I never really tolerated this take on the show. And how many often accused Matt and Trey of being libertarians or even downright bigots even though they’re trying to make a socialist statement on civilisation or the topic of the week like gay marriage and treatment of disability in media and how people could potentially be faking it for exploitation both of which were actually very well done and progressive especially the tourettes example.
Also they’ve ruthless mocked Trump in a story arc not only once but twice. And their latest season is so aggressively ruthless and savage, It feels like they’re doing more for the liberal No Kings uprising than The current democratic party leaders who are all talk and no substance.
I’m not saying I don’t fully disagree with people’s disdain for the show (primarily the trans community. I can see why they hate South Park’s guts) but to consider it a permanent stain on basic human decency and a horrid influence for milennials is honestly pretty hair splitting if you’d ask me.
Am I missing something here within these folks? is punching sideways/mocking everyone equally really any worst than complete douchebags straight up punching down for the sake of pissing off the unfortunate because they find it hilarious (Looking at you Tony Hinchcliffe, and Babylon Bee)? Are the South Park guys really to blame for shaping an entire demographic into not caring about any Global Disputes with Current Affairs? Or did the boundaries pushing and subtle satire simply got lost in people who either grewed up into the very thing they were mocking or viewed it as a cesspool of nihlist Slop?
https://nebula.tv/videos/lindsayellis-south-park
Stone and Parker are the embodiment of genX politics. That is the cynical mantra that people who believe in stuff are the real fools. And it doesn’t matter if you deny the Holocaust or advocate for green energy, in South Park you’ve committed the same sin.
Sure they make fun of Trump. But they also had an entire season devoted to frat-boy bullies and tyrants who advocated for inclusion, equity, and social justice. Because that’s a social problem in American and Matt & Tray simply have the courage to finally speak truth to power.
Oh, and meanwhile Global Warming is a hysterical myth that Al Gore invented.
For what it’s worth, they have officially said they were wrong about Climate Change.
And it only took how long? So brave of them to admit they were wrong long after public consensus shifted (never mind scientific consensus, which was already solid before that episode was even made).
And you’d rather they didn’t? Obviously it would have been better if they didn’t mock climate change in the first place, but if they then use their same platform to use the same influence to acknowledge their mistake, it’s much better than them just staying silent about it. It’s incredibly counterproductive to mock people who actually admit when they were wrong, even if they’re not as quick about it as you want them to be.
people who believe in stuff are the real fools
That’s a really good distillation of their ethos. I’m going to try to remember it.
This is pretty accurate but I would say it’s both their flaw and their strength. There’s a lot put on the shoulders of the show probably because it’s such a cultural force and has been around for a long time. They’re often lauded for their take downs and for how well they distilled absurdities in various beliefs and I actually think that praise was pretty well deserved. They can take anything, whatever it may be and find the angle where it is risible and stupid, and that works great for comedy and only becomes a problem when it’s expected to somehow be right in doing so or is to have a coherent philosophy that can be discerned from the years of output and that’s where it really starts to break down. When something like Southpark is around this long and people place so many expectations on it, when it has to mine the cultural milieux for something current and relevant week after week and still stick to it’s “ripping on everybody” schtick, the limits of the actual commentary and messaging start to become apparent. This leads to justified criticism like yours but at the end of the day it was only ever just a tv show and frankly what they do achieve is pretty impressive for the medium and for its longevity even when compared to where it hits the limits of both.
Stone and Parker are the embodiment of genX politics. That is the cynical mantra that people who believe in stuff are the real fools.
Even if that was their mantra (which I don’t think it is), it’s absurd to generalise that to all of Gen X, as if all of us have the same politics.
No to all of this.
IMO South Park just holds up a mirror to society (in probably 90% of their episodes, anyway). People who are comfortable / powerful in society won’t like looking at the ugliness in that mirror. People who understand how fucked up everything is will appreciate the value of the mirror.
I think a smaller amount of their material is just them griping about various pet peeves, which is fine. They are human and very creative, so of course some of those types of things will come out in their work, too.
And some of it is just to be funny, pure absurdist jokes and gags. In the sense of “the universe doesn’t care” types of things. Those land hard for me, but some people don’t find that kind of thing funny. The people who don’t find it funny aren’t wrong, they just have different tastes in humor.
I think you nailed it. You can take what you want from their episodes oftentimes, they are not trying to convince anyone of anything but how stupid some people and things are from at least one perspective. That’s it. When people act like they’re anti leftist or something like that, they’ve 100% missed what was being done.
There was an odd period of time in America where a large portion of the population got their political information and social awareness from the Comedy Central television network.
The Daily Show, Colbert Report, and South Park.
People often had a better sense of humor about things back then though
I’m not even trying to make a stupid joke, it’s true
Having a sense of humor makes you less of an insufferable annoyance when talking about topics that are heavy
Please return me to 2006. I hate everything and would like to go back. (lol)
People who think South Park ruined anything or that the creators are politically shitty do not get it and probably haven’t watched much of it. Imo to think they are politically shitty, it takes being a purity tester type who is looking for secret evil everywhere. The type who is not satisfied with the evil people being honest about their beliefs, they know the truth: most people who claim to have leftist views are actually secretly evil conservatives. This is a type of person I will never get along with.
Like how they demonized climate change for nearly a decade. I got it crustal clear during the al gore episodes
What the fuck are you talking about? Easy block of a purity testing twat who doesn’t understand comedy or satire.
He’s talking about the fact that for over a decade south Park played a significant part in fueling climate change skepticism with Al Gore screaming “manbearpig guys I’m super cereal” only for the creators to later admit that yeah they were actually super wrong about climate change and it is a serious issue. That’s why they made manbearpig real and had it start killing people, but that doesn’t erase the influence that they’ve already had on people. It’d be like if they had a TV show calling aids fake and gay for the first few years of the aids crisis and then only changed their tune once it started affecting people they know.
Claiming that anyone who rightfully criticizes their handling of climate change as being a purity testing twat with no understanding of comedy or satire is disingenuous and makes it obvious that you don’t actually understand what you’re talking about
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One one hand, South Park has expertly satirized current events for its entire existence, and the writing is genius.
On the other hand, it pretty much gave all the worst school children in the 2000’s permission the scream “fag” and “jew” all the time because they didn’t understand that Cartman isn’t supposed to be a role model.
The Colbert Effect
People are bad at media literacy?
A tale as old as time.
Remember when fundamentalists viewed Pokemon as a satanic threat?
Miss me with that modern satanic panic bullshit lmfao
hit me with that satanic picnic
Part of the problem, like the problem with Team America, is that the ideas still propagate even if you’re mocking them. The same is true of The Office, making fun of misogyny and racism by acting it out while trying to play it straight is very similar to acting it out earnestly. It’s not a defense to say it’s parodic or subtle or sarcastic.
More than anything, South Park was dominated by the shock factor. The content wasn’t particularly insightful, educational, or complex. It was mostly absurdism and shock, both fundamentally predicated on doing things other people weren’t willing to do because it was taboo or uncomfortable.
Did some young viewers come away with enlightened sensibilities? Probably. But RATM achieved the same goal without reproducing the messages of the movements that they were fighting against.
This is exactly why I had to stop watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. It’s brilliantly written satire most of the time, but I know people are getting the wrong ideas from it and laughing at truly despicable behavior that they’re going to emulate first for ironic humor, then eventually just because it’s hedonistically rewarding.
I do really appreciate that The Gang’s misbehavior always ends up screwing them over. That’s a big difference compared to South Park.
That’s a very fair point. But even that level of “nuance” I think can be lost on an audience of many millions in a generation where a large proportion of kids make it to college without ever having read an entire adult-level book cover to cover.
Ruining? I think they meant enlightening.
Pretty sure they do.
It’s probably the conservatives who claim South Park ruined a generation. My ex came from a conservative culture and she doesn’t like South Park. Obviously, adult, crude and dark humour won’t jive well with conservatives who are taught a certain way. If I had remained in my home country, I could grow up not liking South Park as I was pretty conservative.
I just don’t like South Park. There are couple good episodes - but to me most of it is slop for the masses.
Very little actual value over shock factor and being vulgar for vulgarity sake.
Tho it is my personal preference - if you enjoy it go ahead and have fun! Life is just too short and messed up.Same. Watched it as a teen and grew out of it.
It’s clearly not to blame for anyone’s troubles, though. It’s just social commentary in the form of a juvenile cartoon.
I’ve never particularly enjoyed southpark. not my cuppa.
but i wouldn’t say it ruined anything and it’s frequently poignant in it’s evisceration of certain people or groups of people. maybe they’re part of those groups?
