There’s this pessimistic and almost defeatist view some people will have when they see a night sky chuck full of stars and realize we might be ultimately alone in the universe. Or even the idea that we’re one small speck in an endless existence present for a micro value of time so nothing matters. Basically reasoning summed up in the line, “Every new discovery is just a reminder… we’re all small and stupid. And who knows what great new discovery is coming next to make us feel like even smaller pieces of shit”.
The best writing choice in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is that each other the five main characters (Mac, Dee, Charlie, Dennis, and Frank) are high level narcissists meaning they only care for themselves. This choice is supported by the fact that each character gets to switch roles between straight man and comedic relief in each scene as needed. This means that while each are acting narcissistic, they will be in a sincere or ironic tone. I don’t remember if they admit this themselves, but you can just watch any episode and pay attention to their dialogue. Each of them will only talk about their own point of view of things, disregard others, and make whatever general problem the nation is facing only about themselves. They will check all of these boxes whether they are supposed to be working against each other or with together. It also leans into misogyny as the male dominate group always needs to exclude Dee from ever being important. The best apart of it though leads to the central promise of most regular sitcoms: the only humans that matter are the ones with names.
No not just characters that talk, random extras in sitcoms talk all of the time and could leave without a name. The ones that have names, even if they appear only for an episode or even for quick cameos matter infinitely more than the extras or 7 billion people that must exist in the rest of that sitcom’s reality. Part of it is because we follow them but also these are the humans who end up in completely silly goofy situations with crazy contrivance (see Arrested Development). These are the humans who will fail constantly in romantic relationships or professional careers for the sake of comedy and that failure will be more interesting to us than the nameless who surround them. Really, you can notice this in shows where they might have their own narcissistic characters or where the plot just causes the main cast to have more fun than the rest of the world. Even in a microcosm like the Office, the characters upstairs are more necessary for the documentary than those packaging downstairs who are still more interesting and developed than the other branches of Dunder-Mifflin. This trait on its own will not really impact the storytelling but awareness from the characters or just the writers can make it more fun.
Now let’s designate the Paddy’s Pub in the universe 78669 (spelling Sunny) and in that frame, we can do their world building. They still have a United States with the same history as ours but in which a man named Frank became rich enough in his middle years to be able to start and restart several companies in his elder years. Seriously, the money that Frank has to be laundered somehow and must be documented. While he’s running all this shit, the Paddy’s Pub must actually be in a deficit. They have been running the bar in the poorest part of Philadelphia, where their only frequent customers are 3 homeless people, for over a decade and keep committing to dumb rich quick schemes which basically harass any civilian unfortunate enough to cross their path. BUT, amazingly, they aren’t the center of attention for any person. The Philadelphia police don’t have them on some kind of special watch and some of their former adversaries try to keep as far away as possible. They don’t even have like a fanbase of bar attendees its crazy. And yet, they still feel like they are the most important in the world, no matter how badly they fail. That’s true ultimate raw narcissism I haven’t seen anywhere else. I mean hell, if they open a gate to other realities, other sitcoms, they would still make it about them until it was completely ruined and then leave for their home universe. Only if narcissists were actually doing great things like that, you know; achieving things.
Hubris does not come for all. There’s genuinely very good things the gang could’ve accomplished but hubris came for them. For other narcissist, maybe they’re smarter or luckier and instead opened a gateway to the next world. Now, whenever I look at the night sky, I see all these stars shining and they shine just for me. Again, as far as I know, we are the only ones here. That shit lit up isn’t shining for anyone else. These continents laid out across the Earth but borders made for us by our cultures and histories. The sun beaming light at the Earth for 8 minutes before it finally reaches down and is stopped by your figure thus creating a shadow. That little shadow is evidence shows that even a small being like you could stop this all-powerful sun and that the universe in fact bends to you. I mean, it has to, it bends to everything. But you have the sentience to understand that. You, reader, aren’t the many who don’t matter but the only one who does matter. Well, I matter more.
Donations made to poor and starving only matter when made by you as you know you’ve left an impact. Wars in eastern Europe only happened or mattered because you got to witness/fight in it. Many trees fall but you weren’t there to hear it so they either ‘render in’ standing or laying once you’ve reached that forest. Rumors of news you heard add to your general lore although it wasn’t important before you heard about it. If you adopt this red pill, then you will have created your own universe.
You do that in one universe and good job. You did it. You conquered the mass. The original. But everyone could do that and we’d be stuck around each other’s bubbles, or universes. A collection known as the multiverse. Can’t have that if you really matter that much. You must then conquer this multiverse. A new frontier….
tdwriter 