Parker and Stone are out for blood in a way they haven't been for a while, and I'd imagine it's personal between the Skydance merger friction, the Late Show cancellation and their own contract...
Parker and Stone are out for blood in a way they haven't been for a while, and I'd imagine it's personal between the Skydance merger friction, the Late Show cancellation and their own contract uncertainties. If this is what finally does South Park in, I guess that makes the show relevant again.
Parker and Stone could pump out South Park from a van with a few laptops and a team of 4. I'm not entirely sure if they have the rights to do so. But they could.
Parker and Stone could pump out South Park from a van with a few laptops and a team of 4. I'm not entirely sure if they have the rights to do so. But they could.
The thing is, South Park has sucked super hard for a number of reasons basically since its inception. It's funny that they're going after Trump, but that's not going to post-hoc excuse their prior...
The thing is, South Park has sucked super hard for a number of reasons basically since its inception. It's funny that they're going after Trump, but that's not going to post-hoc excuse their prior behavior for me.
I never watched South Park growing up, and even now I turn it on more as background and I've of course seen clips linked occasionally and find some things funny. From what I've gathered, the...
I never watched South Park growing up, and even now I turn it on more as background and I've of course seen clips linked occasionally and find some things funny. From what I've gathered, the creators have a bit of a libertarian perspective which I have very negative opinions of but the point here isn't to bash on that. What I do mean to say is that I think going after Trump should be on brand for them, like at the least it is consistent what I have seen from the show, from them, and read about them. I wouldn't say it's something that should be exclusive to leftists to go after Trump and thus I wouldn't see it as excusing their prior behavior at all as though it's somehow progress of their perspectives. It just happens to be more of an alignment of positions with the left or progressives rather than them adopting a progressive viewpoint that would otherwise have been inconsistent with their prior behaviors.
If anything, the lack of commentary on this matter would be wholly inconsistent with their perspectives and would be an even greater stain on them than their past behavior as it would be more like regression if they hadn't gone after him.
I'm a lifelong fan of the show and would caution against ascribing any particular political beliefs to the show or its creators. The operating principle is basically as soon as any part of...
I'm a lifelong fan of the show and would caution against ascribing any particular political beliefs to the show or its creators. The operating principle is basically as soon as any part of culture, popular discourse, etc., swings too far in any direction, they're there to smack it back down with some satire. Trey and Matt just go after whoever gives them the best ammo for jokes, which is usually whoever is taking themselves the most serious in a given situation. It's rare, but there have even been cases where they have corrected themselves on past opinions, e.g., climate change, which speaks volumes.
Taking the piss out of Trump is absolutely on brand for them, though they actually refrained from doing so overtly during the first round as they felt it was too obvious and low effort. It seems what we have now is Trey and Matt properly pissed off.
The climate change reversal was amazing. For those that don't know, South Park in earlier seasons made fun of climate change in the form of ManBearPig, a made up monster that Al Gore is hysterical...
The climate change reversal was amazing.
For those that don't know, South Park in earlier seasons made fun of climate change in the form of ManBearPig, a made up monster that Al Gore is hysterical and desperate to find, and they portray him as an attention-seeking alarmist going after a made up monster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoEP-IqoDg
Years later, Trey and Matt realize that they were wrong, so they made an episode where it turns out ManBearPig is real! The kids seek out Al Gore that basically forces them to apologize. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j89KEwNBhQ4
One of my favorite moments in that episode was a guy telling his wife, condescendingly, that MBP isn't real. Then MBP shows up, and he keeps insisting that it isn't real. When he's forced to look, then he admits that it's real, but he keeps being condescending and asks what can they even do, nobody is going to do anything, until he's inevitably eaten by the MBP.
I love this because, that's exactly how it is, sadly. People that don't believe in climate change might eventually admit that it's real, but they won't do anything about it. This guy is the embodiment of people like that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AW4nSq0hAc
Anyway, back to Trey and Matt, like you said, it speaks volumes of them to walk back on their previous opinions. Not many creators (people) do that, usually you would just move on and never speak of it again.
As a long-time fan, it's a little upsetting how many people think they know everything about the show without watching a single episode. I'm not talking about anyone who commented here, it's just...
As a long-time fan, it's a little upsetting how many people think they know everything about the show without watching a single episode.
I'm not talking about anyone who commented here, it's just something that happens sometimes.
Just watched the episode in full. I know you guys hate South Park because you disagreed with them once and decided that they're probably awful in all 329 episodes. But come on. This is God's work.
Just watched the episode in full.
I know you guys hate South Park because you disagreed with them once and decided that they're probably awful in all 329 episodes. But come on. This is God's work.
Book of Mormon is leagues funnier than anything South Park has done in my opinion (and I've watched a lot of SPânot much in recent years, admittedlyâbecause my college roommates were obsessed with...
Book of Mormon is leagues funnier than anything South Park has done in my opinion (and I've watched a lot of SPânot much in recent years, admittedlyâbecause my college roommates were obsessed with it, so it was always on our TV).
I think Robert Lopez deserves a lot of credit for Book of Mormon (not that Matt and Trey don't). Lopez co-created Avenue Q which remains to this day the funniest musical I've ever seen.
I don't hate South Park, but I also don't like it. There have been episodes I find particularly offensive, but even on the topics I really think deserve criticism I find the show unengaging and...
I don't hate South Park, but I also don't like it. There have been episodes I find particularly offensive, but even on the topics I really think deserve criticism I find the show unengaging and unfunny.
I did watch this episode in full, because Trump does deserve to be made fun of for a whole host of reasons, and to check in with a show I haven't seen in 10+ years. I still don't find it funny overall, though there are individual jokes that are funny.
I ran across this article when it was written back in 2019 and I think it captures one of the key reasons I don't find South Park appealing.
âI mean, it really is that we take an issue, and we sort of always have two sides about to kill each other over it and the boys in the middle doing fart jokes and saying, you know, who cares?â Parker told NPR back in 2010. âThis is, you know, youâre both crazy.â In a way, that both-sidesismâthe idea that at the heart of every issue lie two equally wrong, equally annoying partiesâwas symptomatic of the showâs proudly childish point of view.
Being a kid keeps you on the fringes, which can give you an insightful, unclouded view of the injustices in the world. But it also means you have no real responsibility for what you say or doâa stance that seems especially unsurprising given that the show was created by two straight, cisgender, (now incredibly wealthy) white men.âI spend shockingly little time thinking about real-world stuff,â Parker told Rolling Stone in 2007, âAs far as Iâm concerned, Iâve got a computer, the Internet, an Xbox and PlayStation 3, so fuck off.â
IMO At the core of it, SP isn't trying to say anything beyond "stop making a fuss and leave me alone". This gives the show enormous creative freedom to make fun of everything and everyone, but it also doesn't stand for anything except the notion that it should be allowed to do that. Which is a fine starting point, but ultimately makes it feel shallow and unpallatable to me.
I really don't want to go le enlightened european on you or even project anything into you specifically, but every time I see this opinion, see people call South Park nihilistic or use "South Park...
I really don't want to go le enlightened european on you or even project anything into you specifically, but every time I see this opinion, see people call South Park nihilistic or use "South Park centrist" as an insult I have to wonder if it's the result of US two party system being so polarizing that so many people think you have to be commited to one side, and even sane people who don't view everyone not fully in their camp as the enemy/fascist/communist at least view them as nihilistic or lazy.
I never saw SP as nihilistic or their message as "nothing matters anyway, who cares". On the contrary, making fun of people who go too far or behave irrationally or stupidly on either side seems like the only sane thing to do. I think especially in the last decade "I wish everyone would just calm the fuck down and gained back some sanity" is a relatively prevalent feeling.
And regardless of what is cited in the article or how Vice interprets it, from the actual show I never really got the impression that they have to find equally bad things on both sides in every issue, I think they do relatively well going after nonsense on either side depending on what's currently happening, without having to make stuff up to stay "balanced".
I really appreciate this outside (of the USA) perspective, and I appreciate you sharing it, I really do. Normally there's a "but" here. No butt's, actually appreciate that. For me personally it...
I really appreciate this outside (of the USA) perspective, and I appreciate you sharing it, I really do. Normally there's a "but" here. No butt's, actually appreciate that.
For me personally it may be that I personally don't find SP funny because when it debuted I was very much still in the conservative end of political spectrum so I don't have the same appreciation and nostalgia for it.
Regardless I do think they should keep doing what they do, every institution/system/ideology needs to be poked fun at at some point.
I seems that in the US you will have a side wether you want it or not. You are either a liberal or a conservative. And if you choose neither a side will be ascribed to you. Possibly "centrist",...
I seems that in the US you will have a side wether you want it or not. You are either a liberal or a conservative. And if you choose neither a side will be ascribed to you. Possibly "centrist", which is a curse word to most people and only to serves for to be equally hated by all sides. Essentially, provided that you breath you will be hated by half the country. One would think that, in the US, chairs, babies and racoons have political alignment.
I find the dislike of South Park from the left as so strange. It's like they do not understand that it can make fun of both sides of an issue and still clearly agree with one side being wrong and...
I find the dislike of South Park from the left as so strange. It's like they do not understand that it can make fun of both sides of an issue and still clearly agree with one side being wrong and one being right. South Park has never been a refuge for the right, Cartman is not a role model. The reversal of certain old jokes into newer even funnier jokes, ManBearPig and Token/Tolkien .etc, shows clearly how the show should be taken.
I used to be a big fan of the show, havenât watched in years now. I felt it was waning about 10 years ago when I lost interest. It all felt very samey and the jokes just didnât land anymore. Maybe...
I used to be a big fan of the show, havenât watched in years now. I felt it was waning about 10 years ago when I lost interest. It all felt very samey and the jokes just didnât land anymore.
Maybe itâs just because I havenât watched in a long time but I watched this episode, off the back of the media attention, and did lol at points.
The fact that trump is depicted with the animation style of Saddam Hussein from waaay back, was a nice tip of the cap to old fans. Also, penis humour is always funny.
Nothing like a bit of spite to reignite the comedy spark of 30 year old cartoon.
Parker and Stone are out for blood in a way they haven't been for a while, and I'd imagine it's personal between the Skydance merger friction, the Late Show cancellation and their own contract uncertainties. If this is what finally does South Park in, I guess that makes the show relevant again.
Parker and Stone could pump out South Park from a van with a few laptops and a team of 4. I'm not entirely sure if they have the rights to do so. But they could.
I expect a message from the president soon about how South Park is a terrible show, no one ever liked it, and they are doomed to financial failure.
Right on the money đ
The thing is, South Park has sucked super hard for a number of reasons basically since its inception. It's funny that they're going after Trump, but that's not going to post-hoc excuse their prior behavior for me.
I never watched South Park growing up, and even now I turn it on more as background and I've of course seen clips linked occasionally and find some things funny. From what I've gathered, the creators have a bit of a libertarian perspective which I have very negative opinions of but the point here isn't to bash on that. What I do mean to say is that I think going after Trump should be on brand for them, like at the least it is consistent what I have seen from the show, from them, and read about them. I wouldn't say it's something that should be exclusive to leftists to go after Trump and thus I wouldn't see it as excusing their prior behavior at all as though it's somehow progress of their perspectives. It just happens to be more of an alignment of positions with the left or progressives rather than them adopting a progressive viewpoint that would otherwise have been inconsistent with their prior behaviors.
If anything, the lack of commentary on this matter would be wholly inconsistent with their perspectives and would be an even greater stain on them than their past behavior as it would be more like regression if they hadn't gone after him.
I'm a lifelong fan of the show and would caution against ascribing any particular political beliefs to the show or its creators. The operating principle is basically as soon as any part of culture, popular discourse, etc., swings too far in any direction, they're there to smack it back down with some satire. Trey and Matt just go after whoever gives them the best ammo for jokes, which is usually whoever is taking themselves the most serious in a given situation. It's rare, but there have even been cases where they have corrected themselves on past opinions, e.g., climate change, which speaks volumes.
Taking the piss out of Trump is absolutely on brand for them, though they actually refrained from doing so overtly during the first round as they felt it was too obvious and low effort. It seems what we have now is Trey and Matt properly pissed off.
The climate change reversal was amazing.
For those that don't know, South Park in earlier seasons made fun of climate change in the form of ManBearPig, a made up monster that Al Gore is hysterical and desperate to find, and they portray him as an attention-seeking alarmist going after a made up monster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoEP-IqoDg
Years later, Trey and Matt realize that they were wrong, so they made an episode where it turns out ManBearPig is real! The kids seek out Al Gore that basically forces them to apologize.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j89KEwNBhQ4
One of my favorite moments in that episode was a guy telling his wife, condescendingly, that MBP isn't real. Then MBP shows up, and he keeps insisting that it isn't real. When he's forced to look, then he admits that it's real, but he keeps being condescending and asks what can they even do, nobody is going to do anything, until he's inevitably eaten by the MBP.
I love this because, that's exactly how it is, sadly. People that don't believe in climate change might eventually admit that it's real, but they won't do anything about it. This guy is the embodiment of people like that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AW4nSq0hAc
Anyway, back to Trey and Matt, like you said, it speaks volumes of them to walk back on their previous opinions. Not many creators (people) do that, usually you would just move on and never speak of it again.
Bonus: Here's another video of IRL Al Gore speaking about this "apology".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG-Cp1y0UO8
As a long-time fan, it's a little upsetting how many people think they know everything about the show without watching a single episode.
I'm not talking about anyone who commented here, it's just something that happens sometimes.
Ugh, I guess I should be used to the wording of these by now, yet somehow each new one manages to outdo the petulance and pettiness of the last.
I'm especially miffed by the constant hail the emperor stuff they're saying. That's not normal behaviour.
But sheesh @teaearlgraycold nailed it.
And only two days after they inked a $1.5bn deal - not too shabby for a fourth rate show, eh.
Just watched the episode in full.
I know you guys hate South Park because you disagreed with them once and decided that they're probably awful in all 329 episodes. But come on. This is God's work.
Speaking of God's work, they also deserve a lot of credit for Book of Mormon.
Book of Mormon is leagues funnier than anything South Park has done in my opinion (and I've watched a lot of SPânot much in recent years, admittedlyâbecause my college roommates were obsessed with it, so it was always on our TV).
I think Robert Lopez deserves a lot of credit for Book of Mormon (not that Matt and Trey don't). Lopez co-created Avenue Q which remains to this day the funniest musical I've ever seen.
Every line from that play is quotable in so many contexts but the mention of it has "Turn it off! Like a light switch!" in my head again.
I don't hate South Park, but I also don't like it. There have been episodes I find particularly offensive, but even on the topics I really think deserve criticism I find the show unengaging and unfunny.
I did watch this episode in full, because Trump does deserve to be made fun of for a whole host of reasons, and to check in with a show I haven't seen in 10+ years. I still don't find it funny overall, though there are individual jokes that are funny.
I ran across this article when it was written back in 2019 and I think it captures one of the key reasons I don't find South Park appealing.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/south-park-made-it-cool-not-to-care-then-the-world-changed/
IMO At the core of it, SP isn't trying to say anything beyond "stop making a fuss and leave me alone". This gives the show enormous creative freedom to make fun of everything and everyone, but it also doesn't stand for anything except the notion that it should be allowed to do that. Which is a fine starting point, but ultimately makes it feel shallow and unpallatable to me.
I really don't want to go le enlightened european on you or even project anything into you specifically, but every time I see this opinion, see people call South Park nihilistic or use "South Park centrist" as an insult I have to wonder if it's the result of US two party system being so polarizing that so many people think you have to be commited to one side, and even sane people who don't view everyone not fully in their camp as the enemy/fascist/communist at least view them as nihilistic or lazy.
I never saw SP as nihilistic or their message as "nothing matters anyway, who cares". On the contrary, making fun of people who go too far or behave irrationally or stupidly on either side seems like the only sane thing to do. I think especially in the last decade "I wish everyone would just calm the fuck down and gained back some sanity" is a relatively prevalent feeling.
And regardless of what is cited in the article or how Vice interprets it, from the actual show I never really got the impression that they have to find equally bad things on both sides in every issue, I think they do relatively well going after nonsense on either side depending on what's currently happening, without having to make stuff up to stay "balanced".
I really appreciate this outside (of the USA) perspective, and I appreciate you sharing it, I really do. Normally there's a "but" here. No butt's, actually appreciate that.
For me personally it may be that I personally don't find SP funny because when it debuted I was very much still in the conservative end of political spectrum so I don't have the same appreciation and nostalgia for it.
Regardless I do think they should keep doing what they do, every institution/system/ideology needs to be poked fun at at some point.
I seems that in the US you will have a side wether you want it or not. You are either a liberal or a conservative. And if you choose neither a side will be ascribed to you. Possibly "centrist", which is a curse word to most people and only to serves for to be equally hated by all sides. Essentially, provided that you breath you will be hated by half the country. One would think that, in the US, chairs, babies and racoons have political alignment.
That is absolutely hilarious, I'm sure Trump is going to love it!
Thank you so much for this. I might have otherwise missed it, and it made me smile.
Go South Park!
I haven't seen the whole episode, just a clip someone posted on Reddit.
Seems totally unrealistic to me. He speaks coherently, smiles, and isn't fat.
I find the dislike of South Park from the left as so strange. It's like they do not understand that it can make fun of both sides of an issue and still clearly agree with one side being wrong and one being right. South Park has never been a refuge for the right, Cartman is not a role model. The reversal of certain old jokes into newer even funnier jokes, ManBearPig and Token/Tolkien .etc, shows clearly how the show should be taken.
I used to be a big fan of the show, havenât watched in years now. I felt it was waning about 10 years ago when I lost interest. It all felt very samey and the jokes just didnât land anymore.
Maybe itâs just because I havenât watched in a long time but I watched this episode, off the back of the media attention, and did lol at points.
The fact that trump is depicted with the animation style of Saddam Hussein from waaay back, was a nice tip of the cap to old fans. Also, penis humour is always funny.
Nothing like a bit of spite to reignite the comedy spark of 30 year old cartoon.
Season 27 Episode 1