly killing the pawns of an oppressive empire (an empire that until relatively recently every member of the rebellion had been a part of).
- One aspect of the show that many fans like is the positive representation of various body types. For example, the character Rose Quartz is very often described as beautiful but is also decidedly plump. This kind of representation is good! What isn't good is that one fan artist who drew a thinner version of Rose Quartz and posted it on Tumblr received so much harassment over it that she attempted suicide (she survived, thankfully).
- At least one writer deleted his Twitter account after receiving a ridiculous amount of harassment over some minor inconsistency.
There's more I half-remember, but I figure I'll leave it at that.
Another good example: My Little Pony. Certain fans got a deserved reputation for fetishizing the property to the point where it was unsafe for children to search for information about their colorful pony cartoon. A certain subset of the fandom was actively hostile to the idea of this children's cartoon making appeals to children.
So now matter how wholesome the thing you make is, assholes exist and can decide that they like it and it is theirs. Don't give up the things you love for this reason. Your life will only get worse for ceding territory to pricks.
Strictly speaking we're definitely not following the "original" Rick. He's changed bodies and died/reborn a bunch. He's just the Rick whose memories start in C-137.
It seems we have run out of things to say about Rick and Morty as a show, and the idea of two more years of this meta argument about fans sounds fucking dreadful, so I'm going to lock this now.
I submitted an entry to Lego Ideas, and if 10,000 people support me, it'll be turned into an actual Lego set!If you'd like to see and support my submission, follow this link.
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Yeah that makes sense, if Rick wasn't as powerful as he is the show would have less chance to do all the crazy stuff it does.
There's infinite Ricks, only thing you need is the confidence to say your C137 Rick in front of someone you think will survive the circumstances.
What's the difference in changing due to an action you have performed in the past and changing due to having performed different actions in the past to an observer who saw neither of those chain of events - or more importantly saw both but out of context? Two Ricks, two Mortys - close enough that the two can't tell they've got a doppelganger at first should one specific event not get mentioned. Once they mix we now have four different combinations of near identical R&Ms and so on - but chances are by the time you realise a mistake was made, the consensus is now that Rick has mistaken a Morty and confused them with some adventure they don't remember. Though Mortys do get mind wiped, so that consensus is even more broad, might be an alternative reality, or just Rick being a dick/responsible guardian.
Would it matter if we followed a Rick and Morty that wasn't the original one we followed, but the reason we followed them was down to actions taken by that original pair?
I brought up Steven Universe earlier as an example of a very positive show with an arguably toxic fanbase, but let me go into a bit more detail:
- The background of the setting is that thousands of years ago there was a war between a colonializing empire that divided its citizens into a rigid caste system and a rogue colony that wanted to create a more free society. The rebellion nearly exclusive took prisoners in order to introduce them to their worldview and ideally make them into new converts for the rebellion, while the empire's soldiers just killed their enemies. Eventually one member of the rebellion got fed up with her allies being slain and wanted to convince the rebellion's leader to use a weapon she developed to start slaughtering their enemies instead of taking prisoners. The show portrays this as a bad thing, but a vocal segment of the fanbase was outraged and believed that this childrens' show should have advocated mercilessly killing the pawns of an oppressive empire (an empire that until relatively recently every member of the rebellion had been a part of).
- One aspect of the show that many fans like is the positive representation of various body types. For example, the character Rose Quartz is very often described as beautiful but is also decidedly plump. This kind of representation is good! What isn't good is that one fan artist who drew a thinner version of Rose Quartz and posted it on Tumblr received so much harassment over it that she attempted suicide (she survived, thankfully).
- At least one writer deleted his Twitter account after receiving a ridiculous amount of harassment over some minor inconsistency.
There's more I half-remember, but I figure I'll leave it at that.
It's more that the characters themselves are fundamentally irresponsible because on some level, they will always function as a power fantasy. It's like in The Order Of the Stick where one of the villains points out that it doesnt matter if a hero shows up and kills an evil emperor after 30 years of brutal rule, he still got 30 years to live like a god. Do you focus on the fact that you died, which everyone does anyway, or the fact that you got to indulge in all the dopamine-releasing hedonism you wanted?
Part of the problem is that you cant portray crime realistically in tv and film, because it'd basically turn every crime fiction into Trainspotting, and no one would watch it. People watch this stuff because it's exciting and distracts them from their boring, unfulfilling lives.
Another good example: My Little Pony. Certain fans got a deserved reputation for fetishizing the property to the point where it was unsafe for children to search for information about their colorful pony cartoon. A certain subset of the fandom was actively hostile to the idea of this children's cartoon making appeals to children.
So now matter how wholesome the thing you make is, assholes exist and can decide that they like it and it is theirs. Don't give up the things you love for this reason. Your life will only get worse for ceding territory to pricks.