Rick & Morty Spoofs The Addams Family Problem In The Most Extreme Way Possible
In Rick & Morty season 5, episode 5, «Amortycan Grickfitti,» Rick emphatically declares that he's sick of the episode's Hell demons' "Addams Family bull****," referring to the extreme way these demonic characters, like the Addams Family, derive pleasure through pain. This manifests in the episode most notably when the demons enjoy witnessing Jerry's more "cringe" characteristics through his simple interests, dull sense of humor, and desperate attempts to be liked. Their quest to maximize the "cringe," or secondhand embarrassment, they experience escalates as the demons kidnap Jerry to enhance their torture chamber in Hell.
The hedonistic Hell demons are an exaggerated take on the equally pleasure-seeking Cenobites from Clive Barker's Hellraiser. Rick & Morty has many horror character spoofs, such as Scary Terry, the spoof of Freddy Krueger from season 1, episode 2, «Lawnmower Dog.» However, «Amortycan Grickfitti» uses its parody of the Addams Family to make an even broader point on contemporary culture.
Related: How Rick & Morty Season 5 Episode 5 Mocks You For Hating Jerry
Rick's Addams Family reference points to how the '60s series' spooky cast was diametrically opposed to the era's squeaky clean American nuclear family stereotype. However, their gag of routinely defying expectations with their macabre lifestyle may come off as one-note. «Amortycan Grickfitti» examines that idea in an extreme way by combining The Addams Family's style of transgression with the sadomasochism of Hellraiser. Consequently, Rick & Morty reveals a problem with formulaic subversion presented in The Addams Family, showing how it can become just as predictable as the traditions it aims to subvert.
While Rick & Morty's demons are similar
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