South Park and the American Culture

Term Paper Proposal

Title: South Park and the American Culture

The animated sitcom, South Park, has been well known for displaying violence, stereotype, course language and ridiculous events. Yet many assumed that South Park is a political show, or a rather “political-inappropriate” show, where each episode invites different analysis and biased opinion. This essay is intended to argue that South Park is challenging dominant beliefs by representing alternative characters, lifestyles and situations, to explore South Park’s satirical engagement on social issues occurred in America, to evaluate tensions ingrained in its status as commercial object, and the influence American popular culture has given upon the show.

Carnivalesque and Grotesque

· Carnivalesque, a term developed by Russian critic Mikhail Bakhtin, refers to a literary mode assumes that social hierarchies, culture, and traditional beliefs are profaned and flipped by those who are usually suppressed.

· Idiots become smart, rulers become beggars.

Take on Social Issues and Culture

· Using distorted imitation to mock and satirize every aspect of the American social and cultural life, challenges a number of entrenched ideas and taboos.

· i.e. The seventh episode of the seventeenth season was concerning the characters’ anticipation of a Black Friday Sale, characters see Black Friday as an impending “battle” since there were injuries and deaths in the past. They were dressed in medieval garb to imitate Game of Thrones, and their goal was to obtain discounted Xbox Ones and Play Station 4s(gaming consoles developed by two rivalled companies).

Underlying moral lesson

· Viewers would notice in a lot of episodes the protagonists would deliver a speech and try to address the issue.

Reference:

Johnson, V. (2004). Welcome Home? CBS, PAX-TV, and “Heartland” Values in a Neo-Network Era. The Television Studies Reader, 404-417. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

Murphy, M. (2011). Satire, Race, and Modern Cartoons: Boondocks vs. South Park. Retrieved from https://comm.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/melanie-murphy-2011.pdf

O'Shaughnessy, M. (1990). Box Pop: Popular Television and Hegemony. Understanding Television, 88-102. Retrieved November 4, 2014.

Tueth, M. (2013). Back to the Drawing Board; The Family in Animated Television Comedy. Prime Time Animation, 133-146.