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Iowa_Flames_Fan · 06-23-2007, 03:41 PM

CC--I agree with what you said above--and if you get too worried about offending people, satire becomes impossible. South Park isn't for kids, and it's not straight up comedy: it's satire. If you look at 18th-century satirical plays and poems, you might be surprised at how "offensive" they are. Gulliver's Travels is notoriously filthy--Alexander Pope had his mind constantly in the gutter. There are plenty of other examples.

I don't even AGREE with the satire, most of the time. I often find the politics of South Park episodes trite and offensive--and I suspect that the creators are far more conservative than I am. They also frequently savage people that I kind of like, such as Al Gore, or Hillary Clinton. By rights, I SHOULD be outraged and offended.

But--in the end, South Park is damn funny--and for me, that makes it watchable, even if part of me thinks I should be offended.

06-23-2007, 03:41 PM	#56
Iowa_Flames_Fan Referee Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Over the hill Exp:	CC--I agree with what you said above--and if you get too worried about offending people, satire becomes impossible. South Park isn't for kids, and it's not straight up comedy: it's satire. If you look at 18th-century satirical plays and poems, you might be surprised at how "offensive" they are. Gulliver's Travels is notoriously filthy--Alexander Pope had his mind constantly in the gutter. There are plenty of other examples. I don't even AGREE with the satire, most of the time. I often find the politics of South Park episodes trite and offensive--and I suspect that the creators are far more conservative than I am. They also frequently savage people that I kind of like, such as Al Gore, or Hillary Clinton. By rights, I SHOULD be outraged and offended. But--in the end, South Park is damn funny--and for me, that makes it watchable, even if part of me thinks I should be offended.