If you are a college student, particularly a graduating senior, you too have felt this struggle. Despite his nonchalant attitude, Rick is an alcoholic whose catchphrase, “wubbu lubba dub dub,” means “I am in great pain.” He is cursed by a struggle to find meaning, knowing that none exists. He trivializes and demystifies everything using science, boiling even the most transcendental human experiences like love into numbers. And when that’s gone, the only option is to be a sarcastic, unapologetic asshole, as Rick is. In a multiverse beyond comprehension, with infinite possibilities, values and purpose start to slip away. “Get Schwifty” puts humanity in perspective, one that Rick understands and has accepted. To the Cromulons, Earth’s significance is as a contestant in a competition, and if it doesn’t win, it will be disintegrated by a giant space laser just like every losing planet before it. But the floating heads, known as the Cromulons, are simply putting on an intergalactic music competition. In the episode “Get Schwifty,” Earth is visited by giant floating heads, who demand, “Show us what you got.” Humanity, unable to fathom or make meaning out of this cosmic event, begins to worship these visitors as gods. Cosmic horror centers on the unknown and unimaginable, as well as the dread of being exposed to a reality that is beyond comprehension.

Lovecraft’s tentacled cosmic demon, in the opening credits. Viewers of the show will recognize Cthulhu, H.P. While “Rick and Morty” borrows from popular sci-fi films, it is deeply inspired by the cosmic horror genre. The show follows Rick, a genius scientist, and Morty, his dimwitted nephew, on their ridiculous adventures throughout the multiverse, made possible by Rick’s interdimensional portal gun. This crushing feeling of meaninglessness in an uncaring universe, the ever-familiar existential crisis, is a defining theme in the animated show “Rick and Morty.” You were meant to be someone, and now you stare into the abyss of your life with uncertainty and defeat. You are given a degree and told that your success depends on how well you assimilate to the collective economy, suffering from tales of drudgery and dreading the inevitable nine-to-five grind. Transition is tough, especially from education to employment. If you are one of the countless numbers of college seniors preparing to graduate and begin a new chapter of your adult life, it is difficult not to panic.

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