Rick and Morty y la ansiedad del zeitgeist

My nephew, he’s 12, was going through a really crappy time over Christmas - well in
truth for months before that. He was being affected by the news and by social media and
every bad thing he could imagine he transposed that onto someone he loved. He became
convinced that his mum would be killed by terrorists, his sister abducted and murdered,
his dad killed in a motorway pile up and so on. Life was terrifying him - he was being
crippled by anxieties that a kid shouldn’t be trying to deal with. At Christmas I saw he
was wearing a Rick and Morty sweatshirt and we ended up talking at length about his
favourite scenes and characters (Pickle Rick as it goes).

We made a deal - anytime he wanted we could watch Rick and Morty and on the times
he came to visit, he relaxed a bit and we laughed at the show. We talked about some of
the ideas and themes and while he was immersed in that world he had a good time. He
spoke about Rick’s science and from that started to rationalise some of his fears.
Obviously it wasn’t a cure for his social anxieties, but they were moments of calm in a
mess of chaos. He’s doing better - he’s getting the help and stuff he needs and it’s good
to see. We still watch Rick and Morty occasionally but he’s more interested in going to
play football with his mates now.

However, my point, the shallow simpletons who reduce the complexities and
intelligence of Rick and Morty to vapid, easy self promotion don’t represent anything
apart from witless simpletons who like colours and noise and movement. I’m glad it’s
about for maybe another 10 years - the show transcends the dimwits.