The 1/2 News Hour

[afleitch]

I wouldn't say South Park was right wing. It has a libertarian slant yes, but kicks bother liberals and conservatives in the balls when they need to.

[Bono]

I wouldn't say South Park was right wing. It has a libertarian slant yes, but kicks bother liberals and conservatives in the balls when they need to.

Daily Show also makes fun of liberals.

[Colin]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

[Bono]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

Exactly. That doesn't mean the backdrop of the show isn't rightwing.

[Boris]

Joel Surnow should really stick to 24 and not political comedy.

[afleitch]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

Exactly. That doesn't mean the backdrop of the show isn't rightwing.

My point is that the background of South Park isn't rightwing, at least not in it's modern American sense. It is particularly scathing about religion and turns so called 'family values' on its head. If you have to slap on any label, then it would have to be libertarian.

[Gabu]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

Exactly. That doesn't mean the backdrop of the show isn't rightwing.

South Park is a comedy first, and is political distantly second.  There are many episodes that aren't even remotely political.  I wouldn't particularly say it has any coherent preached political philosophy at all.  Most of the overtly political stuff within the show is just attacking stupid things in the world, not actively trying to convey their own message.  I don't recall any episode where Stan tried to convince the viewer that welfare is bad, or that taxes should be lowered, or that schools should be privatized, or whatever.  Instead, you get episodes where Al Gore is super cereal about manbearpig.

[Bono]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

Exactly. That doesn't mean the backdrop of the show isn't rightwing.

My point is that the background of South Park isn't rightwing, at least not in it's modern American sense. It is particularly scathing about religion and turns so called 'family values' on its head. If you have to slap on any label, then it would have to be libertarian.

I agree that it is libertarian. However, libertarianism is a rightwing ideology.

[Bono]

To be funny in a political humour show you have to attack both sides or else just attacking one side with humourous slights will get boring and people will change the channel.

Exactly. That doesn't mean the backdrop of the show isn't rightwing.

South Park is a comedy first, and is political distantly second.  There are many episodes that aren't even remotely political.  I wouldn't particularly say it has any coherent preached political philosophy at all.  Most of the overtly political stuff within the show is just attacking stupid things in the world, not actively trying to convey their own message.  I don't recall any episode where Stan tried to convince the viewer that welfare is bad, or that taxes should be lowered, or that schools should be privatized, or whatever.  Instead, you get episodes where Al Gore is super cereal about manbearpig.

they defended the end of handouts to airlines, for instance. And the show just gives a right-wing vibe. One of the creators, I don't remember which one and I can't check since Wikipedia is down, states that "We hate conservatives. But we really fucking hate liberals."
the only reason you're disputing this is that you can't stand the thought of rightwingers doing anything funny, original and clever. It destroys your leftist moral highground.  Keep denying it all you want it buddy, it's swon't make it go away.

[afleitch]

Matt and Trey are reportedly members of the Libertarian Party. But they are a bit ambivious as to what they would 'pin themselves' as (then again why should they pin themselves as anything). It's never given me a right-wing vibe, purely a fairly permissive, anti-authoritarian skeptic look at the world and the issues.

[Joe Republic]

The term 'South Park Republican' was coined because the ideological bent of that show was so difficult to pigeonhole.

[afleitch]

The term 'South Park Republican' was coined because the ideological bent of that show was so difficult to pigeonhole.

And was coined by Andrew Sullivan (un)suprisingly. Matt and Trey probably summed themselves up; 'People on the far left and the far right are the same exact person to us.' Which is in line with my own line of thinking. The show tends to mock the people, institutions and trends that I would mock while being relaitively permissive about how people choose to live their lives.