Most of us have all seen an episode or excerpt of the show South Park. In effect, we have all seen an episode that puts a look of shock on our face from the level of controversy it seems that the creators seem to reach for. But within this constant offensiveness is usually a lesson hidden somewhere.
This is seen in the special two-part episode that the creators used to celebrate reaching their 200th episode. In this episode special pretty much every celebrity that the town of South Park has disgraced has decided to sue them. The celebrities would not sue the town if they were given Muhammad's goo, which they thought would give them invulnerability against being mocked,
The explanation behind this episode is basically how ridiculous it is that the prophet Muhammad cannot be depicted to avoid the follow through of death threats that the creators received in the anticipation of the release of this episode. After these threats, Comedy Central censored the episode a ridiculous amount and bleeped out the entire ending speech about not succumbing to fear and standing up against terror.
Of course, the show explains all of this in a humorous manner since it is a satirical show. I think this is the reason why satire is so important. A serious message can be told in an exaggerated and funny way which can make it easier for viewers to digest or accept. Putting the medicine in the candy is a great way for shows like South Park to discuss very serious topics and not receive too much backlash,
Juvenalian satire is the type of joke that South Park usually uses to deliver its message and can be pretty jarring at times. But juvenalian satire is effective in criticizing aspects of society by using over the top exaggerations to show how crazy some ideas can be,
What do you think about South Park's humor? Do you think it is a good way to speak on issues or is it too overly offensive for a message to be received? Leave a comment below to discuss how you feel about their use of juvenalian satire to speak about societal issues.
This is seen in the special two-part episode that the creators used to celebrate reaching their 200th episode. In this episode special pretty much every celebrity that the town of South Park has disgraced has decided to sue them. The celebrities would not sue the town if they were given Muhammad's goo, which they thought would give them invulnerability against being mocked,
The explanation behind this episode is basically how ridiculous it is that the prophet Muhammad cannot be depicted to avoid the follow through of death threats that the creators received in the anticipation of the release of this episode. After these threats, Comedy Central censored the episode a ridiculous amount and bleeped out the entire ending speech about not succumbing to fear and standing up against terror.
Of course, the show explains all of this in a humorous manner since it is a satirical show. I think this is the reason why satire is so important. A serious message can be told in an exaggerated and funny way which can make it easier for viewers to digest or accept. Putting the medicine in the candy is a great way for shows like South Park to discuss very serious topics and not receive too much backlash,
Juvenalian satire is the type of joke that South Park usually uses to deliver its message and can be pretty jarring at times. But juvenalian satire is effective in criticizing aspects of society by using over the top exaggerations to show how crazy some ideas can be,
What do you think about South Park's humor? Do you think it is a good way to speak on issues or is it too overly offensive for a message to be received? Leave a comment below to discuss how you feel about their use of juvenalian satire to speak about societal issues.
