South Park and Post-9/11 Politics

"A Neo-Con Parade: South Park and Post 9/11 Politics" examines the importance of understanding events such as the 9/11 attacks "beyond the constrains of the dominant, unified, or "rational" strategies of argumentation" (Gournelos, 197). South Park effectively disrupts this dominant discourse. Furthermore, the humor and irony in in the show affirms political ambivalence or ambiguity. The humor has different functions as well: to bind people together or differentiate individuals, all the while depending on audience interpretations of the humorist's intent. South Park retains a dissonant political ontology and involves the active role of the audience. There is also a debate about the politics of South Park; may it be conservative, liberal, neoconservative, reactionary, etc. Specific episodes are given to support such ideologies, for instance how "Rainforest Schmainforest," as well as the other anti-environmental episodes, displays conservatism. Ambiguity and self-critiques often characterize episodes, and "'Rainforest Schmainforest' is in the end not a critique of environmentalism itself but of the motives behind it" (Gournelos, 205). To illustrate these points, I have provided this particular episode, part of season three, below. Overall, the show does not fit any singular socio-political agenda. Gournelos also discusses the importance of dissonance and explains how a disruptive approach amplifies the responsive. He argues that in order to transition and come to terms with 9/11, the most recent limit event in U.S. history, a disruption is required in the form of proposals for alternative viewpoints. The second half of the reading expands on and illustrates these points mainly by examining the first South Park episode following the 9/11 attacks--"Osama Bin Laden Had Farty Pants." This episode "plays on various elements of 'war on terror' media discourse while retaining committed to engaging some of the more tangible elements of the contemporary political atmosphere" (Gournelos 207). It plays off of the absurdities of dominant structures, for example media-induced fear, and utilizes juxtaposition, critiques, and parody throughout. Together, the locations of acceptable speech are displaced, as the episode rejects the 'everything changed after 9/11' rhetoric, and instead proposes a new critical ontology. Other episodes such as "A Ladder to Heaven" disrupt media and government exploitations of the events and emotions surrounding references made to U.S. politics. It "amplifies the responsive technique through its engagement with the limit events of 9/11 and the war in Iraq" (Gournelos 216). Other episodes such as "I'm a Little Bit Country" are also analyzed, until Gournelos comes to the conclusion that the disruptive has the potential to be instructive as an ontology and not just a tactic.

To watch "Rainforest Shmainforest" go here:

http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s03e01-rainforest-shmainforest

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