Semiotic Critical Essay of Rick & Morty

The Heroes' Journey - "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind"

The message encoded into this cartoon teaches us about overcoming objectification through the recognition of one's own self-worth.  This semiotic analysis will show how this episode (S01E10) of "Rick and Morty" uses signifiers, metaphors, icons, indexes, metonymy and symbols to add meaning and cultural significance to the viewing for the audience.  By looking at intertextual references and plot structure cues, we recognize more of the deeper connotated meaning than what is merely denoted on the surface. The episode's syntagmatic sequence mirrors the classic hero's journey and can be traced using Propp's 31 elements of fairy tales.  This show adds a twist to the formula in that the hero is not who you would expect.

The title of this episode refers to the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (Spielberg 1977), yet very little of the new show matches the old story. In theory, the father character who leaves with aliens on a spaceship at the end of that movie could share the same reasons that caused Rick’s character to be away from his family so long during his daughter’s childhood (The birthday candle in his pancakes symbolize Rick's 1 year anniversary of living with his family). The old movie might be this tv show’s prequel. This show also uses a sample from the themesong for the BBC sci-fi classic, “Dr. Who” (Grainer, 1963); also appropriate considering Rick’s love for space/time travel.

The episode’s initial situation begins with a family breakfast on the anniversary of Grandpa Rick's move-in and return to Earth.  His daughter, Beth promises to make pancakes in shape of space ships (round). The family home’s breakfast table metaphorically represents normalcy, refuge, something to protect and return to.

With intense music signifying drama, the pair are kidnapped from breakfast and home. Rick and Morty are taken at gunpoint to see the “Council of Ricks,” a group of authoritarian Ricks that are his doppelgangers in other dimensional timelines. Rick is accused of crime and taken away during the interdiction. More dramatic music is heard and an expansive space background is shown to create a sense of size and distance for their journey's first destination. The Council of Ricks’ large facility is an iconic testament to Rick's intelligence.

Morty discovers that his counterparts in other timelines all typically pair up with Ricks. The interdiction is violated when Rick confesses that his genius brainwaves can be tracked by other Ricks, but being near Morty's less intelligent brainwaves act as a camouflage to hide Rick. Morty feels that the relationship isn’t special to Rick.

At the council, “lack is made known and the hero is approached with a request or command” (Berger 22). Morty's Grandfather is accused of multiple murders, which will take both of them away from the family home. The camera does a top down close-up on Rick as he protests his innocence. Then a wide shot focuses on the intimidating judges who convict him to the tune of dramatic music. Symbols include the “Rick Emblem” on Council doors and pins worn by council members.

Council delivers information to a group of Ricks (including possible agents of the villain) about the murders and shows crime scene photos. Council attempt reconnaissance, scan Rick’s portal gun history, find falsified proof that Rick has traveled to the scenes of the crime, and convict him.  Rick's is sentenced to a torture machine, but he and Morty escape through multiple portals and are pursued. The “fart planet” the pair run through is a visual reference to art by Terry Gilliam that was shown on “Monty Python” (Evans, "The Animations of Terry Gilliam."). These portals are an index for a Means of Escape, a way to separate self from group assimilation. These multiple portals being used as escape routes confuse those in pursuit. These portals act as a metaphor for their escape being a result of free will, and independent choice (instead of predictive fate).

The pair is dispatched on difficult task by Council to find true culprit. Rick rescues Morty at Council, but then confesses he needs Morty to act as a “human shield.” Rick lacks proof of innocence, desires to find real culprit. Morty shows a lacks awareness at first of his own self-worth. Rick decides they must clear his name.

Morty chooses to go with Rick and they escape in the counteraction. The heroes are pursued by Council Ricks. Morty discovers the real villain is not the Council of Ricks but the culprit of the murders, Evil Rick. The villain attempts to hide behind a matrix of Mortys, whose pain creates a barrier to detection by authorities. The difficult task for the pair is not just clearing Rick’s name but trying to rescue all the Morty's from torture and bondage. Rick continues to make objectifying quips that hurt Morty’s feelings. A close-up shot on Morty's eyes as they well up with tears adds emotional intimacy with the viewers as he argues about his self-worth as more than an object. This cinematography signifies that the viewers relate to his emotional suffering.

The inside of evil Rick's lair is shown in dark, moldy colors with sinister music to signify villainy. Overgrowth seen in basement is tentacle-like to create a sense of foreboding and danger. The heroes have been guided to the object of their search, and Rick and Morty sneak into the lair of Evil Rick, a hideout worthy of a James Bond villain. During a fight scene with H.R Geiger-like alien, bug creatures (Giger, H. R. "HR Giger - The Official Website."), the camera pans and zooms to signify action for the viewers. The villain's lair is a metaphor for the concept of "one man as an island" and lacking any outside perspective, Evil Rick has become corrupt. Evil Rick quickly captures Rick and tricks him with a creature that appears to laugh at all his jokes. Evil Rick wears a symbolic black t-shirt and has a facial scar to give him physical ugliness to match his villainous acts.

Morty departs and leaves Rick's side after an argument about his objectification. Morty questions his relationship with Rick as possibly deceitful, and he questions his value to his grandfather. Indignation causes him to walk away from his Rick with Evil Morty, whom he thinks is his counterpart and comrade. Evil Morty tricks Morty into complicitly walking into prison. "Come with me" is all it takes for Morty to unwittingly comply with his enemy (Berger 21).  

The villain who killed off other Ricks, shows off his reconnaissance data where he’s "cataloged" of all Ricks on a good-evil spectrum. Evil Rick tries to compare himself to Rick paradigmatically, “we are not so different.” Heartwarming music plays as Evil Rick shows Rick memories of his Morty. Rick cries as he sees Morty as human (which is ridiculed by Evil Rick who objectifies all Mortys).

Morty’s heroism is tested by imprisonment which prepares the way for him to meet a cult-like helper who donates a magical object that leads to his epiphany. Morty tries to escape, beating on doors, where he meets Cult Marty who gives him a tract that reveals his true calling. The donor aka Cult Morty does not try to escape at first but is resigned to his fate. He hears of the "One true Morty" from a Donor who gives him a tract. The religious comic given to Morty in prison shows intextuality as a visual reference to Jack Chick’s evangelical tracts ("Jack T. Chick." Wikipedia).

In this gift, Morty’s given a magic transformation by recognizing his value as an individual with free will (not an object). He becomes the true hero of the story, branded as the "one true Morty." Morty reacts to the gift and now is self-aware. Morty transforms when he realizes his free will and gives a speech that brings the Mortys to revolt. He is raised over their heads after he stands on the soapbox. He is elevated metaphorically and literally in this scene. Mortys hoisting the “One True Morty” up after his speech indicates their acceptance of him in the hero’s role.

           

Inspiring music plays as Morty gives the speech. Close-up crowd shots signify its emotional impact. The soapbox that Morty stands on is an index for Morty's transformation into hero. The camera angle on Morty speaking is from below, making him seem larger than life and the other Mortys. The jailed Mortys represent a sense of repression by being confined by the opinions and will of others. The synecdoche of the story is the “One True Morty,” which alludes to the existentialist first person point of view. His perspective of self is a catalyst for heroic action.

He says, "We are Mortys and are not defined by our relationship with Ricks. Our destiny is our own." This rejection of objectification empowers the other Mortys into rebellion and choose to act as their own saviors. Morty is the hero because he teaches the Cult of Morty the value of free will and self-awareness. The Mortys compare their current objectified life as prisoners and human shields, to one of free will "gardener or writer of intense action novels." Even Hammer Morty declares he is "more than a hammer," more than an object (Ridley, 2014).

The Cult of Morty escapes prison and attacks Evil Rick in direct combat, becoming their own saviors. The villain is defeated and punished, as the freed Mortys rebel against captivity and choose to kill Evil Rick after being inspired by the hero. The hero returns, as the One True Morty releases Rick. We find that Rick is not the hero at all when he is rescued by Morty, who is no longer the "helper" but revealed as the true hero of the episode.

Rick deactivates the Morty Matrix cloaking device and releases the tortured Mortys, ending part of Morty’s initial misfortune. Proof of Rick’s innocence is given to Council who no longer lack evidence. The task resolved, Rick calls home to tell the Council Ricks who have been staying with his family to come pick up the real killer.

Morty arrives at the council unrecognized as the true hero. Rick is seen by the council as victorious.  The council apologizes and the false hero Rick does not reveal that Morty is the one who defeated the villain. Later, Morty is grudgingly recognized as the hero by Rick, who does it privately to avoid being exposed as a false hero. He calls him "The Mortyest Morty," the most individual and unique of the Mortys. This branding is pragmatic to his other hero name, “the one true Morty.” Earth Rick C-137 and Morty have been reunited. Council apologizes. The pair finally get to eat their pancakes. This return can be seen as a metaphorical marriage or partnering that includes an “ascension to the throne” or a return to the breakfast table in this case (Berger 22).       

Yet at the end of the episode, Evil Morty’s trickery is revealed.  The viewer discovers he’s a puppetmaster, whose been remotely controlling Evil Rick with his eyepatch. Evil Morty’s eyepatch is an intertextual nod to the Bond villain in Thunderball (Young 1965). Evil Morty used his freedom of choice to become the master, instead of the servant helper role held by most Mortys. In Evil Morty’s attempts to hide his deception from the Council of Ricks, he turned his villainy on other versions of himself. This is a metaphor for self-loathing, an ambition at the sacrifice of true self.

Hero Morty’s individualism may have been influenced by his Rick’s decision to stand apart.  Rick's metaphoric refusal to join Council represents his choice to maintain free will and avoid assimilation. In this, he chooses his own value instead of being assigned value by the group.  Rick admits he lacks connection with others, but feels it is valid to be internally motivated and not seek approval of the "club."

At first, Morty compares himself to other Morty's. He questions his value and uniqueness (notices cowboy Morty, etc). He soon realized that Mortys have been objectified by the Council of Ricks as a commodity. Morty dolls, necklaces, and the voucher for a replacement Morty were all icons of this objectification. Rick even says, “(those are) not people... (but) Mortys" (Ridley 2014)

Morty protests being called an object and Rick replies, "it’s your choice to take that personally." How we perceive ourselves is more important than how others perceive (and try to objectify) us. They should not determine our self-worth or overly influence our preferences. This message appears to be coded throughout the episode. As explained by Doofus Rick, “(If it has) value to you & you like them, then that is all that matters” (Ridley 2014).

WORKS CITED

Berger, Arthur Asa. Media Analysis Techniques. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2014. Print.

Evans, Noell Wolfgram. "The Animations of Terry Gilliam." Digital Media F/X. Joe Tracey, 2008. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

Giger, H. R. "HR Giger - The Official Website." HR Giger - The Official Website. Tom Ahlgrim, 2015. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

Grainer, Ron. Perf. Delia Derbyshire. Doctor Who Theme. BBC Music, 1963. Audio Recording.

"Jack T. Chick." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Aug. 2016. Web. 11 Sept. 2016.

Ridley, Ryan. "Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind." Rick and Morty, season 1 episode 10. Cartoon Network. TOON, Burbank, California, 7 Apr. 2014. Netflix/Hulu/Amazon. Web. 09 Sept. 2016.

Spielberg, Steven. Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Perf. Richard Dreyfuss and Teri Garr. Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment, 1977. Film.

Young, Terence. Thunderball. Perf. Sean Connery. MGM, 1965. Film.