Warning: Spoilers ahead forRick and Mortyseason 8, episode 7.
The latest seasons ofRick and MortyandBlack Mirrorboth have episodes about using generative A.I. in the filmmaking process, butRick and Mortyexplored the subject in a lot more depth.A.I. has become a hot topic in the movie industry; the 2023 Hollywood strikes were primarily built around protecting artists from being replaced by artificial intelligence.
InRick and Mortyseason 8, episode 7, “Ricker Than Fiction,”Rick and Morty are dissatisfied with the latest installment in their favorite long-running superhero franchise,Maximum Velocitree, so they steal the script for the next one fromits director, James Gunn, and attempt to improve it using a device called the Movie-lizer, which churns out movies based on prompts.
InBlack Mirrorseason 7, episode 3, “Hotel Reverie,”Issa Rae plays an A-list star whose digital consciousness is inserted into an A.I. recreation of a classicBrief Encounter-style black-and-white romantic drama to play the lead role in an A.I.-generated remake. When she gets stuck in the simulation, she falls in love with one of her digital co-stars.
Both of these episodes deal with A.I. technology infiltrating the film industry, butonly one of them has anything substantial to say about it.Black Mirrorjust used A.I. filmmaking as a backdrop to an unrelated story, butRick and Mortyis a bona fide commentary on the digital death knell for the industry.
Rick & Morty’s “Ricker Than Fiction” Is A Deeper Exploration Of AI Filmmaking Than Black Mirror’s “Hotel Reverie”
Black Mirror Only Tackled The Subject Superficially
Both “Ricker Than Fiction” and “Hotel Reverie” use a fictional technology to comment on the threat of A.I. looming over the film industry. In “Hotel Reverie,” a company called ReDream is using A.I.-based virtual production technology to recreate classic movies. In “Ricker Than Fiction,” Rick uses the Movie-lizer to churn out a new sequel to his favorite superhero franchise.
Both episodes use a fictional A.I. film production toshow the ethical and creative impracticalities of using such a technology to do something as inherently human as creating art. InRick and Morty, it’s the umpteenth sequel in a superhero series, and inBlack Mirror, it’s an unnecessary remake. In both episodes, the heroes get trapped in their A.I. movies.
In “Ricker Than Fiction,” Rick and Morty get sucked into the Movie-lizer,Tron-style, and have to live through its regurgitation of superhero movie tropes. In “Hotel Reverie,” the ReDream tech goes haywire and Brandy Friday gets stranded in a recreation of an iconic movie set full of digital extras, while the engineers in the real world scramble to save her.
Rick and Morty tackles the debate in more depth, showing that stories created by a machine are messy, derivative, and lacking a human touch.
But despite the similarities in the two episodes’ satirical examination of A.I. filmmaking,Rick and Mortygoes a lot deeper.“Hotel Reverie” only handles that subject on the surface levelbefore telling a standard love story.Rick and Mortytackles the debate in more depth, showing that stories created by a machine are messy, derivative, and lacking a human touch.
“Hotel Reverie” Is A Typical Love Story In An AI Setting
The first act of “Hotel Reverie” is squarely focused on the ethical dilemmas of A.I. filmmaking. When Brandy is first contacted by ReDream about starring in an A.I.-generated remake of her favorite movie, she’s not sure it’s a good idea. But she goes along with it, gets put into their digital recreation of the movie, and promptly gets trapped there.
At first, this seems likea grand metaphor for the dangers of inviting A.I. into the creative side of the film industry. Brandy danced with the devil, gave A.I. filmmaking a try, and ended up locked in a digital prison of artificial intelligence. But then, it doesn’t explore the subject any deeper.
Rae and Corrin share great on-screen chemistry, so the romance works, but the episode gives up on satirizing A.I.
Brandy falls in love with one of her digital co-stars,Clara, played by Emma Corrin, andthe A.I. filmmaking technology just becomes a backdrop to a typical romance story. Rae and Corrin share great on-screen chemistry, so the romance works, but the episode gives up on satirizing A.I. — and it feels like a rehash ofthe classic “San Junipero” episode.
“Ricker Than Fiction” Actually Digs Into The Problems With Using A Machine To Tell Stories
AI-Generated Stories Are Clunky, Derivative, & Lacking A Human Touch
“Ricker Than Fiction,” on the other hand, actually digs into the problems with bringing A.I. into the storytelling process.Rick and Morty initially think it’ll be easy to write a better moviethanGunn’s latestMaximum Velocitreesequel, but they find out almost immediately that it’s much harder than they expected.
When Rick and Morty get absorbed into the Movie-lizer,they have to cobble together all the prompts they jammed into it to come up with an ending. The story they’re in is clunky, derivative of all the other movies the A.I. tech collated to spit it out, and most importantly, lacking a human touch.
Rick and Mortyairs new episodes on Adult Swim every Sunday.
Going back thousands of years, people have been telling stories as a means of human connection. No matter how sophisticated A.I. technology gets, it’ll never be able to replicate that.Rick and Mortyhammers home that message a lot more effectively thanBlack Mirrordid. Even Jerry’s Adderall-fueled script has a lot more personality than what the A.I. came up with.
