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The blog of Chicago-based freelance copywriter and author David Johnsen.
Monday, June 27, 2005
South Park Conservatives?
In the article "Oh My God! They Tried to Steal South Park!" Simon Maloy goes after a book of deep b.s. called South Park Conservatives: The Revolt against Liberal Media Bias by Brian C. Anderson. The book claims that the South Park cartoon television show is "overthrowing the liberal media bias and political correctness" because it makes fun of liberals. Sure it does, but Maloy makes the point that is obvious to anybody who watches the program: they make fun of everybody, regardless of political or ideological position. That is one of the things that makes the show so great--it skewers both sides and lets us laugh at ourselves as much as we do our opponents. It's surely the most politically charged program I can watch with my woefully Republican dad without getting into an argument.
Anderson's book sounds like a classic work of selective citation. Maloy provides numerous counter-examples, and it took me, oh, ten seconds to think of more. What about the episode about gay Boy Scout leaders where Big Gay Al is heartbroken to lose his position in the troop? He is replaced by a "manly," military-type guy who orders the boys to take off their clothes. In fact, there are lots of South Park episodes that show acceptance of gays (while mocking and celebrating their idiosyncrasies), which doesn't exactly fit today's Republican agenda.
In addition to poking fun at Pat Robertson (which Maloy notes), South Park has gone after just about every religion. Pope John Paul II was presented as the drooling, nearly dead leader of priests who, when presented with child molestation charges, wanted to find a way to stop little boys from telling on them. The episode about Satan and Saddam in Hell was particularly ecumenical in its ridicule. Cartman made himself into an evangelist whose only goal was to make ten million dollars from his followers by using the fear of eternal damnation, an obvious jab at TV preachers. Then Satan's director addressed people new to Hell:
Protestant: Hey, wait a minute. I shouldn't be here, I was a totally strict and devout Protestant. I thought we went to heaven.When Saddam Hussein went to Heaven (Satan asked God for a favor because Saddam and Satan's boyfriend kept killing each other; whenever Saddam died, he came back to Hell--"Well, where was I gonna go? Detroit?"), he was met by a group of Mormons. One said, "We're just about to do a play, about how much stealing hurts you deep inside. Come join us." When Saddam cried out, "Nooo! Nu- nooooooooooo!" we all felt a little sorry for him.
Hell Director: Yes, well, I'm afraid you are wrong.
Soldier: I was a practicing Jehovah's Witness.
Hell Director: Uh, you picked the wrong religion as well.
Man from Crowd: Well who was right? Who gets in to Heaven?
Hell Director: I'm afraid it was the Mormons. Yes, the Mormons were the correct answer.
The Damned: Awwww...
Anderson quotes a student about what being a South Park conservative means:
The label is really about rejecting the image of conservatives as uptight squares--crusty old men or nerdy kids in blue blazers. We might have long hair, smoke cigarettes, get drunk on weekends, have sex before marriage, watch R-rated movies, cuss like sailors--and also happen to be conservative, or at least libertarian.Maloy deliciously counters that this profile has rather broad appeal:
Forgive the skepticism, but finding college students who drink, smoke, fornicate, and watch Quentin Tarantino films is like finding sand on the beach.For a supposedly individualistic society, we are hell-bent on shoehorning people into groups and labeling them, be they South Park conservatives, limousine liberals, or beauty salon libertarians. This book just demonstrates that one can write about anything these days, and if it leans right, people will buy it no matter how weak its premise (see Thomas Friedman's pathetic The World Is Flat--its title and thesis unintentionally imply that connectedness has taken civilization backward six hundred years!).
While Eric Cartman is the most quintessential young Republican on television since Michael J. Fox on Family Ties, his political position doesn't always help him, nor is it presented as the preferred choice; it's just who he is. He is hardly a role model, and even his own friends tell him how heartless he is. If this is the image that conservatives want to claim for themselves, then let them. But South Park as a whole? Ridiculous.
Labels: television, US politics
- posted by David Johnsen @ 12:36 PM
