Why conservatives feel they "connect" with South Park

[JohnnyRingo]

And how it may not work out as they hoped.

Conservatives (heart) 'South Park'
By FRANK RICH

Published: May 1, 2005

Conservatives can't stop whining about Hollywood, but the embarrassing reality is that they want to be hip, too. It's not easy. In the showbiz wrangling sweepstakes of 2004, liberals had Leonardo DiCaprio, the Dixie Chicks and the Boss. The right had Bo Derek, Pat Boone and Jessica Simpson, who, upon meeting the secretary of the interior, Gale Norton, congratulated her for doing "a nice job decorating the White House." Ms. Simpson may be the last performer in America who can make Whoopi Goldberg seem like the soul of wit.

What to do? Now that Arnold Schwarzenegger's poll numbers have sunk, the right's latest effort to grab a piece of the showbiz action is a new and fast-selling book published by Regnery, home to the Swift Boat Veterans, and promoted in lock step by the right-wing media elite of Fox News, The Wall Street Journal's editorial page and The New York Post. "South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias," by Brian C. Anderson of the conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute, gives a wet kiss to one of the funniest and most foul-mouthed series on television. The book has even been endorsed by the grim theologian Michael Novak, who presumably forgot to TiVo the "South Park" episode that holds the record for the largest number of bleeped-out repetitions (162) of a single four-letter expletive in a single television half-hour. Then again, The Weekly Standard has informed us that William Bennett, egged on by his children, has given the show a tentative thumbs up.

Cynics might say that conservatives, flummoxed by the popularity of Jon Stewart, are eager to endorse any bigger hit on Comedy Central: The animated adventures of four obstreperous fourth graders in the mythical town of South Park, Colo., outdraws "The Daily Show" by a million or so viewers. But Mr. Anderson has another case to make. He quotes "South Park" profanity without apology and cheers the "scathing genius" with which it mocks "hate-crime laws and sexual harassment policies, liberal celebrities, abortion-rights extremists."



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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/opinion/01rich.html?ex=1115697600&en=41445a66c2d4b21b&ei=5070

[chelsea0011]

1. they don't understand humor?

[BrainRants]

2. I've always found South Park to be the antithesis of Family Values

You know, now that we're a "Fristian Nation" and all...

[CBGLuthier]

3. South Park is a pretty RW show

They are probably libertarians but Stone and Parker are right of center.

Remeber their enthusiasm to do a show about the new president. Kind of dimmed a bit when the wrong guy was selected and the show went quietly away.

If it had been President Gore, it would still be on the air. Talking about blow jobs and lack of charisma.

[Beelzebud]

11. You mean That's my Bush?

That show ran until 9/12/01.

Then the patriotic police rolled in, and the show was gone.

[anti_shrub]

13. Not that the SP bashers care, but...

They pretty much had to choose between That's My Bush and continuing to make South Park. They wanted to keep doing the show that made them famous.

If you own any of the DVDs, most of the commentary is how they run ragged keeping deadlines with SP, so they couldn't do 2 shows for very long.

Of course people are so quick to bash SP they don't care about the facts.

[CBGLuthier]

22. All I am saying is

They announced prior to the election that they would be doing a show skewering the new president.

When it wasn't Gore, to the shock and disbelief of the nation, they quickly lost interest.

BTW, I AM a fan of South Park. RW or not it's pretty funny at times.

[ComerPerro]

15. Asshole Conservative/Libertarian

As in, "Because of personal freedoms, I can do whatever I want whenever I want".

Makes for a very funny show sometimes.

But it is very right wing in its message.

Sometimes they stray to the left, but usually on libertarian issues.

I can't imagine the Fristians and Talibornagains endorsing the show, however...

[SGBL]

23. 9/11 killed it

Republicans went in to full attack mode after that and got it pulled.

[CBGLuthier]

25. Not True

The last episode aired in May of 2001. They pulled the plug before 9/11.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0268077/guests

[Worst Username Ever]

4. I don't know, the show sure does rip on republicans a lot.

A recent show with a Terri Shiavo theme had Satan discussing how to keep Kenny alive via a feeding tube, so that he could not go to heaven and assist God in defeating Hell's soldiers. When asked how he is going to accomplish this, Satan said "same as always, we'll have the republicans do it." My ultra-liberal dad loves the show, and so do I.

[bloom]

7. And Jon Stewart interviews neo-cons sometimes

but as many here like to point out - that does not make him one.

[crispini]

18. hee hee hee

they talk about that episode in the article.

Kenny is allowed to die in peace once his missing final wish is found: "If I should ever be in a vegetative state and kept alive on life support, please for the love of God don't ever show me in that condition on national television."

[frylock]

24. unfortunately, the righties are to stupid to realize..

that they're being ripped too.

[bloom]

5. they love anti-PC stuff

which often amounts to being anti-feminism, anti-progressive...


They probably see all pro-choice people as "abortion-rights extremists" just for voicing their views.

[ET Awful]

6. I thought it was because

they were permanently stuck in a 4th Grade mindset just like the kids on Sout Park.

[sui generis]

16. right on - aren't most 4th graders pretty much

compulsory sociopaths? But they're still trying to figure out the rules. The difference between 4th graders and conservatives is that conservative are sure they already have it all figured out. And most of them are sociopaths.

[Kolesar]

8. South Park is funny? That's news to me

"one of the funniest and most foul-mouthed series on television. "

[FreedomAngel82]

9. Them south park fans?

Uh yeah. I can really see that. :crazy: Oh and I don't think anybody on the Comedy Central channel will want to promote them unless it's to promote a comedy cd with them making fun of dear leader.

[JAbuchan08]

10. South Park generally captures my political attitude

sometimes I get really irritated at the side they come down on on many issues, but I like the irreverance. Face it "liberal elitists" do exist and they are damn irritating. I just wish they wouldn't throw the baby (the issue) out with the bath water (the elitist attitude of SOME liberals).

Dammit I'm sounding like a conservative.

[malmapus]

12. Yeah I guess they see themselves in Cartman and feel proud

...

[sui generis]

14. well just further proof that nuance is lost on them

first of all, it's a CARTOON. Step aside Sponge Bob and Tinky Winky. And it's funny because not because it condones preposterous points of view, but the contrast of what we instinctively know to be scathing satire from real right and wrong.

Does South Park condone getting rid of hate-crime laws, sexual harrassment policies and liberal celebrities? If that's what those boneheads think then no wonder they're entertained, at least until they see something shiny.

[maxsolomon]

17. if the season hadn't just ended, they'd be cruisin' for a bruisin'

with stone & parker.

its just the kind of over reachin that they love to skewer.

maybe they'll have a special episode addressing it next wed.

[Dob Bole]

19. Satan on South Park "We'll use the Republicans!"

That was on the show about removing feeding tubes. Maybe Republicans just like Cartman?

[noonwitch]

20. I don't think South Park is right wing, it makes fun of everybody

I think it reflects more of a libertarian point of view, like the Mountain Scouts episode where the organization won't let Big Gay Al be a leader anymore, yet they end up hiring a macho guy who is actually a closet child molester. The point made at the end is that
Al wants to be a scout leader, but he doesn't want to legally force the scouts to accept him.

If it was a right wing show, the creators would never portray Jesus the way that they do, nor would they have had the episode in which the SP priest was the only catholic priest not molesting little boys. ("The Catholic Love Boat" cracked me up)

I wouldn't read too much into a show that features a talking piece of poo as a character.

[johnaries]

27. I agree. It's not conservative, liberal, or libertarian. It makes fun of

EVERYBODY!

[Stirk]

21. It's just about being an asshole.

Republicans court the asshole vote every time. They make appeals to greed, fear, and hatred. Assholes, in other words.

I like South Park. It's a funny cartoon. But it's lewd, crude, and decidedly un-Family Values. So the only reason it might be a touchstone for any conservative group is that it's basically all about being an asshole.

[wallwriter]

26. Remarkable how Repugs

fail to register the criticism of themselves. On SP, liberals are sanctimonious, irrelevant whiners, but the Repugs are true agents of evil and Hitler wanna-bes.