"South Park" will forever be a part of my special group of all time. I have been watching it for about six years now and I have gone through the entire 19-season show at least twice. Their only major movie ever shown I have watched about eight times and can sing along to all their musical parts. "The Book of Mormon" is on my bucket list because a musical production made by the same people who made one of my favorite shows has to be seen. Overall, from this you can see I am a huge "South Park" fan, but I am writing this is not to talk about how much of a fan boy I am, but to talk about how the show’s play on satire.
Aside from the inappropriate humor, dirty language and excessive use of racial/stereotype terms, what "South Park" aims do is take popular topics in the world today and use satire to bring the comedy back into the problems of the world. Satire is defined as “a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.” Overall, this big fancy definition outlines the root to what powers "South Park" and has kept the show on air for so long - joking about a wide variety of religions/beliefs, anti-smoking organizations, Black Friday, and even popular singer Lorde. These few topics only mention just a few of the never ending topics the show has joked on.
From the laughs people would get from watching the shows, most of the audience would just brush it off as dirty humor at its best. However, the hidden messages directed to the viewer hit them with a new perspective to the big issues that they were unaware of. Hollywood.com did a list of social issues that the show did a great job representing. One example from the list is still actively being discussed in the show - the politically correct (PC) era of time we are in right now. Politically Correct is defined as, “agreeing with the idea that people should be careful to not use language or behave in a way that could offend a particular group of people.” It has a good definition, trying to put an end to racism and stereotypes, putting an end to how people would be looked at in a different way and just treating them as an equal. However, "South Park" examines the issues on both the PC and anti-PC sides showing there are faults on both ends. Even though being Politically Correct is such a great form of thinking, it really is only good on paper. The issue that comes with that is that the show reveals that anyone who is PC would openly harass people for the slightest difference of thinking. Attacking anyone who would use the incorrect terms to express their messages. This would obviously put characters in an uncomfortable situation, but overall showing that whether you are about being politically correct or not; no one is perfect.
This show may always be generally known as a raunchy style type of comedy, going past all boundaries to bring a laugh or two to the audience. However, at the end of the day this show definitely does not get enough credit for the thinking and hidden messages it has for the people who watch it. So the next time you choose to watch an episode or start watching it for the first time, pay attention to what the writers are really trying to show you. It definitely will surprise you.
