The adult animated series South Park is about 4 elementary students, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, and the insane adventures that they get into in their hometown of South Park, Colorado. Trey Parker and Matt Stone created the show from an animated short made in their film class at the University of Colorado in 1992. They struck a deal with Comedy Central in 1997 for a show, and the first episode of South Park was aired on August 13, 1997. Since the start of the series, there have been 167 episodes aired in eleven seasons and a full-length feature film, and a deal has already been made to make new episodes up until 2011. However, South Park’s notoriety comes form its ability to push the envelope for what can be said on television. Creators Matt and Trey will find any topic they can think of to make fun of such as: vulgarity, political issues, censorship, the environment, etc. Almost every controversial topic in our modern world is fair game for South Park to poke fun at. It succeeds at these topics, though, where most shows won’t even think about touching them.
Its success might be connected with its ability to comment on current issues in the world. Where South Park has an advantage over shows like “The Simpsons” and “Family Guy” is that a single episode can be made in a very speedy fashion, which enables the writers to incorporate modern issues affecting the world at the time. In fact, an episode of South Park usually takes 6 days, sometimes three or four, where instead a single episode of The Simpsons takes a whopping 6 to 8 months to create. A really good example of the show’s to keep up on current events would be in the episode “It’s Christmas in Canada”. In the episode the boys travel to Canada to get Kyle’s brother back, but in order to accomplish their mission they must first speak with the Canadian Prime Minister. In a bizarre twist they discover that the Prime Minister is actually Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole. The importance of this is because three days before this episode aired the U.S. Military just caught Saddam Hussein hiding in the aforementioned spider hole.
Besides its strength in commenting on current events around the world, South Park attracts many viewers with its outrageous position that it takes on many very controversial issues. In a recent episode, the state of Colorado decides whether or not to approve gay marriage based on the outcome of an egg that is set in the care of Stan and Kyle. In another episode concerning the rain forest, a character’s views change from being pro-rain forest to anti-rain forest. At the end of the episode, there are even statements about the rain forest that say how bad of a place it is, and the different varieties of cancer one can get there. Viewers are attracted to the show because of its disregard for what society considers not politically correct. Many people like things that tread the line or sometimes totally cross it. South Park is probably the only show on television that is willing to take a serious issue like immigration and then point out points from each side to make fun of. Since most episodes don’t really take one particular side, there is an opportunity for someone watching the show to laugh at an issue that they actually might take really seriously.
A question that someone might ask could be, why does current events matter for an animated show? Look at television shows like The Daily Show or even Saturday Night Live. Both these shows rely on satire, political or social, to create humorous views on current events. A show that develops ideas for episodes around current events will have a better chance of connecting with viewers personal views, and whether they agree with it or not, they may find it funny enough to start watching more of that television program. Also, it gives viewers, usually younger kids, a way to be aware of social problems in today’s society, and the viewpoints that each side might take on a certain topic. It should be noted, though, that a person watching this show should not take it literally. What makes events in pop-culture important? That is the thing. They are not important at all. The genius of South Park is that it makes fun of these celebrities who take themselves way too seriously. The creators want to show people that celebrities are just people, who have no real expertise in many political and social issues, and they really shouldn’t be taken seriously,
South Park has become a legendary cartoon show since its inception almost 11 years ago. Trey and Matt have created many other projects like Team America: World Police or BASEketball, but nothing can really compare to the success that South Park has had. With its advantage over many cartoon shows to poke fun at current issues, and its audacity to make fun of such things like religion and racism, South Park will continue to create many more classic and ridiculous programming.
5 comments:
I wonder why people get all cranked about a cartoon being offensive. The assumption seems to be that if a show is a cartoon, than it must be for children and not adults. Then we see the Japanese anime industry which has whole series that are solely geared towards adults. Why can't adults watch cartoons as well?
South Park gets people talking about every taboo in our culture, from child molestation to canabalism. I love what they do. The episode on Mormons was one of my all time favorites. I like your point about how the simple cartoon allows the writers to crank out episodes very quickly to keep up with the political climate. The writers clearly consider themselves liberals, but I like how they stereotype themselves just as over the top as they do insane Bible bangers.
With shows like this, I think it is great that they are incorporating day-to-day issues with each episode. It gives the viewer who may never watch the news an awareness of what issues are going on outside their home. As you said, shows like the daily show give the news in a humorous way, but to many, it is still a news show. South Park brings entertainment and today's issues into a fun to watch television show. This show might not be for everyone because of it's crude humor etc. but you can't fight the fact that south park is one of the greats.
The sad thing is, Because I never watch the news, I usually only know about current events from shows like this and Conan O'Brien. It is sad but true. What better way to be informed than in the company of comedy. You have to take it with a grain of salt due to the fact that 10 percent of what they say is true and the rest is all for humor. but If I am interested in something I usually will then look into it on my own by watching the news or better yet looking it up on the internet.
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