South Park Research Articles

Teaching Modern British and American Satire and Humorists vs. Religion: Critical Voices from Mark Twain to Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Echoes of Emerson: Rethinking Realism in Twain, James, Wharton, and Cather

Teaching Modern British and American Satire. Edited by Evan R. Davis and Nicholas D. Nace. New York: Modern Language Association, 2019. 374 pp. $34.00, paper.The essays assembled by Davis and Nace cover a range from the late eighteenth century of Pope and Swift to today's era of Stephen Colbert and South Park. While the overall collection may interest humor scholars, Joe B. Fulton's “Teaching Burlesque with Twain” essay offers content designed for those of us presenting Twain in the classroom. Fulton begins by focusing on “A Double-Barreled Detective Story” and early sketches like “Petrified Man,” before delving into Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Covering both the texts and the popular works burlesqued by Twain, Fulton's essay notes several pairings and/or potentially fruitful topics for class discussion. Humorists vs. Religion: Critical Voices from Mark Twain to Neil DeGrasse Tyson. By Iain Ellis. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2018. 261 pp. $39.95, paper.Admirably, Ellis addresses the complex, contradictory nature of Twain's religiosity rather than taking the author's cynicism as a given. Instead, he sees “a series of mixed messages” where “efforts to find God are tempered with a voice of reason that is determined to reject Him” (20). While this first chapter may not offer Twain scholars new findings, the book's strength is in the way it charts an intellectual progression from Twain, past Kurt Vonnegut and Lenny Bruce, to Ricky Gervais, the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, and the Russian band Pussy Riot. Humor scholars and religious studies instructors may find this useful, along with anyone interested in Twain's continuing role as a touchstone figure in sacred versus secular debates. Echoes of Emerson: Rethinking Realism in Twain, James, Wharton, and Cather. Diana Hope Polley. Tuscaloosa: U of Alabama P, 2017. 176 pp. $54.95, cloth.Polley's book considers moments when postbellum realist novels “embrace the ideas, and often idealisms, of [a] residual romantic tradition” embodied in the United States by Ralph Waldo Emerson (5). Her first chapter covers moments in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that privilege romanticism and independence. From this view, “Huck becomes a fictional embodiment of Emersonian possibility,” who struggles for self-reliance in a world that is very much stuck in its traditions (27). This approach yields uncommon and nuanced considerations of not only Huck Finn, but also Twain's infamous address at John Greenleaf Whittier's seventieth birthday, where Emerson was present to hear jokes at his expense. The result is a rewarding piece of scholarship.

Differential herbivore occupancy of fire-manipulated savannas in the Satara region of the Kruger National Park, South Africa

The Kruger National Park’s (KNP) long-running experimental burn plots (EBPs) have a history of research projects, which improve the understanding of fire in savanna ecosystems. Using data from KNP’s aerial censuses (2005–2016) and in situ dung count data (2008–2017), this study assessed (1) herbivore densities on the Satara, N’Wanetsi and Marheya EBPs, on annual, triennial and no-burn treatments and across pre-, during and post-drought climate conditions; (2) herbivore densities of these EBPs relative to their non-manipulated surroundings and (3) the extent to which distance to water and rainfall influence ungulate densities. The results revealed that herbivore mean density differed significantly between the three EBPs of Satara and across their fire treatments. N’Wanetsi showed the highest density (0.30 animals/ha), whilst the lowest was found at Marheya (0.12 animals/ha). Overall, pre-drought density was higher on the annual plots (0.56 animals/ha), whilst higher post-drought density was evidenced on the triennial plots (0.80 animals/ha). On average, there were significantly higher herbivore densities on the EBPs (2.54 animals/ha) compared to the surrounding matrix at the larger scales of the Satara management section (0.15 animals/ha) and the central KNP (0.18 animals/ha). A positive correlation between herbivore mean density estimate and distance to water was shown. However, grazer mean density across fire treatments was strongly correlated to rainfall.Conservation implications: Given the variation in fire regimes and their application, and the non-uniform and elevated herbivore densities of the EBPs, inferences from the EBPs cannot be made to the larger KNP. The trials should rather be viewed as an isolated, fire herbivory experiment. It is also recommended to align the experiment with South African National Parks’ mandate by including biodiversity parameters like small mammals and insects in the monitoring of the plots.

New Religious Movements in the Town of South Park: Separating the Mainstream from the Marginal

Adult animated television shows such as South Park may come across as crude, juvenile humour, but they also reveal mainstream society’s disposition in regards to different social institutions. Building on the understanding that such programs offer viewers a sense of the “cultural climate,” this essay examines two South Park episodes—“712” and 912”—that parodied Mormons and Scientologists, respectively, in order to understand how these religions are depicted and interrogate what separates the marginal from the mainstream. In recognition of Mormonism’s comparatively positive portrayal, this essay suggests that the group may no longer be profitably studied alongside other new religious movements such as Scientology.

A Discourse Analysis of South Park’s PC Principal

This research aims to expose how South Park, a polemical entertainment program, deals with some of the most socially divisive topics from 2015 onward, thus establishing a new type of criticism that had been, for a long time, specific to news media only. The methodology used for analyzing the reflection of the political correctness paradigm is scientific narration. The actions of an autocratic persona, PC Principal, are interpreted during three relevant episodes (#1, #5, and #8) of the 19th season. The personification of censorship through the naïve Butters, an obedient schoolboy turned into a humble clerk serving PC Principal's overzealous fight for his idea of equal rights, can remind one of Hanna Arendt's work "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil." Thus, people who blindly follow orders without questioning the imposed regime might have a more significant negative influence than dictators themselves. As tolerance is becoming a feature of selfishness rather than a noble human attribute due to increased competitiveness, abnormally creating the circumstances to make one more socially visible, South Park often sanctions the excessive flaws of the liberal doctrine, exposing the various absurdities can arise from such biased behaviors. Even though the show depicts thoroughly grotesque images, the authors seem to balance them with moral teachings. The present study intends to highlight the need for an alternative to formal debates regarding social issues to avoid ideological bias.

“Krazy Kripples” and the Transformative Body Politics of Disability and Race

Broadcast for over two decades, South Park is a satirical cartoon that challenges norms and asks its viewers to assess their values. A show whose existence has been challenged long before the era of consequences for offensive actions known as “cancel culture,” South Park remains popular in part because of its ability to evolve. While updating the show’s comedy to reflect the current cultural context, the willingness of the show’s creators to address prior comedic errors begs examination of older episodes to see what still works (and what does not). One episode that provides plenty of laughs and timely satire seventeen years after it first aired is “Krazy Kripples,” the second episode of the seventh season that was originally broadcast on 26 March 2003. Bringing the intersection of disability and race to the fore, episodes of South Park like “Krazy Kripples” act as a conduit through which both individual and societal discussions on difference and inequality can occur without temporal constraints. Encouraging self-reflection rather than just laughs, “Krazy Kripples” contains a transformative body politic, a concept coined by Nirmala Erevelles in her 2011 book Disability and Difference in Global Contexts: Enabling a Transformative Body Politic.

Situating Netflix’s Original Adult Animation: Observing Taste Cultures and the Legacies of ‘Quality’ Television through BoJack Horseman and Big Mouth

This article aims to expand upon a key aspect of Mareike Jenner’s work on Netflix original comedy by considering how the streaming network’s original adult animated series reflect developments occurring within the sitcom format post-TV III. Using Netflix original animations BoJack Horseman (2014–) and Big Mouth (2017–) as case studies, this article will consider how thematically complex, ostensibly ‘smart’ animated shows illustrate changing industrial dynamics and taste cultures. While exhibiting qualities found in preceding key adult animated shows such as South Park (Comedy Central 1997–) and Family Guy (Fox 1999–), including lewd humour, metatextual in-jokes and topicality, the knotty storytelling and ambiguous characterizations of the shows under discussion reflect links to other contexts of TV production. Exploring these links, this article uses BoJack Horseman and Big Mouth to explore current trends in animated television, situating their characteristics and reception within a broader network of influences. The author argues that the turn towards complex storytelling manifests both in inherited production tactics, changing taste cultures and in the multifaceted and multifarious potentialities provided by the medium itself.

The Guthrie Boulder: A Forgotten Monument to Anesthesia in Chicago.

The Guthrie Boulder: A Forgotten Monument to Anesthesia in Chicago.

Did You Say that Voting is Ridiculous?: Using South Park to Teach Public Choice

This note describes an approach to teaching the public choice perspectives on voting using an episode from Comedy Central’s animated television show, South Park. The episode titled, “Douche and Turd,” demonstrates the near-zero value of an individual vote, the intrinsic value individuals place on the act of voting itself, problems arising when voters must choose amongst undesirable candidates rather than issues, and the role of political campaigning; and mirrors public perception regarding the 2004 presidential campaign between George W. Bush and John Kerry.

DOMESTICATION, DEGENERATION, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE ADDO ELEPHANT NATIONAL PARK IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1910s–1930s

AbstractThis article examines conflict between farmers and elephants in the Addo region in 1910s–1930s South Africa to explore the porosity of the concepts ‘wild’, ‘tame’, and ‘domestic’, and their relationship to race, degeneration, nature conservation, and colonialism. In the 1910s, settler farmers indicted the ‘Addo Elephants’, as ‘vicious’ thieves who raided crops and ‘hunted’ farmers. This view conflicted with a widespread perception of elephants as docile, sagacious, and worthy of protection. Seeking to reconcile these views, bureaucrats were divided between exterminating the animals, creating a game reserve, and drawing upon the expertise of Indianmahoutsto domesticate them. Ultimately, all three options were attempted: the population was decimated by hunter Phillip Jacobus Pretorius, an elephant reserve was created, the animals were tamed to ‘lose their fear of man’ and fed oranges. Despite the presence of tame elephants and artificial feeding, the reserve was publicized as a natural habitat, and a window onto the prehistoric. This was not paradoxical but provokes a need to rethink the relationship between wildness, tameness, and domesticity. These concepts were not implicitly opposed but existed on a spectrum paralleling imperialist hierarchies of civilization, race, and evolution, upon which tame elephants could still be considered wild.

Short Swoop, Long Line

70 ate’s two sons, engulfed in their hoodies, were waiting in line at the pizza counter behind Alex. It was startling to see them in person. Alex had never met them, only glanced at pictures of them around Kate’s house when he slept over on nights when the kids were with their dad. In the pictures, they were smiling, their arms around their mother, sporting polo shirts and respectable haircuts. Dad was not in the pictures. Now the sixteen-­ year-­ old wore all black. The younger one, thir­ teen maybe, was in camouflage. They weren’t smiling anymore. They wore flat-­ brimmed baseball caps over shaggy skater curls and fiction Short Swoop, Long Line Andrew Martin K Short Swoop, Long Line | 71 grim masks of teenage boredom. Alex ordered his slices and a local pale ale and sat down in a booth near the window. He opened Tender Is the Night, which was going quite slowly, and tried not to look over at the kids, who, of course, sat down at the table next to his. “Yo, can I get that Parmesan?” the older one said, suddenly looming over him. Jason, that was his name. Alex passed it to him. “Thanks,” he said. Then, under his breath, he added, “Faggot.” Alex tried to make his face look stern, like a disappointed adult. Jason and the little one—Matthew?—covered their mouths and mimed silent laughter. Alex was a twenty-­ four-­ year-­ old bookstore manager, which made him twenty-­ two years younger than Kate, the kids’ mother, who, she’d made clear, was not his girlfriend. He was too old to pick a fight with her children, but still young enough to feel the sting to his pride. The fact that he could say “I’m having sex with your mom,” the ultimate adolescent trump card, gave him some peace. The fact that he could also say “I’ve been wearing your mom’s panties all week,” and “I recently spent the night under your mom’s bed at her request,” was maybe more ambiguously trium­ phant for their age group. He read and listened to the boys discuss an episode of South Park in which the citizens of South Park are plagued by a sound that makes them uncontrollably flatulent. When the kids got up to leave, Alex looked up from his book. “You know, guys,” he said. “It’s not cool to commit hate crimes against random strangers.” “Stop checking out my dick, dude,” Jason said. Matthew giggled and looked at Alex expectantly. “I know your mother,” Alex said. “Cool, bro,” Jason said. He inexplicably switched to a terrible British accent. “You probably shouldn’t tell her you were examin­ ing our willies, mate.” “Oy, mate!” Matthew added, in an even less accurate accent. “Oy! You’re fatter than Batman!” They threw their plates in the trash and walked out of the restaurant. 72 | Andrew Martin alex and kate had started sleeping together three months earlier, after meeting at a scantly attended honky-­ tonk concert at the VFW Hall on Main Street. Kate was the executive director of a women’s health nonprofit in town, and Alex heard her “community con­ nection” PSA on the local NPR station twice a day. He told her, numerous times, that she was “too hot for radio”; she had a freshly bleached, very short haircut and tall boots. She was in the process of divorcing her husband due to a “whole truckload of bullshit,” and she’d talked to Alex at length about that, and about her recent obsession with Scandinavian crime fiction, and Gillian Welch, until the bar closed. Then she’d surprised him by inviting herself back to his messy apartment out by the Walmart. Once there, she ordered him to his knees. It was a strenuous, educational night, significantly more demanding than his previous casual encounters. He drove her back to her car in the morning. “Is that how things usually go with you?” he said. “Boy, you have no idea.” Alex had assumed this was a one-­ shot deal, something to be brought up in a drunken bout of sexual trivia someday. But instead they started spending...

Point counts outperform line transects when sampling birds along routes in South African protected areas

Bird atlases have become an important source of distribution data for broad-scale analyses in ecology, biogeography and conservation. However, national bird atlases are undertaken in different ways in different countries, usually with little formal assessment of alternatives. Existing research suggests that the differences in accuracy between line and point transects are influenced by context, habitat and other details of the sampling protocol. To determine the best approach to use for southern Africa, where collection of data for atlases must cope with a wide range of field conditions, we compared data from a point-count approach to data from line transects on 302 routes in 19 South African National Parks. Data were analysed using paired sample tests, linear models, qualitative assessment and a Bayesian multispecies occupancy model to estimate species richness, while accounting for imperfect detection. On average, five more bird species were recorded along a route using point counts, even though the line transects covered three times more area. There was no obvious difference in the kinds of species recorded. Occupancy models showed that point counts consistently and substantially outperformed transects in estimating species richness. In transects, low detection probability leads to highly biased and imprecise estimates. For almost identical observer effort, standardised point counts along a route provided significantly higher quality data than transects.

Decreased nest survival associated with low temperatures in a high-elevation population of Mountain Plover (Charadrius montanus)

Mountain Plovers (Charadrius montanus) are migratory shorebirds of conservation concern that breed on grasslands and xeric tablelands scattered along the western edge of the Great Plains. Previous research from populations breeding on lower-elevation sites in Colorado and Montana suggests nest survival increases in cooler, drier environmental conditions. However, no studies have estimated Mountain Plover nest survival on high-elevation habitats, which have distinctively different climate and nesting phenology; therefore, it is unclear if these general trends hold true for the species as a whole or are regionally specific. In this study, we monitored nests of a population of Mountain Plovers breeding at high elevation in South Park, Colorado, to study influences on daily nest survival as compared to those found in literature from lower-elevation breeding sites. In contrast to studies on lower-elevation sites where daily maximum temperatures limited nest survival, we found daily minimum temperature best predicted variation in daily nest survival in South Park; survival odds declined with decreasing temperature. These results suggest that negative effects of extreme temperatures (hot or cold) may be generalities that exist between locales but are potentially mediated through different mechanisms at varying temporal scales. Although we cannot definitively conclude from our study why minimum temperature is associated with lower nest survival, we suggest alterations in incubation behavior may be a plausible mechanism that warrants future study. Overall, our study demonstrates the importance of considering differences between weather and phenology among breeding locations when estimating nest survival effects.

Semitic Stereotypes

This article examines how Jewish characters speak, look and act on the American comedy cartoons South Park and Family Guy. Through analyses of relevant episodes, a correlation is established between being a Jewish stereotype, speaking a distinct ‘Jewish English’ dialect and being a negative character on both shows. The analyses are based on 6 key characters from the two shows who are all Jewish, and while the 3 negative and stereotypical characters use certain features associated with the ‘Jewish dialect’ defined by Sarah Bunin Benor, as well as look and act according to classic Hollywood stereotypes of Jews, the 3 non-stereotypical positive/neutral characters do not. The consequences of associating certain dialects with negative characters in popular media are then discussed and it is argued that it can have serious consequences for real people.

Kids at heart?: Exploring the material cultures of adult fans of all-ages animated shows

Currently, the animated television series is a largely child-oriented medium, with occasional exceptions such as South Park (1997–present), Family Guy (1999–present) or the shows broadcast on Cartoon Network’s adultsonly programming block [adult swim]. Because of this, television animation merchandise is primarily aimed at children, with a plethora of toys, clothing and other items available for a variety of shows. For series such as the first iteration of The Powerpuff Girls (1998–2005) or, more recently, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2010–19), producers and creators have been aware that adult audiences exist but floundered in creating adult-oriented merchandise. However, this attitude seems to be shifting: shows such as Adventure Time (2010–18) and Steven Universe (2013–present) have massive, multigenerational appeal and Cartoon Network has happily embraced the series’ adult fans, aiming a number of merchandising programmes specifically at them. This article will explore the material cultures of television through the adult fans’ relationship to the merchandise of their favourite animated shows, first by discussing what merchandise, if any, television networks create for adults, and going on to theorize that such merchandise is a significant outlet in adults’ persisting need for play.

Drawn to the Gods: Religion and Humor in “The Simpsons,” “South Park,” and “Family Guy.”

Drawn to the Gods: Religion and Humor in “The Simpsons,” “South Park,” and “Family Guy.”

The Year's Work in American Humor Studies, 2017

The Year's Work in American Humor Studies, 2017

The feasibility of national parks in South Africa endorsing a community development agenda: The case of Mokala National Park and two neighbouring rural communities

This article explores the feasibility of South African National Parks (SANParks) endorsing a community development agenda, using Mokala National Park (MNP) and two neighbouring rural communities as case study. A three-phase sequential exploratory, mixed-methods approach was followed: an initial exploratory qualitative phase aimed at identifying the development needs of the two communities; a quantitative phase aimed at verifying and quantifying the identified needs; and a final qualitative phase (with a minor quantitative component) to determine what parks can reasonably achieve in terms of community development based on their available resources, capacity and expertise. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews (Phase 1: n = 22; Phase 3: n = 6), which were thematically analysed. Quantitative data were collected via a structured questionnaire (Phase 2: n = 484; Phase 3: n = 6) and analysed using SPSS 23. Findings revealed that the communities’ most significant needs centred on employment opportunities; improved healthcare, service delivery and waste management; and education. Community members also expressed the need for improved community policing, safety and security; social services; agricultural support and training; general skills development and training; local leadership; recreational facilities; local economic development and conservation initiatives. Results from the third phase of the study suggest that parks such as MNP can realistically only address some of the identified community needs significantly; primarily job creation (via temporary employment), skills development, local economic development, support of local conservation (especially via environmental education) and, to a lesser extent, agricultural support and training and permanent job creation.Conservation implications: The findings could be of practical use to SANParks to steer its community development initiatives towards attaining a more optimal balance between actual community needs and what the organisation can realistically offer, thus rendering SANParks’ efforts more efficient and effective in supporting the establishment of equitable and sustainable rural communities.

Satire, humor and ecological thought

Despite several claims on the political inconsequence and moral ambivalence of humor and satire, I contend that satire can be employed to raise environmental awareness, which requires ethical and political responsibility, and foreground environmental concerns among people and policy makers. South Park is investigated to illustrate how an alliance between satire and environmentalism can further environmental causes. The show’s environmental satire happens at three levels: direct environmental satire aiming to promote environmental ethics and encourage change; satire directed against environmentalists; and satire linking environmental issues with other adjacent concerns including politics, economy, culture, race, ethnicity, science and religion.

Social Media and Rigid Beliefs: Evidence from Impeachment of the President

Controversial news with little to no factual support has been proliferating in recent years. Such news has spread widely via social media, where individuals can easily create and distribute news. Using the news and events surrounding the impeachment of the former South Korean president Park Geun-hye, I examine (1) the relationship between social media use and beliefs in controversial news and (2) the relationship between protest participation and rigid beliefs based on social media use. The results indicate that individuals who use social media as their primary source of news are significantly more rigid in their beliefs in controversial news. Further, those who strongly believe in controversial news and are more consistent or extreme in their ideological views are more likely to participate in (more) protests. Moreover, this pattern is significantly stronger for those who primarily get their news from social media. Protests can have real-world impacts on public opinion and the policy-making process. Furthermore, a relatively small number of people can effectively mobilize political protests. Though protest participation is an individual choice, it is influenced by others and initially coordinated by a small number of people. The findings of this paper suggest that social media may allow a small group of people, potentially with more polarized and rigid beliefs, to have a disproportionately large impact on public opinion and policy-making in modern democracies.

(Trans)gendering public toilets: Queering toilet humour in South Park’s ‘The Cissy’

Abstract This article reads South Park’s episode ‘The Cissy’, which aired in 2014, to consider broader social discourse about gendered public toilet segregation in America. A resurgent interest in policing the borders of public toilets has led to the development of ‘bathroom bill’ legislation in some states. Given the unique challenges that this causes for elementary schools, South Park’s take on the practice of gendered toileting is deemed a relevant text. This article argues that ‘The Cissy’ queers the animation series’ own framework of toilet humour by using the toilet and its boundaries as a vehicle through which to explicate a position of transgender rights.