Rick and Morty - Nobody Exists on Purpose

Encounter With the Text:

This ​scene is from the 4th episode of the 1st season of Rick and Morty. I encountered it while watching the show and Morty's last words "Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs everywhere, everybody's gonna die" stood out to me. 

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How it is Typical:

The scene is typical of the "sci-fi" cartoon scene genre because it is animated, it is humorous, and it follows the lives of zany characters. It is atypical in that it deals with some really hard hitting and deep subjects. Many shows often crack jokes about serious issues, but Rick and Morty actually brings a lot of difficult questions to life. For example, the meaning of existence. By showing Morty the infinite dimensions of the universe and the infinite possibilities of these dimensions Morty realizes that there really is no deeper meaning to existence.  

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Rhetorical Situation Text Arose From:

The scene occurs after Summer (Morty's sister) finds out she was an accidental pregnancy. She plans to run away to attempt to find really meaning in her life. Morty comes in and explains his reasoning for the fact that life actually really has no meaning. Because Morty himself has had to bury the dead body of a version of himself, he is aware that, in the end, it is pointless trying to spend time figuring out why we exist and what the meaning of existence is, because (according to him) the answer to these questions are that existence is pointless and life has no meaning.

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Tone/Style/Purpose:

The tone of this scene is humorous but morbid. As it is described in the second video, it is "uplifting cynicism." The purpose it to make viewers consider how they are going about their lives and how they are searching for meanings. It is arguing that it is more worthwhile to spend life with friends and loved ones rather than attempting to find some existential purpose, because life is too short and eventually we will all die.

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Intended and Consequential Audience:

The intended audience is the viewers of the show. The consequential audience is the viewers who would pick up on the philosophy behind this scene and the meaning of the show and analyze the morbid truth behind Morty's quote, "Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs everywhere, everybody's gonna die. Come watch TV"

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Potential Complications:

The meaninglessness of existence is a hard thing to grasp. Lots of potential complications could arise from this from people who would say they believe they have found some existential meaning in their lives and that saying there is no meaning to life could result in a lot of depression. However as Summer realizes, time is better spent "watching TV" or doing whatever with the people you love rather than laboring over the thought that your life has no meaning.

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