Existentialism with a comedic twist: A Millennial sensation?

 

The 21^st century is filled with a bunch of exhausted individuals. As college students, it’s a never ending battle for us. Our worries range from constantly being concerned about our grades and trying extremely hard to keep up with all the deadlines; to making sure we eat at least three healthy meals per day; and not to forget thinking and worrying about all the unforeseen horrors which might follow after we actually graduate and step out into the cold, unforgiving world. All these ambitions and expectations has left us a swirling mess of emotions and worries, leading most of us into an existential crisis on a daily basis. Hence, it’s safe to say that nihilism and absurdism are some concepts we millennials are a little too familiar with. These concepts come under the umbrella term of existentialism. Nihilism is the belief that life has no inherent meaning. While absurdism is defined as a conflict between the individual and the universe where the individual attempts to find meaning in the universe and the universe provides none. Given this, the universe is not intrinsically absurd, just meaningless.

In such a context, comedy is the unsung hero of our age, turning lousy things into (less) lousy jokes, and making everything terrible a little more bearable. Forget therapists. Comedy is the coping mechanism and the medicine of the 21^st century! It’s from this desired juxtaposition of humor and harsh reality that shows like Rick and Morty, and BoJack Horseman were born. Both these animations embodies negative themes such as depression, nihilism, existentialism and absurdity; all of which are quite rarely portrayed in animations. The unnatural and bizarre animations compliment the chaotic reality and unconventional themes discussed in them. Surprisingly, these ill-fated combinations make perfect sense! For example the protagonist and anti-hero of the Netflix series BoJack Horseman is man in a tuxedo with a horse head. BoJack Horseman is an adult animated series set in an alternative universe where humans live alongside humanoid animals. Other than this one distinct feature, the world presented to us is exactly the same as our own. It is quite ironical that BoJack is a depressed ex-sitcom actor in profession, who is miserable despite his otherwise successful life. Alongside satirizing the entertainment industry and having topical humor, BoJack is acclaimed for its realistic take on dealing with depression, trauma, addiction, self-destructive behavior, racism, sexism, and the human experience. This, unfortunately, is a common and realistic scenario in the current society. Rick and Morty is also an adult animated show about the adventures of Rick—a retired, twisted, cynical, genius scientist—and Morty—his naïve and insecure 14-year-old grandson. Definitely not your typical bad-boy duo! It explores, and often trivializes, traditional science fiction tropes using clever and dark humor. However, science fiction is not the only topic that this show trivializes. Rick and Morty is full of rich references to existential and absurdist philosophy, which are consistently used to satirize and belittle traditional social constructs such as the institutions of marriage, family, religion, and government.

Rick and Morty’s and BoJack Horseman’s absurdist appeal to millennials transcends the sole purpose of entertainment. There are many socio-historical phenomena that can explain why millennials would be drawn to this escapist brand of comedy. Millennials have grown up in a world that promised them everything but neglected to deliver. On top of this economic instability, millennials also experience institutional uncertainty at unprecedented levels. Millennials have exhibited lower involvement and trust in traditional institutions such as religion, marriage, and politics. Amalgamate this with the chaotic and anxiety-inducing nature of the Information Era, characterized by rapid technological changes starting in the 1990s, that they have grown up in, and one starts to see the negative psychological effects of it all, as much research has shown. The beauty of it is, despite these extremely weird and nonsensical animations, and amongst all this absurdity, the characters somehow hit close to home. The absurdist humor of these adult animations provides the millennial generation with a much-needed trivialization of all the stressful factors in their lives. Instead of trying endlessly to find meaning in it all, their philosophy encourages disenchanted youth to respond to that which they cannot change with irony, laughter, and a sense of absurdity. Thus, the contemporary society makes sense and relates to the cold, stark reality cloaked in this irrationality. Hence, the extremely high IMD and Rotten Tomato ratings! 👀

Sanduni Wijesiriwardana