Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock 
Taking South Park Seriously [PDF ebook] 

Since it came on the air in 1997, Comedy Central’s top-rated animated program, South Park, has been criticized for its crude, scatological humor and political insensitivity. However, the program also fearlessly wades into the morass of American political life as it tackles and satirizes all American sacred cows, including ‘political correctness, ‘ the value of celebrities, ideas about childhood, and the role of religion in American life. In the process, South Park raises provocative and timely questions about politics, identity, and the media’s influence in shaping American thinking.



Taking South Park Seriously brings together scholars who explore the broader implications of South Park’s immense popularity by examining the program’s politics, aesthetics, and cultural impact. Topics covered include the pleasures of watching the show, South Park’s relationship to other animated programs, and the program’s representations of racial and ethnic minorities, the disabled, celebrities, children, religion, and education. This book will be of interest not only to communications and cultural studies scholars, but to anyone who has ever laughed along with Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny.

Daftar Isi

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgments



Introduction: Taking
South Park Seriously


Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock




Part One The Pleasures of South Park



1. “Bigger Longer & Uncut”:
South Park and the Carnivalesque


Alison Halsall



2. The Pleasures of
South Park (An Experiment in Media Erotics)


Brian L. Ott



3. Orphic Persuasions and Siren Seductions: Vocal Music in
South Park
Jason Boyd and Marc R. Plamondon



4. “Simpsons Did It”:
South Park as Differential Signifier


Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock




Part Two Identity Politics



5. Freud Goes to South Park: Teaching against Postmodern Prejudices and Equal Opportunity Hatred


Robert Samuels



6. Cynicism and Other Postideological Half Measures in
South Park
Stephen Groening



7. Shopping at J-Mart with the Williams: Race, Ethnicity, and Belonging in
South Park
Lindsay Coleman




Part Three South Park Conservatives?



8. “I Hate Hippies”:
South Park and the Politics of Generation X


Matt Becker



9.
South Park Heretics: Confronting Orthodoxy through Theater of the Absurd


Randall Fallows



10. Prophetic Profanity:
South Park on Religion or Thinking Theologically with Eric Cartman


Michael W. De Lashmutt and Brannon Hancock




Part Four Specific Critiques



11. “You Know, I Learned Something Today . . .”: Cultural Pedagogy and the Limits of Formal Education in
South Park


James Rennie



12. “Omigod, It’s Russell Crowe!”:
South Park’s Assault on Celebrity


Damion Sturm



List of Episodes Cited




South Park Complete Episode Guide, Seasons 1–11



List of Contributors

Index

Tentang Penulis

Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock is Associate Professor of English at Central Michigan University and the author of several books, including
The Rocky Horror Picture Show and
Spectral America: Phantoms and the National Imagination.