South Park is Right
So many times I have watched the television cartoon show of South Park. I have watched since its premiere season. It was made famous by its four primary characters, fourth-graders, who episodically get into life-altering circumstances, all the while being crude, obnoxious, lewd, and profane. I almost forgot to mention that while they were doing all those things, they were also portraying satire in a manner that is absolutely hilarious!
I took a break from South Park in my young adulthood, missing quite a bit of essential character development and needless celebrity bashing, I'm sure, but I was able to jump back on board in my collegiate years, when I was finally able to get and appreciate the humor. I have been watching avidly for the past few seasons, now, and I can truly say that South Park is one of the best shows on TV today, and it has been for awhile.
The creators of the South Park television show have used their outlet of animation through the minds of Midwestern elementary students on cable television to the max of its potential, pushing the envelope as far as it can go, creating a show that covers everything; making fun of anybody they choose, satirizing topics both political and pop cultural, with plot lines revolving around the most objectionable material they can find, and using their means to get whatever they possibly can to be put in front of an international audience. The language is carefully crafted, but colorful. The characters move every emotion in the viewer: love, hate, pity, sorrow, tenderness, and mockery. The setting is something A LOT of people can relate to. The humor is something not a lot of people can appreciate, and that is the only place the show suffers, in my opinion. If everybody who watched it had a tolerance for offensive material as vast as the people who create the show week in and week out, it might have a bigger audience yet, though, even with its poignant way of expressing opinion, South Park has found immense success and its niche in the comedy marketplace.
In the past five seasons, in which I have become a loyal supporter and fan of the show, I have been both turned away and invited to watch as much as I can take. No doubt, I have watched some of the most offensive and grotesque things I've ever witnessed. Some movies aren't even as bad as South Park is, yet, I have also watched how keen and accurate the show can be with its humor, especially when dealing with current events. Some episodes of South Park make me cringe. Others, though, make me smile and laugh to my heart's content.
In each episode, South Park sends a message out to the people who watch it. Whether the message is what the writers intended has to do with the viewers' interpretations. But, especially when episodes tackle a hot controversial topic, political or otherwise newsworthy, the South Park creators are relentless at going for the throat. They so brilliantly make fun of the things they need to make fun of, but then at the end of the episode, they bring it all together and say what they really meant to say the whole time, if only subtly.
It is so hard to tell which direction the creators of South Park lean politically, as they express opinions that cater to both the left and the right. If they are anything, they are certainly unafraid to express an opinion, which I am fine with. Even though, the show sometimes leaves me disgusted and offended to my core, more often than not, I agree with what the show has to say. The offensive material may be offset by the fact that I am rolling on the floor laughing, but even so, I fight myself in agreement with the general message of what South Park has to say.
Nothing in this world is perfect, and as always, one cannot listen to everything someone has to say. There might be something, though, in the wisdom of these fourth-graders that shouldn't be ignored. We should listen to them just as we would listen to our parents or teachers. Everybody is entitled to an opinion. And everybody's opinion is equivalent to everyone else's. But that, in itself, is an opinion, so I don't know who you should listen to.
I took a break from South Park in my young adulthood, missing quite a bit of essential character development and needless celebrity bashing, I'm sure, but I was able to jump back on board in my collegiate years, when I was finally able to get and appreciate the humor. I have been watching avidly for the past few seasons, now, and I can truly say that South Park is one of the best shows on TV today, and it has been for awhile.
The creators of the South Park television show have used their outlet of animation through the minds of Midwestern elementary students on cable television to the max of its potential, pushing the envelope as far as it can go, creating a show that covers everything; making fun of anybody they choose, satirizing topics both political and pop cultural, with plot lines revolving around the most objectionable material they can find, and using their means to get whatever they possibly can to be put in front of an international audience. The language is carefully crafted, but colorful. The characters move every emotion in the viewer: love, hate, pity, sorrow, tenderness, and mockery. The setting is something A LOT of people can relate to. The humor is something not a lot of people can appreciate, and that is the only place the show suffers, in my opinion. If everybody who watched it had a tolerance for offensive material as vast as the people who create the show week in and week out, it might have a bigger audience yet, though, even with its poignant way of expressing opinion, South Park has found immense success and its niche in the comedy marketplace.
In the past five seasons, in which I have become a loyal supporter and fan of the show, I have been both turned away and invited to watch as much as I can take. No doubt, I have watched some of the most offensive and grotesque things I've ever witnessed. Some movies aren't even as bad as South Park is, yet, I have also watched how keen and accurate the show can be with its humor, especially when dealing with current events. Some episodes of South Park make me cringe. Others, though, make me smile and laugh to my heart's content.
In each episode, South Park sends a message out to the people who watch it. Whether the message is what the writers intended has to do with the viewers' interpretations. But, especially when episodes tackle a hot controversial topic, political or otherwise newsworthy, the South Park creators are relentless at going for the throat. They so brilliantly make fun of the things they need to make fun of, but then at the end of the episode, they bring it all together and say what they really meant to say the whole time, if only subtly.
It is so hard to tell which direction the creators of South Park lean politically, as they express opinions that cater to both the left and the right. If they are anything, they are certainly unafraid to express an opinion, which I am fine with. Even though, the show sometimes leaves me disgusted and offended to my core, more often than not, I agree with what the show has to say. The offensive material may be offset by the fact that I am rolling on the floor laughing, but even so, I fight myself in agreement with the general message of what South Park has to say.
Nothing in this world is perfect, and as always, one cannot listen to everything someone has to say. There might be something, though, in the wisdom of these fourth-graders that shouldn't be ignored. We should listen to them just as we would listen to our parents or teachers. Everybody is entitled to an opinion. And everybody's opinion is equivalent to everyone else's. But that, in itself, is an opinion, so I don't know who you should listen to.
posted by Leland J. Fischer at 10:28 PM
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