South Park: Classic or Dud?

they contradict themselves all the time

that and being funny a decent % of the time are the major saving graces

how dare this comedy show not challenge my assumptions!

"This cartoon at no point challenges its idiot reddit fanbase to think outside their preconcieved opinions oh well better watch my prestige tv comedies louie and master of none which appeal to me since i like to think the characters are exactly like me"

lol whiney i literally compared sp to louis ck in terms of reddit fanboyism

the only tv i've actually watched this year is uh wrestling. and daredevil if that was this year. but i hate to challenge your assumptions of me based on literally a single post about one tv show

that entire point was in response to bjs's assertion that sp doesn't have a fanbase of people who seek to agree with its giant shitpile of positions on things, and that that somehow means it can't be criticized or something

i don't want to hold a fanbase against it but yeah if matt/trey really don't want people trying to use them as a moral compass they've done a pretty shitty job preventing it

They're responsible for other people utilizing a cartoon as a moral compass?

They've consistently been moralizing scolds via Kyle and Stan but have also reveled in being Cartman

Haven't we all tho

Haven't we all

I've never heard anyone outright say something like "dude, you know you're disagreeing with south park, right?", but I feel like plenty of people let South Park subconsciously bully away any opposing viewpoints given the way it exaggerates positions with cartoony extremes. I mean, it IS a cartoon that relies on cartoony-ness for humor, so sometimes it's hard to say whether they believe every position is as ridiculous as they're portraying it to be, or whether they're relying on taking every position to ridiculous levels simply so their cartoon show is funny. I guess this can present some problems when viewers are adopting a position they otherwise haven't cared to research beyond the wacky by necessity caricatures on SP.

a lot of the criticism of them seems to boil down to "they have different politics than I do and I'm concerned"

^^

and a lot of the defense of them boils down to "they have the same politics as i do and you're being an ~sjw~ (or whatever the equivalent pejorative was in 1998)" what's your point?

show frequently taking political stances is politically polarizing, more at 11

lol u watch south park

xp nah

Defence boils down to its a cartoon wgaf what their politics are

Simpsons did mob mentality political humor better 20 years ago anyways.

bjs's assertion that sp doesn't have a fanbase of people who seek to agree with its giant shitpile of positions on things

That's not really what I said but ok.

One of the more consistent perspectives of the show is that people telling other people what to do/say/think/feel is gross. Yes, they take that to doofy libertarian extremes at times, but I'm also pretty sure that's an indication that Parker & Stone don't expect anyone to believe what they personally believe. I certainly don't subscribe to their politics and I disagree with them plenty but I still think the show is (mostly) funny and that they make a good point at least as often as they make one that I think is super dumb. I kinda don't need them to sync up completely with my perspective because I'm not casting a ballot for either of them, y'know?

In those moments when they stray the furthest from my own political leanings, they remind me of that golden era when republicans weren't criminally insane and you could disagree civilly with someone on the other end of the spectrum and still maintain some mutual respect at the end of the day. Despite identifying as such, I have to laugh at their frequent depiction of liberals as ineffectual douches who can't cope with viewpoints that dissent from their own because many of the show's critics (beyond questions of whether the show is at all funny) demonstrate that there's often a kernel of truth in that depiction.

"and what would tom brady say if he was caught shoplifting?"

"everyone shoplifts, why are you coming down on me?"

I haven't found recent South Park very funny the few times I watched but I'm really curious what they're going to do because it seems like there's more stuff than ever to make fun of. Not sure their type of satire is very effective though.

There was the one recently that featured Mr. Garrison being the vessel for Trump satire, seemed like they were somewhat otm but I don't remember any quotes or scenes clearly atm

They're probably going to tackle Trump again. I can't imagine they'll ignore him. Trump was born to have photos of his face animated like Hussein and Mel Gibson.

Last season was so good

So it's on tomorrow night?

"This town is changing so fast, everybody wan be PC, be updated. It's like I'm a reric. A rost reric from another time. You know? I dunno, sometime I feel like I outstayed my welcome. Is just how I feel, you know?"

yes can't await more brilliant satire on how everyone is too PC these days. thank god we have South Park to ask these hard questions.

Yeah, that's exactly what that scene is about, Adam

The game was excellent(and turned out to be far more based on Earthbound than expected), and I'm curious what they'll do with the sequel.

what scene? that's a running theme through the entire season

Glad to know your interpretation of the dirty cartoon show is as nuanced as a Milo Yiannopolis stan's

I've seen so many people call that season interesting and thoughtful, and I've never seen anyone say anything thoughtful and interesting about it. So I'm curious, what is the nuanced take, whiney?

There are ads out for the new episode, looks like they're taking on police violence/Colin Kaepernick's national anthem protest.

I laughed at loud at the first clip, so I guess that's a good sign.

Fred et al

South Park a TV show whose very DNA is built on being "offensive," and now society is at a point where the creators have no choice but to acknowledge that the world is changing — and possibly changing into something that has actually no place for outdated "edgy" or "punching down" humor like City Wok guy or w/e.

I think, yes, PC Principal as a character obviously taunts the shrillness and hypocrisy of Arthur Chu types, but the message is that "pc principle" is here to stay, so instead of fighting it, you better learn to work under the new rules or be a relic of another time. Parker and Stone aren't "fighting the SJWs," they're trying to figure out their place in a new world that obviously, and correctly, is bending towards many of their ideas.

The episode last season where the kids were playing ninjas and the town thinks they are Isis was pretty good.

Whiney, that's a good explanation. Thanks.

Butters as a freedom fighter/folk hero for Mexican immigrants named "Mantequilla" was pretty funny, esp when I finally remembered what "Mantequilla" meant

i think they're pretty unapologetically anti-pc wrt comedy/their show

matt stone:

"Political correctness" — I feel like that's becoming a catch-all term for just shit that you don't like. I don't think I probably agree with Donald Trump, but we did a whole bit about political correctness last year. We've been interested in that debate for a long time. But not everything is political correctness gone mad. Sometimes you just shouldn't say something. And there's a huge difference between what can be said in a cartoon or through the mouths of fiction, and what somebody who's going for elected office should say. Those are two different standards of political correctness. But I do think there's a legitimate ... comedians, especially, that's probably where we identify and have the most sympathy with anti-p.c. forces, is within comedy. Not talking to people or trying to get elected. That's a different standard. There's shit that you shouldn't say running for president that Cartman should totally be allowed to say within a satirical cartoon. When I see a politician or a Donald Trump say "political correctness," I'm like, "That's not the same shit that we're talking about in the writers' room. There's satire over here in cartoons, and you're standing onstage in a suit and you want me to vote for you." Different standard, you know?

Did you not read the fourth and fifth sentences of that?

Anyway, I talked about this a little when I interviewed Smigel since he wasn't pleased that this clip was embraced by leftys on some "look how stupid Trump supporters are"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MubunsD-7g

And this video was embraced by rightys on some "look at how pathetic liberals kids are"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j556MWGVVqI

The humor in the last clip is ultimately apolitical — and Triumph himself is the Archie Bunker/Cartman button-pushing asshole character here. But so many people REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE he's "sticking it" to the SJWs. Like, the internet machine of "JOHN OLIVER/SAMANTHA BEE EVISCERATES [conservative talking point]" doesn't allow for the nuance that Triumph and South Park have, where they can see the absurdity and humor in some of our changing society, but aren't actually dismissing it outright.

I watched this summary a while ago and it made the season look a lot more interesting to me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG7y8J0DXhU

I still don't want to go back and watch it but I might go for this new one.

Did you not read the fourth and fifth sentences of that?

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, September 13, 2016 12:04 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes, but i also read the part where he says "But I do think there's a legitimate ... comedians, especially, that's probably where we identify and have the most sympathy with anti-p.c. forces, is within comedy", im not claiming that they're anti-pc extremists or alt-right, but broadly you can characterize them as being anti-pc.

didn't smigel say trump has always been personally cordial to him?

xpost, Sure, but there was enough in the show to lead me to believe that the season itself wasn't totally anti-PC

And, yeah, he said Trump was a professional

I will post the interview, I am happy with it: http://www.rollingstone.com/tv/features/triumph-the-insult-comic-dog-how-to-poop-on-trump-politics-w436126

Also, the Triumph talks to young voters bit is one of the most hilarious things I've seen all year if you haven't seen it

Did you not read the fourth and fifth sentences of that?

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Tuesday, September 13, 2016 12:04 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yes, but i also read the part where he says "But I do think there's a legitimate ... comedians, especially, that's probably where we identify and have the most sympathy with anti-p.c. forces, is within comedy", im not claiming that they're anti-pc extremists or alt-right, but broadly you can characterize them as being anti-pc.

― ælərdaɪs (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:10 PM (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

He is anti-pc specifically within the realm of comedy. Not exactly broad?

how strange that Matt Stone would have a totally self-interested/self-absorbed take on the subject, who'dathunkit

xp. broad characterization is an English language idiom meaning an inexact, though mainly accurate, labeling of something.

the world is changing — and possibly changing into something that has actually no place for outdated "edgy" or "punching down" humor like City Wok guy or w/e.

clearly the world isn't changing into that because we are being inundated commercials for the 20th season of this very profitable show. you kind of do have to play Trump-style pretend to imagine otherwise.

remember the good old days when City Wok guy was totally hilarious and not disgustingly racist? me neither.

I mean, I do think City Wok guy would have been received a lot differently if he came out in the thinkpiece era instead of 2002.