Unchainme
01-13-2006, 08:31 PM
South Park Republican
Stan, Cartman and Kyle of South ParkSouth Park Republican is a term that was circulated in a few articles and weblogs on the Internet circa 2001 and 2002, to describe what was claimed by the authors as a "new wave" of young adults and teenagers who hold conservative and libertarian political beliefs. The phrase was coined in 2001 by commentator Andrew Sullivan [1], who identified himself as a South Park Republican, in response to the two principal creators of the television show South Park declaring themselves to be Republicans.
The term is meant to be more of a casual indication of beliefs than a strong partisan label. For example Trey Parker is actually a registered member of the United States Libertarian Party, and Parker and Stone declared television producer Norman Lear, the founder of the liberal pressure group People for the American Way, as one of their heroes. Andrew Sullivan has often been very critical of the Republican Party (mostly on social libertarian reasons and for lack of fiscal responsibility) and endorsed John Kerry in the 2004 United States Presidential election. As the show's co-creator, Matt Stone, sums it up: "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals." [2] Such sentiments were reflected in their movie Team America: World Police.
[edit]
Meaning of term
South Park is a popular and controversial cartoon created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Though the show has been criticised by some conservatives for its overt sexual, scatological, and profane themes and humor, much of South Park's humor also comes in the form of political satire, with some of it mocking elements of the so-called "liberal establishment" in American society. For example, left-wing American celebrities such as Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner, Michael Moore, Sally Struthers, and Barbra Streisand have all been targets of the show's humor, and openly mocked for being self-righteous, smug, and sanctimonious in their political views. From the libertarian perspective South Park is likewise often critical of traditional establishments of authority, such as organized religion and the local government, which are portrayed as corrupt and hypocritical. Many episodes also parody stereotypes of right-wing supporters, such as the trigger-happy rednecks, large corporations, Ayn Rand and her followers, homeschooling, and gun owners. While the show often lampoons political correctness it is equally critical of racism, sexism and homophobia.
Much of the show's satire centers around the antics of the show's four eight-year-old main characters, Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, Eric Cartman, and Kyle Broflovski. The boys (with the exception of Cartman) are generally portrayed as intelligent, honest, and well-meaning, yet are routinely confronted with absurdities created by the adults in their life. South Park's teachers and parents routinely censor and shelter the boys from important issues concerning their lives. The boys in turn usually attempt to solve their problems on their own, with their independent, "outsider" views of adult situations being patronizingly derided as naïve and ignorant by leading authority figures. In the end however, the boys' views usually end up being right, and the conventional wisdom of adult authority figures is exposed as being based on flawed logic. The only exception to the absurdity of the adults is Chef, who most often offers common sense advice (frequently in the form of a love song) but has his flaws as well.
In general, South Park tends to the center line, depicting people on both the left and right sides as self-serving and flawed in their logic. For example, in an episode ("Best Friends Forever") spoofing the Terri Schiavo case (using Kenny as the Schiavo figure), people on both sides of the battle were shown as acting mostly in their own interests rather than Kenny's (particularly Cartman, who stood for Michael Schiavo), while Kenny himself was shown as the key leader of a battle against Satan from Heaven. The creators' views apparently came down on the side of the "right to die" in the end, however, since Kenny needed to stay dead to save all of Existence, and those keeping him alive were shown as indirectly assisting Satan.
Parker and Stone were also the producers of another show called That's My Bush!, which originally aired during the early days of his presidency. Originally intended to be about Al Gore (who was initially favored to win the 2000 US Presidential Election), the show did not last long due to the enormous budget (for Comedy Central) of $1 million per episode. (Timothy Bottoms, who played Bush on the series, would go on to portray the President again in a more serious role for Showtime's "DC 9/11").
The term "South Park Republican" has thus become popular among a handful of pundits to describe young Americans who interpret the show's values as being parallel to their cause. They see themselves as being more populist and far less puritanical than many other conservative groups (e.g. the religious right). Trey and Matt say they are extremely grateful for the 15 half-hours of airtime that Comedy Central annually affords them because it gives them a "bullhorn to yell at America." The phrase, "You know? I've learned something today..." is the trademark line, used in nearly every episode, to outline the South Park solution to the current moral crisis. South Park Republicans empathize with the characters' consideration of moral guidelines in their attempts to explain their surroundings and are extremely likely to support the "children's" decisions.
Recently, Trey Parker was asked about the term "South Park Republican" in an interview for Team America: World Police, and what he thought about it:
Q: I don't know if you've heard about this, but there have been essays written about the concept of the "South Park Republican."
TREY: Yeah, we have seen that. What we're sick of — and it's getting even worse — is: You either like Michael Moore or you wanna fuckin' go overseas and shoot Iraqis. There can't be a middle ground. Basically, if you think Michael Moore's full of shit, then you are a super-Christian right-wing whatever. And we're both just pretty middle-ground guys. We find just as many things to rip on on the left as we do on the right. People on the far left and the far right are the same exact person to us.
In another exchange from the same interview:
Q: You seem to feel free to roast everybody equally.
TREY: Everybody needs a good roasting.
MATT STONE: It's been pretty funny on both sides.
TREY: And it comes from an honest belief we have, which is... George Bush doesn't know what's going on. Michael Moore does not know what's going on. And Alec Baldwin definitely does not know what's going on. Basically, this shit is gigantically complicated."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_Republican
Sounds like the Perfect Party for me. Thoughts?
Stan, Cartman and Kyle of South ParkSouth Park Republican is a term that was circulated in a few articles and weblogs on the Internet circa 2001 and 2002, to describe what was claimed by the authors as a "new wave" of young adults and teenagers who hold conservative and libertarian political beliefs. The phrase was coined in 2001 by commentator Andrew Sullivan [1], who identified himself as a South Park Republican, in response to the two principal creators of the television show South Park declaring themselves to be Republicans.
The term is meant to be more of a casual indication of beliefs than a strong partisan label. For example Trey Parker is actually a registered member of the United States Libertarian Party, and Parker and Stone declared television producer Norman Lear, the founder of the liberal pressure group People for the American Way, as one of their heroes. Andrew Sullivan has often been very critical of the Republican Party (mostly on social libertarian reasons and for lack of fiscal responsibility) and endorsed John Kerry in the 2004 United States Presidential election. As the show's co-creator, Matt Stone, sums it up: "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals." [2] Such sentiments were reflected in their movie Team America: World Police.
[edit]
Meaning of term
South Park is a popular and controversial cartoon created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Though the show has been criticised by some conservatives for its overt sexual, scatological, and profane themes and humor, much of South Park's humor also comes in the form of political satire, with some of it mocking elements of the so-called "liberal establishment" in American society. For example, left-wing American celebrities such as Rosie O'Donnell, Rob Reiner, Michael Moore, Sally Struthers, and Barbra Streisand have all been targets of the show's humor, and openly mocked for being self-righteous, smug, and sanctimonious in their political views. From the libertarian perspective South Park is likewise often critical of traditional establishments of authority, such as organized religion and the local government, which are portrayed as corrupt and hypocritical. Many episodes also parody stereotypes of right-wing supporters, such as the trigger-happy rednecks, large corporations, Ayn Rand and her followers, homeschooling, and gun owners. While the show often lampoons political correctness it is equally critical of racism, sexism and homophobia.
Much of the show's satire centers around the antics of the show's four eight-year-old main characters, Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, Eric Cartman, and Kyle Broflovski. The boys (with the exception of Cartman) are generally portrayed as intelligent, honest, and well-meaning, yet are routinely confronted with absurdities created by the adults in their life. South Park's teachers and parents routinely censor and shelter the boys from important issues concerning their lives. The boys in turn usually attempt to solve their problems on their own, with their independent, "outsider" views of adult situations being patronizingly derided as naïve and ignorant by leading authority figures. In the end however, the boys' views usually end up being right, and the conventional wisdom of adult authority figures is exposed as being based on flawed logic. The only exception to the absurdity of the adults is Chef, who most often offers common sense advice (frequently in the form of a love song) but has his flaws as well.
In general, South Park tends to the center line, depicting people on both the left and right sides as self-serving and flawed in their logic. For example, in an episode ("Best Friends Forever") spoofing the Terri Schiavo case (using Kenny as the Schiavo figure), people on both sides of the battle were shown as acting mostly in their own interests rather than Kenny's (particularly Cartman, who stood for Michael Schiavo), while Kenny himself was shown as the key leader of a battle against Satan from Heaven. The creators' views apparently came down on the side of the "right to die" in the end, however, since Kenny needed to stay dead to save all of Existence, and those keeping him alive were shown as indirectly assisting Satan.
Parker and Stone were also the producers of another show called That's My Bush!, which originally aired during the early days of his presidency. Originally intended to be about Al Gore (who was initially favored to win the 2000 US Presidential Election), the show did not last long due to the enormous budget (for Comedy Central) of $1 million per episode. (Timothy Bottoms, who played Bush on the series, would go on to portray the President again in a more serious role for Showtime's "DC 9/11").
The term "South Park Republican" has thus become popular among a handful of pundits to describe young Americans who interpret the show's values as being parallel to their cause. They see themselves as being more populist and far less puritanical than many other conservative groups (e.g. the religious right). Trey and Matt say they are extremely grateful for the 15 half-hours of airtime that Comedy Central annually affords them because it gives them a "bullhorn to yell at America." The phrase, "You know? I've learned something today..." is the trademark line, used in nearly every episode, to outline the South Park solution to the current moral crisis. South Park Republicans empathize with the characters' consideration of moral guidelines in their attempts to explain their surroundings and are extremely likely to support the "children's" decisions.
Recently, Trey Parker was asked about the term "South Park Republican" in an interview for Team America: World Police, and what he thought about it:
Q: I don't know if you've heard about this, but there have been essays written about the concept of the "South Park Republican."
TREY: Yeah, we have seen that. What we're sick of — and it's getting even worse — is: You either like Michael Moore or you wanna fuckin' go overseas and shoot Iraqis. There can't be a middle ground. Basically, if you think Michael Moore's full of shit, then you are a super-Christian right-wing whatever. And we're both just pretty middle-ground guys. We find just as many things to rip on on the left as we do on the right. People on the far left and the far right are the same exact person to us.
In another exchange from the same interview:
Q: You seem to feel free to roast everybody equally.
TREY: Everybody needs a good roasting.
MATT STONE: It's been pretty funny on both sides.
TREY: And it comes from an honest belief we have, which is... George Bush doesn't know what's going on. Michael Moore does not know what's going on. And Alec Baldwin definitely does not know what's going on. Basically, this shit is gigantically complicated."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park_Republican
Sounds like the Perfect Party for me. Thoughts?