Rick and Morty, Bassnectar, and the way we move forward
Hey all, so here I go on a long rant.
If you read the title you can imagine where this post is going. I'm not usually active in this sub so much as r/aves or r/ElectricForest, but this is a broad topic and applies to the festival scene as a whole I would believe.
As many people know by now Justin Roiland, the co creator of Rick and Morty has attracted a lot of heat in the past week about messages he was sending a minor among other things. It's obviously hard to be objective but from what I've seen, and really looking inward it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
This has been devastating to me. I loved Rick and Morty, it was a show that was with me through very hard times in my early adult life and really felt like it connected me to others who were similarly struggling making sense of their life, the universe, and how to come to terms with it all. The comedy was immature at times, but similar to the way festivals let you rewind to a simpler time Rick and Morty did the same.
Today I tore down my Rick and Morty poster, I threw away the merchandise, it actually made me tear up for a minute. Was this maybe acting to harshly too soon? Denouncing something before knowing the legal outcome of a court case?
No
The mere thought that this person was talking to others in this way, and that I had rallied behind this persons creative work that is a reflection of that made me sick. So much of my personality has been attributed to this show, things I say, conversations I have, friends I've made, all feel tarnished by this.
This brought me back mentally to my first Electric Forest, watching Rick and Morty in the main strip with a bunch of random people I had just met, talking about where we were from, who we were excited to see. I'm sure somebody mentioned Bassnectar who was still the headliner in 2018 before the person he had treated inappropriately came forward.
I guess what this long post is getting at is these individuals don't define us, but are undeniably intertwined in the culture. Rick and Morty has been a big part of festival culture and good luck walking through the shops without seeing Rick and Morty bandanas, shirts, or tapestries. If you're into EDM like me you know that Bassnecatar has had such a large influence on the direction of that sub genre. You have artists big in the scene now that did many colabs with him and now have their own fan base.
So how do we separate it?
There has been talk of Bassnectar coming around again and doing curated events, certainly despite the outcome of the Justin Roiland situation Rick and Morty will not likely fade from the festival culture entirely. But the question I had to ask myself, and one which I think applies more heavily to other men out there is;
What does it mean if we say that their work is independent from the individual?
How can that ever be true?
And how do we do better to make sure we don't idolize these people only for them to destroy our personality when it comes out they are fucked up?
All is not woe, I still love EDM/festivals, I still love childish goofy comedy, and I still think most people are not gross. But personally if I want to keep enjoying those things I can't just let things slide as "I don't know the whole story, maybe he didn't do it".
If you read this, you're a real one and much love to you.
TL;DR: None, there is no summary. Please read it if you want to comment.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/festivals/comments/10hvmfz/rick_and_morty_bassnectar_and_the_way_we_move/
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