The Downfall of South Park

South Park is known to be one of the sharpest satirical shows, often stepping over the line in its mockery of cultural trends and powers that be. The show's anniversary 2016 season contained some fascinating insights into the darker aspects of America's collective unconscious that were brought into the light by the presidential election. The episodes were filled with creative satirical inventions, like, for example, the memberberries - malicious living berries that poisoned white rural Americans with a nostalgia for Star Wars, 80's music, and the times when women and ethnic minorities were barred from the political arena. However, after analyzing the causes of Trump's victory, the South Park creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, seem to have lost a sense of direction in the latest 21st season.

Typically, South Park achieves a satirical effect by creating hyperboles and humorous analogies of current events, or by placing these events into unexpected contexts. Stone and Parker still do this to an extent in the new season. The Charlottesville alt-rightists protest against Amazon's Alexa taking their jobs, Trump nukes Canada, and the interactions between Trump and the American people are paralleled by an abusive middle-school relationship. However, the season lacks an essential component of satire — a clear understanding of necessary change. Despite of a somewhat hopeful ending, Stone and Parker seem for the first time to be completely clueless of what to make of our society's current state.

Meet the Jefferson's

One of the best shows on television that constantly use satire to address very prominent issues in our society is South Park. South Park has evolved from a low budget cartoon with cringe humor to one of the premier satire televisions shows we have today. They continue to use the first amendment of free speech to go after celebrities, politicians, religions and companies. In particular, the episode that I think does a great job of using satirical humor along with literary devices to highlight a big issue around the world is the episode, "The Jeffersons". In this episode, Michael Jackson and his son move away from the spotlight and move to a town under aliases. The episode focuses on highlighting racial prejudices of the police along with his reckless parenting styles. While the episode makes fun of Michael Jackson's parenting styles, singing, and plastic surgery, there is a deeper meaning that the episode is trying to convey.

Throughout the show, Michael Jackson is portrayed as a kid in a man's body. Someone who never got a childhood so he is using his free time now to be a kid again. The episode also pokes fun at his plastic surgery and towards the end of the episode all of his new features start to fall off, making him look like a zombie. Obviously, the episode is a parody of Michael Jackson because this character is imitating him in a way that provides comedic relief for the audience. The episode also uses the literary device, hyperbole, to talk about the child molestation that is going on with Michael Jackson and his son. For example, Jackson has a sleepover with the boys where they all sleep in the same bed. He also is always asking the boys to play with him and come over to his house because he has a lot of toys and food. Here, the episode is exaggerating Michael Jackson's desire to play with kids to show that this is wrong. He should not be hanging out with 10 year olds all day, singing to them, and sleeping with them. They are trying to show that child molestation is a really issue and needs to be addressed. This is also an example of verbal irony because when he says come over and play that is not what he really means. While the episode uses satire to show the audience how big of an issue child molestation is, the episode also has a lot to do with racial prejudices.

The episode focuses on racial prejudices with the police and how they are unhappy with a rich black man moving into their town. Their goal is to frame him like they have done with other rich black men such as O.J. Simpson and Kobe Bryant. In the episode, the police department finds out that a new family has moved into town. When reading the file of the family, the sergeant says "Here's the problem, he is black and he payed in cash". There was then a uproar in the department where they were all thinking of ways to frame him and make him go to jail. A police officer later says when watching Jackson's house, "When I see a black man with more money than me, I want to vomit". This is also an example of a hyperbole because while people might think this way, they would never openly say something like that. Also, this is not how everybody in the police thinks, the creators are just doing this to highlight the real issue here, racial prejudice. Later on, the police find out that he is not black and everything seems to go back to normal. They felt stupid for trying to accuse a white man of murder until they later find out that he is in fact black. When they show up at his house, he says that he has decided to give all his money away to charity so that his son can live a normal life. The cops decide not to frame him and he starts singing, "Things can all work out if we know we have the power to change". Here, Jackson is not only talking about himself, he is talking about everybody in the world. Everybody has the power to stand up and protest something that is not right. If everybody keeps using their power and voice to address issues such as molestation and racial prejudice in society, things will change.

On the surface, South Park may seem like a stupid show filled with humor, but that characters and jokes in the show are used as fronts to get at specific issues that are going on in our society. While this particular episode is funny because of how they portray Michael Jackson, its underlying meaning has to do with something much bigger than the show. They are trying to show that audience that the power to change something such as racial prejudice or child molestation is in everybody and if we all stand up and fight these issues, we will be successful.

Comedic Modern Satire

It’s known worldwide by many comedy central viewers that with every new episode of South Park, major controversy follows. The exaggerated, bitter and often extremely offensive show is known for its disregard for any limits that other programs might hold themselves accountable to. If there’s ever some point in a a joke where the next thing said is crossing line, South Park has crossed it. If there’s a messed up joke, South Park has made it.

South Park almost always goes above and beyond what comedy shows are capable to and makes fun of every possible celebrity and global situation it can. Because of this, the show has been a target for upset parents or anyone offended by their cruel humor. But, what some forget is that South Park does not make offensive jokes just to be offensive, but rather to satirize. Often, South Park will target societal situations and viciously attack them, or recreate them in such a matter that they go over the top that what once seemed like an acceptable joke now just looks pathetic. South Park’s ability to make intelligent commentary through seemingly unintelligent humor makes it the greatest form of modern satire.