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Vice: I love "Rick & Morty" and I hate its fans

C

CrimzonSamurai

Member
EdibleKnife said:
LOL I saw that tweet too. This has come up a lot recently but the people who see themselves in characters like Bojack Horseman and Rick Sanchez and don't recognize the fact that both characters are damaged and damage their loved ones are indeed very problematic, to say the least. A similar discussion was brought up around the time Breaking Bad was all anyone talked about. Around then there were many fans who idealized Walt because he was "smart, ruthless and aggressive" in getting what he wanted while Skylar was a "naggy, overbearing, bitch" for trying to "tear him down and undermine his success".
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benicillin said:
I don't think I've seen anyone glorify or identify with Bojack in a way that doesn't acknowledge that he's damaged and struggles with depression, though.
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People have always loved identifying with damaged and unhealthy protagonists. That's why "Catcher in the Rye" is adored by 13-15 year olds nationwide. People enjoy thinking of themselves as the socially twisted outlier. Rick, Bojack, Holden, doesn't matter as long as they can be above all the phonies.
 
H

Hindl

Member
Permanently A said:
Why is it that cartoons that get popular have incredibly toxic and weird fandoms, but TV shows are perfectly normal?
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Adult cartoons mainly advertise to young males on the internet. That said, go look at some fandoms for niche TV shows
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku! said:
I've never seen this show and the people who talk about it on the internet are doing a really good job of keeping it that way
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Rick and Morty got the Undertale treatment
 
E

EdibleKnife

Member
CrimzonSamurai said:
People have always loved identifying with damaged and unhealthy protagonists. That's why "Catcher in the Rye" is adored by 13-15 year olds nationwide. People enjoy thinking of themselves as the socially twisted outlier. Rick, Bojack, Holden, doesn't matter as long as they can be above all the phonies.
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This is what I was getting at. If someone does see Bojack as depressive and damaged as they see Rick, the key is if they recognize that as something that should be fixed rather than something that adds to their personality or elevates them.

Gotdatmoney said:
I don't think anyone can watch Bojack horseman and not realize that he and many of the characters in that show are fucked up.

Like, the show cotextualizes how shit a being he is pretty often.
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Rick and Morty contextualized how abrasive Rick is too but like above: Some people think that's an elevation and the people who are hurt in the wake are just unfortunate casualties or people who just don't truly "understand" them.
 
A

Arkeband

Banned
Just wait for all the fucking Pickle Ricks this Halloween, it's going to make trashcan-humping Comic-Con Deadpool cosplayers look like saints.
 
K

kewlmyc

Member
Permanently A said:
Why is it that cartoons that get popular have incredibly toxic and weird fandoms, but TV shows are perfectly normal?
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Yeah no. Nothing might get as weird as MLP and Steven Universe, but live action shows have their toxic fans. Buffy, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones all come to mind.
 
C

Con_Smith

Banned
I feel like a lot of the blow back towards the fans began with the copy pasta that was floating around, although I don't journey into reddit so I can't really say.

Outlets constantly shitting on the fans though seems pretty dumb. The thread here is alright, even though and my friends and I enjoy it. Although I did push terry flaps on folks kinda hard so I'm pretty shit for that I guess.
 
S

Sesha

Member
Permanently A said:
Why is it that cartoons that get popular have incredibly toxic and weird fandoms, but TV shows are perfectly normal?
Click to expand...

tenor.gif
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Most serious fandoms for really popular shows/movies/books/etc. have this issue. They take their beloved show far too seriously, read into things far too much, get obsessed with things like shipping and generally make for a toxic nightmare of shitty over used reference jokes, shipping wars and speculating about every little insignificant detail, and in general seeming to watch the show in hopes of it being something more than it is and playing that fact up ad nauseum. At worst they become petulant little mouth pieces that never shut the fuck up and become abusive to every and anyone that doesn't share their ship or believe their insane theory or like their ugly fan art and so on and so on.

Rick and Morty fans are just the newest versions of dudes who couldn't get over how bad ass and edgy Fight Club was when it was in fact making fun of them or the Chapelle Show fans who didn't get the jokes and just took them at face value with the most simple readings so they could drive catch phrases about Rick James straight into the ground.
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
On the level of batshit insane, you have Supernatural at the top. Most WB shows have similar problems. Arrow, 100, etc.

Then there is fucking Sherlock from BBC.
 
S

SarcasticRedRover

Member
kewlmyc said:
Yeah no. Nothing might get as weird as MLP and Steven Universe, but live action shows have their toxic fans. Buffy, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones all come to mind.
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Lordy, I was on tumblr when you could still find Supernatural and Doctor Who posts and shistorms by the dozens.

TV shows have never been an exception to this kind of stuff.
 
Vigilant Walrus

Vigilant Walrus

Member
We lingered near the pop-up for a few minutes, essentially people-watching at some of the more creative costumes and gear that fans were decked out in for the occasion. One middle-aged man walked along the sidewalk, trying to find where the line began while wearing a cape of sorts and brandishing an extremely real-looking and expensive-seeming lightsaber replica.

"Is that a real lightsaber, bro?" A backward-hatted male—in his mid 20s probably—asked with derision as his friends chuckled. "Excuse me?" The man with the lightsaber stopped for a second, not quite understanding that he was quickly becoming the butt of a joke.

"Cool lightsaber—is that a real one, bro?" The hatted-male reiterated, the sarcastic meanness of his comment barely hidden. "Yes, it's a replica," the man replied, with a level of sweet sincerity that broke my heart a little bit. "COOOOOOOOOOOL," the hat man let out of his maw, the chuckles from his friends now apparent in the open air. The man with the lightsaber picked up the pace and exited the scene quickly, and so did we.
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This level of bottom of the barrel sarcasm really jerks my knees. I can only think of:

spongebobicon.jpg
 
O

Ogodei

Member
I feel like the show isn't even that intellectual as much as the fandom likes to make it out to be. Venture Bros reaches deeper into cultural obscurity (I get far fewer of the references) and is more subtle about its themes and messages.

Rick and Morty's a great show, but mostly because it has a refreshing take on audacity-humor that's pervaded "adult" cartoons since South Park or Beavis and Butthead. It's a fun ride with well-realized characters, but it's not unprecedented high culture or anything.
 
M

Mechazawa

Member
Nafai1123 said:
Reminds me of how some Breaking Bad fans absolutely despised Skyler (and Anna Gunn) while defending and fawning over Walt as some bastion of male strength and power.

Lot's of REALLY passionate fandoms are cesspools.
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I think a real good example are all the dipshits that would flock to the house the show was set in and throw pizzas on the roof.
 
manfestival

manfestival

Member
Permanently A said:
Why is it that cartoons that get popular have incredibly toxic and weird fandoms, but TV shows are perfectly normal?
Click to expand...

because of the "muh niche" mentality. goes along with elitist and a sense of superiority and when you have "that crowd" following muh niche then it "waters" it down.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Ogodei said:
I feel like the show isn't even that intellectual as much as the fandom likes to make it out to be. Venture Bros reaches deeper into cultural obscurity (I get far fewer of the references) and is more subtle about its themes and messages.

Rick and Morty's a great show, but mostly because it has a refreshing take on audacity-humor that's pervaded "adult" cartoons since South Park or Beavis and Butthead. It's a fun ride with well-realized characters, but it's not unprecedented high culture or anything.
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I generally agree despite enjoying Rick and Morty a lot. Nihilism is hardly a new topic or theme and there is really only so far you can go with the idea in an episodic show. The fact that a lot of jokes are just becoming Rick lazily breaking the wall to explain something obvious or to just tell you the punch line of a joke is no longer interesting, let alone funny. I get it, Rick is aware that he's on a TV show, get creative with it if you're gonna keep doing the 4th wall breaking.
 
Vigilant Walrus

Vigilant Walrus

Member
robotrock said:
how comes tv shows and cartoons get weird and terrible fanbases but video games are totally ok?
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Google Sonic fandom cringe, and you will never be the same. This is some weird level cross between my little pony fandom, furry fandom and just general memes. Only the least horrible get posted here.
It's legit fucked up.
 
G

Gotdatmoney

Member
EdibleKnife said:
Rick and Morty contextualized how abrasive Rick is too but like above: Some people think that's an elevation and the people who are hurt in the wake are just unfortunate casualties or people who just don't truly "understand" them.
Click to expand...

The thing about Rick and Morty for me is that Rick as a character care pretty much about nothing bar like a few people. Like he hasn't a shred of empathy for all but like 5 or 6 characters. Yeah some of the characters occassionally call out his bullshit but for the most part he is like a power fantasy character. I don't actually find him all that relatable. I would find it weird if people self identified with him.

I don't feel like its the same in Bojack horseman. The characters aren't invinsible people that can do anything and all the actions general have repurcussions. Like its fun to watch power fantasy characters not give a fuck but in one show I feel like the characters actually have weight in their problems. I feel like Rick's problems are most sideline to the fact he is actually put on a pedestal for his smarts.

Mainly I just don't find Rick and Morty as intelligent. Great show. Super fun but I dont see much deep there.
 
C

CrimzonSamurai

Member
Ogodei said:
I feel like the show isn't even that intellectual as much as the fandom likes to make it out to be. Venture Bros reaches deeper into cultural obscurity (I get far fewer of the references) and is more subtle about its themes and messages.

Rick and Morty's a great show, but mostly because it has a refreshing take on audacity-humor that's pervaded "adult" cartoons since South Park or Beavis and Butthead. It's a fun ride with well-realized characters, but it's not unprecedented high culture or anything.
Click to expand...

There's nothing "too deep4u" about it but if you're into nihilistic or absurdist philosophy it has a lot going on in terms of visual and linguistic expressions of those philosophies. Which isn't to say that it's breaking any new ground in those areas but it is one of the few places to find that in popular entertainment. Especially since it does it with general clarity and doesn't just stumble into it like South Park with their "depressed Stan everything is shit" mini-arc. "Xavier: Renegade Angel" had some of that going on, too but it just bordered on incoherent.
 
B

Bronx-Man

Banned
The big list of awful fanbases:

SuperWhoLock fans
Bronies
R&M fans
J.Cole fans
Walking Dead fans
Wrestling fans (especially)
Patriots fans
Xxxtentacion fans
LoL players
Zack Snyder fans
South Park fans
Those GoT fans that make podcasts all about what the fuck Jon Snow or whoever the fuck ate for breakfast that one time in season 20, episode 4
Prequels fans
PewDiePie fans

With Trump fans obviously getting the gold medal
 
S

sikkinixx

Member
The edgiest, Harry-Potter-glasses-wearingest, grandfather's-sweater-havingest, "I like to draw the angst of my teenage soul as a furry version of me in this mock Moleskin notebook only using Korean 0.38mm gel pens"iest, "UGH I HATE THE BASKETBALL TEAM"iest teens I teach fucking *LOVE* Rick & Morty and never shut up hell up about it.

It's admittedly silly but they've 100% turned me off watching the show. Just like people who won't shut the fuck up about how the Wire is the best show ever (it's good) or how Parks & Rec is some masterpiece (it's funny I guess).
 
R

robotrock

Banned
Bronx-Man said:
The big list of awful fanbases:

SuperWhoLock fans
Bronies
R&M fans
J.Cole fans
Walking Dead fans
Wrestling fans (especially)
Patriots fans
Xxxtentacion fans
LoL players
Zack Snyder fans
South Park fans
Those GoT fans that make podcasts all about what the fuck Jon Snow or whoever the fuck ate for breakfast that one time in season 20, episode 4
Prequels fans
PewDiePie fans

With Trump fans obviously getting the gold medal
Click to expand...

r&m is red letter media right?
 
F

Foxix Von

Member
Didn't realize there was so much wankery over the show. I just started binge watching it and was surprised by how, well, "smart" it was so I kept watching it. I mean it's not really the jokes that get me but rather the surprisingly thoughtful character interaction that serves as the basis for much of the humor. Also how dense much of that interaction is. It's fun to have a show make light of very serious mental health issues but also have the presence of mind to lighten things up with juvenile humor and presentation.

I guess I'm part of the problem, but I didn't realize there were other asshats like me out there wanking over it the same way. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ I should probably spend more time on the internet.
 
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