Lessons from South Park: A Comic Corrective to Environmental Puritanism

Abstract

This paper explores how South Park's scriptwriters, consistent with Burke's comic corrective, employ populist storylines to satirize radical environmentalists and their opponents. It analyzes three South Park episodes, examining its use of adult cartoon media from two related and optimistic perspectives: Burke's comic frame, to show how South Park acts as a comic corrective to the sometimes boorish behavior of environmental ideologues and Kazin's analysis of populism, to show how South Park's message structure resonates strongly among its key demographics. Given South Park's longevity and popularity, this paper helps us understand how negative stereotypes of environmental advocacy can be constructed in ways that may inhibit popular support for sustainability initiatives, while serving as a reminder that if environmental advocacy is to be broadly persuasive, its message, tone, and delivery must reflect widely shared American values. In this sense, this exploration can serve as a tool for encouraging productive dialog between populists and those who advocate rational care for the Earth.