No matter how much I hate pokemon, and no matter how much South Park makes me smirk or laugh (well, mostly smirk), I can not let them slide anymore. I will start with Chipokomon. The Emmy award winning episode is a masterfully funny satirical piece piggybacking on a xenophobic and alarmist statement about the influence of Japanese culture on American children.
Usually the kind of message one expects from the far right, one wonders how libertarians can reconcile such a regressive, anti-pluralist, and anti-American warning with their supposedly objective free speech principles. Instead of being for free speech, and yes free speech includes the free exchange of cultural values, South Park has presented the Japanese as still being Hirohito imperlialists, but now using culture as their weapon for global dominance. The message is regressive, ridiculous, and fascist. What is their message? Foreign culture should get slammed down as fascism by USING fascism? That fascistic statements should be used to protect free speech, "American" principles? Well that is utter bullshit. The principles set down in the constitution are not "American" in any nationalistic sense. They are humanistic principles that are objective in any nation, irrespective of whims of culture. South Park's suggestion that it is alright for "Americans" to act as a group to protect their children's values is 100% disturbing and truly a statement against the core humanist values of the constitution. Children also acted "Japanese" when they collected baseball cards in the early 90s, but you didn't hear parents grouping together to make such a stupid statement as Trey Parker and Matt Stone have made in this Chinpokomon. Baseball is "American", so acting like a nationalistic hoard is Okay!
Hirohito must be spinning with glee in his tomb. Trey and Matt won him an Emmy!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
South Park's Xenophobia: Chinpokomon
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
LOL Its satire. Going to complain about South Park making fun of AIDS next? LOL How about when they make fun of black people, jewish people, and scientologists? And what about the episode they made fun of the all-american BASEBALL? Don't forget, just like the simpsons, South Park is continual satire of the American public. There's noone they make fun of more than Americans.
On a side note, are you saying people shouldn't be able to organize to protect the values they hope to pass on to their children?
Just starting, Josh. And, no, it is not "satire"; it is political and philosophcial satire.
"On a side note, are you saying people shouldn't be able to organize to protect the values they hope to pass on to their children?"
No, I'm saying that libertarianism is about individualism, but here we see a couple of libertarians supporting communal, nationalistic action. I'm also saying that you underestimate libertarian's ties to right.
And, yes, I intend to slowly critique the political satire that is South Park.
The Simpsons is a satire of EVERYONE. It is JUST satire. South Park, on the other hand, is satire from a specific political/philsophical point of view.
Not really. It pretty much makes fun of everyone.
Nope.
Can't wait for you to get to the episode about Sexual Harassment Panda. I'm sure you'll have a field day.
Who haven't they made fun of?
Well, for starters, right of center/libertarian actors. All of their attacks center around "liberals".
The majority of actors are liberals.
Indeed, but not all.
Post a Comment