South Park as Parody of Society

federation Park began dissemination in 1997. The commercials that preceded it gave the impression of it beinga nonher stupid cartoon however, when I began ceremonial occasion, I realize all important(p) issues were being coered through the repeat behaviors and actions of its characters, through the influences these actions could grant on the viewers, through the reinforcement and rejections of certain stereotypes, through the long-term personal effects that could result from watching the program, and through its reflection of social reality.Some of the repeated behaviors and actions of the characters include one of the children (Kenny) dying during each sequel (followed by Stan yelling, Oh, my paragon Theyve killed Kenny ( southwestern Park) the children ragging the overweight claw the Afri pot-American chef obsessing about sex and the patrimonialist performing amok experiments in his spooky laboratory. Kenny has been shot, run over by a train, impaled on a flag pole, be headed, crushed by Mir, and fool awayn by stopping point himselfto name a few. Cart art object, the overweight kid, has been called fat ass, lard ass, and the fat kid ( southwestward Park).There are numerous references to his weight throughout each sequel he eats continuously, thanks to his Mothers cooking and offering cookies, chocolate-chicken pot pies, and brassy Poofs. Each time Chef (voice of Isaac Hayes) offers to explain important issues to the kids, he breaks into a var. about making sweet love to a woman. This leaves the children wondering honorable what the heck he is trying to say. There are references to his having sex with every for sale (and even unavailable) female in the town. There is a take-off of The Island of Dr.Moreau with a geneticistmimicking Marlon Brandoconducting outre experiments creating monkeys with four asses creating mutant, militant turkeys and bringing flesh-eating zombies to life. There are some(prenominal) controvertly charged and positi ve influences these repeated behaviors and actions could do on an audience. One controvert effect could be the numbing of the viewer to childrens deaths it is such a world occurrence on the stage until it is expected. Another effect could be the impart of negative feelings toward the overweight the audience could be learning that it is acceptable to verbally attack a person with a weight problem.Also, in a time of AIDS, promotion of sexual promiscuity is a dangerous affair never have the writers mentioned the use of condoms by Chef during his encounters. Finally, because of the recent advances in genetic research and its awakening of new fears in the public, South Parks parody of the geneticist could still play on peoples fears. Despite the potentially negative influences of these behaviors and actions, there could be a positive influence existing in the form of catharsis.American society has suffered from the rules of semipolitical correctness, the fear of AIDS, and the fea r of knowledge (the fear of divergence too far into Gods domainthanks to our Puritanical background). Maybe South Park gives us release from repression by allowing us to laugh at the things we fear the most death, ridicule of our differences by our peers, the contracting of deadly diseases, and advancements in science. (I am sure that most of us need release from the built-up tensions of routine life South Park has given us this release. Despite South Parks cathartic influence, it reinforces several negative stereotypes the promiscuous African-American male, the self-serving public official, and the gun-happy redneck. As I wrote above, Chef has pocket-sized control over his libido this is an extremely negative stereotype of the African-American male. If Chef were Caucasian (let us say an Irish-English-German-Swedish-Scottish-etc-American), the stereotype could be avoided entirely. The mayors decisions are based solely on her looking good in the public eye.For example, when a volc ano erupts, she uses fake concern for the children on the spile to look like a caring person on fun Tonight she calls for continuous re-takes even though ET is broadcasting live. Uncle JimBo and Ned are the gun-toting Bubba types when they take the kids on a camping trip, they get drunk and shoot at will. JimBos philosophies are, hunting without drinking is like fishing, and thanks to those damned Democrats, we can except shoot certain animals that impose a threat therefore, when you see an animal, you have to yell, its comin right for us then you shoot (South Park).At least one episode attempted to reject a negative stereotype fearlessness is a bad thing. Stans dog, Sparky, turns out to be gay. Throughout the episode we hear the evils of homosexuality preached by the towns people Sparky runs away. Stan realizes that his love for his dog is more important than societys negative views. Stan is counted on to win the big football game. He does not show up because he is searching f or his dog (YES What a message football does not fit highly in the great scheme of things. He finds Sparky at Big Gay Als Big Gay Animal psychiatric hospital and brings him home. Stan shares his newfound understanding with the citizens, and they accept his view. All the gay pets return from Als to be with their owners. The owners apologize for being so narrow minded. This episodes message is quite profound. The gay episode is one episode which may be obvious in its message and is quite easy to grasp however, the long-term effects from watching this program could go in two directions.First, there is the possibility that children (and adults) watching this show would imitate the bad language and sometimes antisocial behaviors of the characters without realizing the important subtexts of the episodes. For example, Kyle is labeled a fecal-phile in the Christmas episode. He has a friend he calls Mr. Hankey. Mr. Hankey comes out of the toilet to bring Christmas cheer to all the little Je wish boys. Unfortunately, Mr. Hankey is a piece of feces, and as he dances around, he leaves marks on the walls, floor, and sink he, also, writes NOEL on the bathroom mirror.Of course, Kyles parents blame Kylethey do not believe in Mr. Hankey. Kyle is institutionalized for fecal-philia. Here, the problem could be kids persuasion that it is settle down to be in love with your own feces and cool to share it with others. They could miss the message found in the subtext the fact that political correctness has gotten out of hand. This episode allows the inhabitants of South Park to express their dislikes over every aspect of Christmasmainly, that each persons rights are being infringed upon by someone elses beliefs.The political correctness is what drives Kyle to his belief in Mr. Hankey, not the fun of playing in his own filth. Second, the audience could grasp the subtexts in these episodes and come to name with their own morals and belief systems. There is a line utter by Lex Lut hor in Superman that makes good sense A man can read War and Peace and come away believe it is a simple adventure story another man can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and open up the secrets of the universe (Superman).The fact is that South Park is out there it is in the long run our responsibility to make of it what we will. It may be our responsibility to do with South Park what we will however, this program reflects what already exists a society safe of prejudices and fears which are embedded within its communities and how these human short-comings are passed on to children( Hatley). Fortunately, in most of the episodes these negative actions and beliefs are dealt with in a manner that seeks to slake them. Unfortunately, this manner of lleviation is found in the subtext, and most people are not willing to look that far it requires too much effort. Frighteningly, the show is a parody of society itself. In film, parody is usually the death-knell of a exceptional genre. Years ago, I read that Ren and Stimpy (another cartoon) was proof of the decline of our civilization because of its attacks on societal norms. Could South Park be further proof of this decline, or is it just a funny cartoon that allows us to laugh at ourselves while dealing with our fears? ( Pineda)