A FAMILIAR MEME. A NEW CONTEXT.
A frame from the animated series “Rick and Morty” (Adult Swim) in which Rick, with a lollipop in his mouth, looks slightly to the side with a lazy, mocking expression. The picture is captioned as a sign of determined consent: a person says that, against common sense, they are taking part in a dubious undertaking.
Add your captionThe editor opens with this picture. You can download the finished meme as a PNG.
In close-up is Rick Sanchez: light-blue spiky hair, a high forehead with a raised eyebrow, half-closed eyelids, and a heavy gaze directed sideways. He holds a lollipop on a white stick up to his mouth, steadying the stick with his fingers. The candy itself is purple with a red center. Behind him is a turquoise sky and a transparent tower shaped like glass or crystal, and a corner shows the Adult Swim logo. The edge of the frame shows the collar of a white lab coat.
His expression conveys a mix of boredom and calculation: Rick seems to have just heard a bold proposal and already decided to agree, but he isn't going to show any enthusiasm.
“Rick and Morty” premiered on Adult Swim in December 2013. Rick, an elderly genius scientist, invents devices for traveling between worlds and takes his grandson Morty along on adventures. He is cynical, prone to drinking, and fears nothing, and the show's hard-edged humor has made him one of the most quoted characters in contemporary animation.
Which exact episode this frame comes from has not been established. The Russian-language caption for this image has taken hold as a stable user phrase; its exact source and the date it began to be used are not known.
The joke rests on the gap between words and facial expression. The phrase itself expresses eagerness, readiness, and even delight at the plan, but the hero's face is listless and bored. The result is an image of someone who agrees not out of enthusiasm but because he doesn't care, or because the risk attracts him.
The lollipop heightens the effect: it makes the hero almost childlike at the moment of a serious decision. The viewer is tempted to attribute irony to him, as if he were saying: “Well, come on, let's see what happens.”
There is a second line: Rick in the series is known for taking on risky ventures with the same cynicism and fearlessness with which he invents devices for traveling between worlds, and a viewer who knows his character reads the frame as his signature reaction: not a shout or a panic, but the lazy “let's go” with which he meets any adventure.
“I've been offered one more project before the end of the month.” An example from work life: consent is given with the air of someone who already knows how it will end.
“A friend writes: we're invited to a barbecue, but it's a two-hour drive.” The contrast between exhaustion and agreement is exactly where the main comedy lies.
“Me at the sight of an electronics sale.” Here the picture shows weakness in the face of temptation, and the hero's expression justifies the weakness.
“Parents ask who will help with the move.” The caption works if the subject is a situation in which agreement is inevitable.
The picture is best used as a reaction to a proposal that sounds risky but tempting. The caption is usually placed at the top so as not to cover the face and the lollipop. It doesn't suit sincere joy, because the hero's gaze is too ironic.
Captions work well when the cost of agreeing is clear to the reader in advance: the more obvious the consequences, the funnier the hero's calm looks. If the caption describes a truly pleasant offer, the joke loses its double bottom, and Rick's gaze seems superfluous.
“For the Damaged Coda” is a track by Blonde Redhead that the internet has closely tied to Evil Morty from “Rick and Morty.” Its recognizable melancholic sound turns a brief failure
Read the story
A meme of Philip Fry from Futurama narrowing his eyes with a look of distrust. A universal way to express doubt, suspicion or sarcasm, usually with captions like "Not sure if..." f
Read the story
A frame from the animated series Family Guy: Peter Griffin sits at a school desk and, indignant, spreads his arms as if sharply answering an interlocutor. The meme rests on disprop
Read the story
A line from Futurama spoken by the robot Bender. It became an internet saying for making your own, supposedly better alternative to something, and an ironic formula for describing
Read the story
In a scene from “The Simpsons,” Homer shows Marge a slimmer figure after surgery, while holding the excess skin behind his back with clips and rubber bands. The episode “Husbands a
Read the story
A still from the animated series “Family Guy”: Peter sits on a bench, chin propped on his fist in deep thought, while a translucent figure appears beside him. The meme runs on the
Read the story
Roundup of memes from the Adult Swim animated series by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, led by "Wubba lubba dub dub", the "Get Schwifty" episode and Pickle Rick, which spread throug
Read the story
A frame from the animated series “Family Guy” in which Peter Griffin sobs by a half-open closet while hugging a green object. The image is often captioned “Oh, just shut up already
Read the story
A meme from season three, episode six of Rick and Morty, built on a promise of a quick trip that drags on far longer. It is an ironic label for any task that went well beyond its o
Read the story
A frame from a Pringles commercial featuring Rick from “Rick and Morty”: Rick tears off the wallpaper and points at the chip logo hidden behind it. The meme is used as a template i
Read the story
Twitter flash mob in which participants promise to share as many facts on a topic as they get likes. The format quickly became an object of irony, and its parodies grew into a genr
Read the story