Or does it just mean I’m not an asshole? “I know I haven’t really watched a complete episode totally uninterrupted, but I think I’m still on the fence about this show,” I said, casually sidling up to Mike on the couch as the opening credits rolled. Rick and Morty “Maybe that’s because your IQ isn’t high enough?” Mike replied. I could tell he wasn’t being serious, but I was absolutely not in the mood for being insulted, even if sarcastically. “Fuck you!” I shouted, “Sorry I’m not smart enough for this fucking bullshit show!” He stared at me for a moment, taken aback by my anger. “… You know… that was a joke?” he offered. “Yeah, I KNOW!” I rolled my eyes. I stomped away, promptly ending the couch snuggling that had barely begun. I was not amused. I was in a terribly on-edge, irritable, anxious, running-on-no-sleep mood, and that had a lot to do with my response. Typically, I’d let a comment like that roll right off me. But, in addition to my already foul mood, his comment was especially rage-inducing because it was one I’d heard thrown around all over the place: If you don’t “get” , it’s because you’re not smart enough to understand the jokes. Rick and Morty The thing is, though, that argument is stupid as shit. I “get” . I get the science, I get the , I get the jokes, I get what it is about the words or scenes that are meant to be funny. I get the things that smart people assume go over the stupid person’s head. Rick and Morty philosophy On paper, the humor is well-constructed. The intellect in me approves of the show in the way I approve when I have exact change, when I notice Oxford commas being employed, when hard-boiled eggs are perfectly cooked, or when I complete a New York Times Crossword puzzle without using the “Reveal Word” (which, in fact, I can do at least Monday through Wednesday). The humor in is tidy. It’s logical. It’s nihilistic and insulting and crude and, yet, it occasionally makes smart social commentary. Stuff that’s all pleasing to the brain. tool Rick and Morty However, in my opinion, it’s just not really an enjoyable show to watch. It’s not engaging, it doesn’t keep my attention, it’s littered with gags that are definitely not intended for an exclusively Mensa-level audience. The animation isn’t interesting (it’s like a lesser ), the voices are annoying (no offense to Chris Parnell and Sarah Chalke, but maybe they’re just not my thing?), oh and the fans are largely assholes. Family Guy Now, not ALL the fans are assholes. I’m wise enough to not make sweeping generalities like that. If you like and you don’t act like you’re better than the rest of the world because of it, you’re cool. I like you. We can hang out. Rick and Morty But if you do like and you question my intelligence simply because I don’t enjoy , you are an asshole. You can take your Szechuan sauce and shove it. Rick and Morty Rick and Morty “Maybe she’s just a boring, unfunny person,” you might be thinking. I’d argue, “FALSE.” Well, boring maybe, but not unfunny, dammit. To demonstrate, here’s a list of things I deem funnier than : Rick and Morty “The Dinner Party” episode of (all of , really, but this episode is an exemplar) Seinfeld Seinfeld The early seasons, let’s say 1–9ish, of The Simpsons It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Freaks and Geeks Calvin and Hobbes Louis C.K. Ellie Guzman xkcd waitbutwhy sometimes but not all the time McSweeney’s “ !” I gotta have more cowbell, baby 2 Dope Queens Vitameatavegemin All of these memes that make fun of fans Rick and Morty My first introduction to was all backwards, literally. We began by searching YouTube and found the Pickle Rick episode, served up in parts. We apparently started with the middle part and not the beginning part, and thus Rick was already a pickle with no explanation as to why. “ ” I wondered. Turns out: no (which I discovered when we proceeded to watch part 1 of the episode following part 2). I was willing to watch more. Rick and Morty Is this character always a pickle? Ah, so they do science stuff and in this episode the science turned Rick into a pickle. Got it. And so I vaguely paid attention to another couple of episodes while lying in bed at night, and I dozed off no more than halfway through every one. So when I said, “I know I haven’t really watched a complete episode totally uninterrupted…” I wasn’t exaggerating. I simply wasn’t sure if I liked the show yet because I hadn’t seen enough of it. And what I had seen was sleep-inducing. After being called stupid for not being certain of my immediate love for , I made a mental note to sit down and watch a couple of episodes to completion. And I did. I watched exactly two episodes and I’m now certain I’m not a fan of Rick and Morty Rick and Morty. During the second episode, I actually whipped out my phone to play instead because the show alone was not entertaining enough. Again, I’m sorry for being so stupid that the humor was lost me. It’s probably because I’m a girl. Words with Friends In reality though, I think there’s some genre of humor that falls into that is simply not my kind of humor. See, I’ve been in this camp before. Rick and Morty In college, all of my friends were obsessed with another cartoon: . I sat through many an episode in many a dorm room fake-laughing along with all of their real laughs as I tried to figure out why they thought the meatball was so hilarious. Aqua Teen Hunger Force I never really figured it out. And to this day, I still only kind of get it. I mean, I get it in theory, the same way I get conceptually, but I just don’t really it. Rick and Morty like is a dumb show. Sure, it’s maybe sort of funny, but ultimately it is dumb. Ditto to ATHF Rick and Morty. And it’s not that I don’t enjoy dumb humor (see my list above). I can even get behind and Judd Apatow movies and the first , which is the epitome of dumb. South Park Zoolander I guess it’s just this flavor of humor that is not my cup of tea. (What is this flavor/genre called, btw? I feel like it must have a name.) ATHF-Rick-and-Morty Or maybe I don’t like things that are popular simply because they’re not supposed to be popular but they really are? …Kind of like stuff hipsters are into? Is it possible is the hipster plaid of the cartoon world? Rick and Morty (I hope I just blew your mind.) I don’t know. Whatever it is, I don’t like and maybe that makes me stupid, but that’s better than being an asshole (or a hipster). Rick and Morty
