'South Park' has been called a lot of things - vulgar, offensive and immature just to name a few. But fans and critics alike have also hailed the show's social and political satire as biting, refreshing and most importantly, dead on. To date the show has won two Emmys and a Peabody award. Now in its 12th season, 'South Park' continues to go after the biggest stories and names on both sides of the of the political spectrum form the government's handling of Hurricane Katrina to Rob Reiner's anti-smoking campaign. 'South Park' is successful because it doesn't pull punches and will satirize anyone and any topic. It is this philosophy that has the ability to remind America that somebody is always going to be offended by something, no matter how small. Political correctness can only go so far before the color of the country's culture is forever, irreversibly muted.
In the Beginning
When 'South Park' began over ten years ago it was an irreverent show more concerned, intentional or not, with shock rather than content. Parents were outraged at the naughty language used by the four eight year old protagonists - Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. Early story lines involved a serial chicken rapist, anal probes and the discovery of a hermaphrodite mother. It wasn't until the show's third season that more political and social commentary began to come to light in episodes like 'Sexual Harrassment Panda' which illustrated the downfall of a 'sue-happy' public and 'Chinpokomon', an episode that dealt with the far reaching effects of the Pokemon craze.
The Dawn of Political Correctness
The idea of being politically correct seemed to really take hold in the United States during the nineties. As time passed the concept became continually more oppressive. What started as perhaps a well-meaning attempt to increase sensitivity towards minorities, women and other groups, became an excuse to censor free speech in some cases - people became over sensitive. As the nineties continued, shows like 'Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher' began to make waves as they refused to hold their tongues. The show would later be cancelled following a comment made by guest Dinesh D'Souza and Maher in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks which renewed a sense of what was and was not politically correct in America. In the midst of all this 'South Park' debuted on Comedy Central in 1997.
South Park's Insensitive Quest
In an interview with Charlie Rose in 2005 co-creator Trey Parker said, "What we've always said is the people screaming on this side and the people screaming on that side are the same people and it's okay to be someone in the middle laughing at both of them". Co-creater Matt Stone echoed that statement in an interview with Reason Magazine in December of 2006 saying, "to some degree 'South Park' has a simple formula that came from The Spirit of Christmas [an animated holiday greeting created by Stone and Parker.] There was Jesus on this side and there was Santa on this side, there's Christianity here and there's Christmas commercialism here, and they're duking it out. And there are these four boys in the middle going, 'Dude, chill out.'"
The Handicapable Loop Hole
The thing that makes the political incorrectness in 'South Park' so important is that it is equal opportunity. Parker and Stone don't go after women, the handicapped or Scientology alone. They go after it all and then some - a philosophy that has even hurt the show itself, illustrated most vividly by Isaac Hayes' (for nearly 10 years the voice of Chef) quitting the show after an episode mocking his religon, Scientology. And the interesting, moral center contained within all that offensive commentary is that in some cases 'South Park' is more politically correct than those screaming how wrong the show is. Case in point: Timmy and Jimmy, the handicapable residents of 'South Park'. In the episode 'Timmy 2000' Timmy, who is wheelchair bound and capable of saying little more than his own name, becomes the front man for a rock band called the Lords of the Underworld. As the band rocket to superstardom people condemn the public for embracing Timmy, mistaking their laughter and enjoyment for mockery and declaring that Timmy is better off kept safely in his home, away from the public eye.
But in the end Timmy and Jimmy, who is a popular stand up comic in the town, illustrate 'South Park's' shining point - the idea that you can't be so sensitive all the time. If you are, you miss the fact that everyone is flawed, there is something humorous about everyone and most importantly that over-sensitivity can ultimately harm more than it helps. In short, 'South Park' is just the bucket of cold water to the face that all Americans need.
