Hello Darlings,
I am slowly becoming the Queen of Procrastination, without a
doubt. Currently, I should be spending my time studying for my college course
in macroeconomics (which by the way, I am not exactly doing fantastic at). Anywho, I have mentioned before that my blog
will be very diverse depending on what has been on my mind recently. On one hand, I am a cameo wearing, Faith and
the Muse loving, tea drinking sophisticate.
On the other, I am a hardcore Gothic woman who loves knee-high boots,
rock n’ roll, and dark humor. This
brings me to the subject that I would kike to discuss today: why I think South Park may just be the best
show to ever grace television.
I know what a lot of you are thinking—South Park is
immature, offensive, and too controversial.
Oh, contraire! This may be true
at times (even I am willing to admit), but there are some good reasons why Trey
Parker and Matt Stone are on their 17th season and still going
strong. Let’s start off with one of the
main components of South Park that impresses me.
Wendy Testaburger.
http://southpark.wikia.com/wiki/Wendy_Testaburger
I happen to think that
this chick is pretty fantastic. One of
the reasons that I got into the show in the first place was through taking
notice of her feminism and take-charge personality. Though only in elementary school on the show,
she displays characteristic that would make any progressive woman weep a tear
of joy. Let’s take a look, for example,
at the episode “The Hobbit.” In the last
episode of the most recent season, Wendy speaks out against the use of
Photoshop, which gives young girls unrealistic expectations as to how they
should look. However, by the end of the
episode, she falls victim to the pressure and Photoshops one of her own images,
which the audience watches as she begins to well up with tears.
The message in this is powerful—a young girl, despite her
true feelings, feels the pressure to conform to societal standards of
beauty. The episode does a great job in
acknowledging a very big problem in the modern-day world. However, Wendy Testaburger seldom has these
types of experiences in South Park. Most
often, she is displayed and a strong, nonconforming feminist. How can we forget her in “Breast Cancer Show Ever,” where she beats up
Cartman over his insensitivity to breast cancer? Now I do not condone violence, but this serve
as a metaphor. Wendy is a strong woman,
and she can overcome criticism, obstacles, and the patriarchy. Her
involvement in politics throughout the years in the show is pretty impressive,
proving that women and girls can have some pretty strong and impressive
opinions.
South Park is pro gay and
pro trans*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JERuCaVi2k
A lot of people may find this surprising. If you have simply tuned into South Park for
one episode randomly, you may have noticed the use of the word” gay” as a
negative term. This is actually not the
case. South Park makes fun of everything
and everyone, with no specific group of people targeted. As a lesbian woman, I have not found any of
their humor in this aspect to be offensive.
South Park is a PARODY—it mocks the most ridiculous problems of society
today, such as the fact that the LGBT community still does not have equal
rights today.
Parker and Stone have made their stances on LGBT issues very
apparent throughout the show’s history, as early as “Big Gay Al’s Big Gay Boat
Ride” in season 1. In the fourth South
Park episode to ever air, Stan’s dog is thought to be gay (Yes, it sound
weird—just look it up). The dog, Sparky,
runs away after Stan attempts to make him more masculine. After arriving at big Gay Al’s Big Gay Animal
Sanctuary, Stan learns to understand homosexuality as something that is not a
choice.
There are many other examples of pro-gay episodes, such as “Follow
That Egg!” in which a school project
proves that same-sex couples are just as capable of raising a child properly as
heterosexual couples. I encourage
everyone to check out this episode, as I truly believe that it is one of the
best South Park episodes every created.
Trans* issues are addressed in a number of episodes as well, and a scene
in “Mr. Garrison’s Fancy New Vagina” is definitely worth mentioning. When Kyle asks his parents about his
teacher’s recent gender reassignment surgery, he is given a very understanding
answer from his mother, which can be viewed here:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/154788/transgender-progressive-thinking
One of the most relatable episodes for me has definitely
been “Tom’s Rhinoplasty,” simply because all of the male students are not
phased by the fact that their attractive substitute teacher is a lesbian. The pursue her anyway, which parodies the
something that I experience very often—men thinking that my sexuality is a
“challenge.” Brilliance.
South Park helps us to
realize just how stupid our insecurities are
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s13e14-pee
My favorite is “Pee.”
No seriously, my favorite South Park episode of all time is entitled
“Pee.” Although there has been much
speculation as to what the meaning of this episode actually was, it is commonly
thought to be a play on the concept of 2012.
This is old news now, but wasn’t at the time that this episode came
out. The fact that PiPi’s Splashtown
exploded and caught on fire because to many people peed in the pool seems
absurd, right? Well, doesn’t it also
seem rather silly that we thought the world would just suddenly end in an
apocalyptic way on December 26, 2012? Yes,
yes it was.
Do I even need to go into detail about this subject? The entire show is a parody—it’s SUPPOSED to
make fun of human ignorance. In my own
humble opinion, South Park can be interpreted in a number of ways and, give or
take a few times when the creators have really pushed the envelope, the show is
not offensive or insensitive. I really
hope that through this blog post, those who are reluctant to watch the show
will give it a shot. Just remember to
have fun with it! Now if you’ll excuse
me, I need to watch more of PewDiePie’s South Park: The Stick Of Truth gameplay
videos.
Much love,
Missy
