this is vaguely related to the string theory related post from a day or two ago, it's all bazinga science folks TL;DW string theory is a big thing because people that read pop science really liked it and it took a long time for physicists to come out in force and say "this is untestable garbage"
In the context of the sad man on a TV show being sufficiently sad or not? Maybe you are right because I cannot say. I feel like Rick is sufficiently sad to inspire me to feel leftist emotions. Like, watching him suffer from alienation and hurt others gives me reason to think of my solidarity with others.
No one is immune to propaganda, and it's especially clear here when you're saying that the murderously creepy sad man simply must be that way because that's the will of the fictional character's owners, and you went further than that and said that Harmon mistreating and underpaying his workers and thwarting their unionization efforts simply is and therefore must be how things will go.
Society can be improved somewhat, and it could very well start among the working class of the capitalist realism propaganda entertainment we've been talking about.
Even in the fiction I don't think that's true. No amount of Thermian Arguments will convince me that he's really that sad compared to the countless people he's hurt and destroyed. Also, it's all conveniently conjured fictional messaging based upon what the owners decided that was funny and then continued to profit from showing more and more of that with no lasting actual consequences presented for the ongoing sad funny atrocity man.
Even if that wasn't the case, what you got out of the show is clearly not what the majority and dare I say the intended target audience got out of it, which was "nihilistic sad atroctity man is funny watch him do more funny atrocities haha that therapist was a (slur) for scolding based atrocity god wasn't she IM PICKLE RIIIIIICK" :so-true:
Pickle Rick was the writer directly insulting those people. The joke is that there's no joke, Rick turns himself into a pickle and acts like it's a major accomplishment to get out of a social engagement. Morty immediately sees through this and Rick is left screaming Pickle Rick while a disappointed Morty walks away.
There's not much you can do to tell these people that the things they value in Rick are actually really horrible traits that hurt Rick and everyone he cares about.
The show is a money printer fueled by blue curtain admiring toxic fans at this point, so because of the pressures of capitalism and the personal ideology of Roiland and Harmon, of course the invincible godlike atrocity enjoying sad man will continue escaping lasting permanent consequences for his actions.
If Rick actually died or was replaced as the main character because of lasting consequences, that would put off much of that fandom but those that remained would stop gobbling up the RICK IS BASED ACTUALLY messaging because he wouldn't be there continually feeding it with presence and screen time.