Deconstructing South Park: Critical Examinations of Animated Transgression

258 Pages·2011·1.131 MB·English

by  Brian Cogan (ed.)

Deconstructing South Park
Critical Studies in Television
SERIESEDITOR:MarkAndrejevic,UniversityofIowa
AdvisoryBoard
RobinAndersen,FordhamUniversity
LynnSchofieldClark,UniversityofDenver
JamesHay,UniversityofIllinoisatUrbana-Champaign
FredTurner,StanfordUniversity
Thisseriescriticallyexaminestelevision,emphasizingin-depthmonographicstudiesona
particular televisionseries.Bylookingat televisionthrough a criticallens, the booksin
thisserieswillbringinsightintotheculturalsignificanceoftelevision,andalsoexplore
howthelessonsapplytolargercriticalandsocialissues.Thetextsintheserieswillappeal
tocommunication,media,andculturaltheoryscholars.
TitlesintheSeries
Dawson’sCreek:ACriticalUnderstandingbyLoriBindig
DearAngela:RememberingMySo-CalledLifeeditedbyMicheleByersandDavid
Lavery
TribalWarfare:SurvivorandthePoliticalUnconsciousofRealityTelevisionbyChristo-
pherJ.Wright
TheCSIEffect:Television,Crime,andGovernanceeditedbyMicheleByersandVal
MarieJohnson
PopularCultureandtheFutureofPolitics:CulturalStudiesandtheTaoofSouthParkby
TedGournelos
TheSurveillanceofWomenonRealityTelevision:WatchingTheBachelorandTheBa-
chelorettebyRachelE.Dubrofsky
DeconstructingSouthPark:CriticalExaminationsofAnimatedTransgressioneditedby
BrianCogan
Deconstructing South Park
Critical Examinations of
Animated Transgression
Edited by Brian Cogan
LEXINGTONBOOKS
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereproducedinanyformorbyany
electronicormechanicalmeans,includinginformationstorageandretrievalsystems,
withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublisher,exceptbyareviewerwhomayquote
passagesinareview.
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
DeconstructingSouthPark:criticalexaminationsofanimatedtransgression/editedbyBrianCogan.
p.cm.—(Criticalstudiesintelevision)
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p.)andindex.
ISBN978-0-7391-6745-8(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-0-7391-6746-5(pbk.:alk.paper)—
ISBN978-0-7391-6747-2(ebook)
1.SouthPark(Televisionprogram)I.Cogan,Brian,1967–
PN1992.77.S665D432012
791.45'72—dc23
2011036024
ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction:DeconstructingSouthPark?SouthParkIs
Deconstruction!:Plus,asaBonus,WhyThisBookIsaBad
Idea;or,asCartmanMightAsk,Aimez-voussucermes
couilles,MonsieurDerrida? ix
BrianCogan
PartI:SatyriconinColorado 1
1 FromWhenceCameCartman:SouthPark’sIntertextualLineage 3
JonathanGray
2 “TheBrownNoise”:ARoundtableDiscussiononSatireand
SouthPark,ChairedbyEricCartman:WithIntroductory
RemarksbyKeynoteSpeakerProfessorSHChaos,
PandemoniumUniversity(SuburbanCampus),ToxicShock,
California 17
StephanieHammer
PartII:SouthParkand/Is/onthe“Other” 27
3 “I’mNotSpecial?”:Timmy,Jimmy,andtheDouble-Moveof
DisabilityParodyinSouthPark 29
MichaelM.ChemersandHioniKaramanos
4 “ButI’mNotintheCloset!”Or,“OhMyGodIt’sGeorge
ClooneyastheVoiceoftheDog!”:SouthPark,Celebrity,and
ThankGodFairUseLawsAreNotasToughasTheyArein
England! 55
BrianCogan
v
vi Contents
PartIII:God,theDevil,andCartman 73
5 IsNothingSacred?:ReligiousParodyinSouthPark 75
MarthaDaas
6 TheDevilWentUptoColorado:“SatanComedy”inSouthPark 87
LoriWilsonSnaith
7 TheSouthParkApocalypse:Smaller,Shorter,andUndercut 107
JamesHewitson
PartIV:MetadiscourseandLiteraryHistory 121
8 “TheMostFouloftheFoulWords”:SouthParkand
Metadiscourse 123
John-PaulStephenson
9 “IMadeYouEatYourParents!”:SouthParkandLiteraryHistory 145
LouiseNoble
PartV:MattandTreyTalkaLotofShit,Literally 163
10 Respecting“Authoritah”:TreyParker,MattStone,and
AuthorshipinSouthParkandBeyond 165
NickMarx
11 TheFeminineMistook:Carnival,FeministHumor,andSouthPark 179
MJRobinson
PartVI:AndNowforSomethingCompletelyDiffrient 195
12 TweakingArt,theArtofTweek:AestheticDesecrationandthe
PoliticsofPossessioninSouthPark 197
DavidScottDiffrient
SelectedBibliography 221
Index 227
AbouttheEditorandContributors 233
Acknowledgments
Thisbookwasliterallyyearsinthemakingandalthoughitinvolvedvarious
permutationsbeforeitcoalescedinitscurrentform,itwasalsoalaborofnot
only love, but also of metamorphosis, one that started out as a walk to the
corner store, and quickly became an epic. While the book does not claim to
be the last word on South Park, it does claim to be the one book on South
Park that approached the show from the broadest array of disciplines, one
that asks important questions, not only abut our assumptions about South
Park,butaboutourselvesaswell.
This book would not have been possible without the patience of our
talented authors who provided not just critical chapters, but new ways to
analyze a program that has become a “transgressive institution.” They were
allparticularlyopentochallengingvariousaspectsoftheprogrampreviously
neglected,andinapproachingitfromcriticalperspectivesnotnormallyused.
If they went out on a limb in analyzing South Park, they did it because the
show is such a rich and diverse text; it needed a rich and diverse set of
theoretical, and often hilarious methodologies. I would particularly like to
thankLouiseNoble,JonathanGray,LoriWilsonSnaith,John-PaulStephen-
son,StephanieHammer,HioniKaramanosandMichaelM.Chemers,Martha
Mary Daas, James Hewitson, and David Scott Diffrient for their insight, for
their valued contributions, and for their extraordinary patience. I would also
liketothankthelatestauthorstoofferapproachestoSouthPark,NickMarx
and MJ Robinson, who came in at the last moment to add much needed
alternativeperspectives.
The book started as collaboration between myself and Marc Leverette, a
keenscholarwhotaughtmemore aboutpopular culture andissuesof legiti-
macythanIeverthoughtIneededtoknow.Iwouldliketothankhimforthe
vii
viii Acknowledgments
originalideaandinspirationandeventhetitleofthebook.Althoughhecould
not continue with the project, this work is largely based on his early enthu-
siasm.
Anumberofpeopleofferedadvice,critiques,etc.overthelastfewyears,
andIwouldliketothankthemfortheirinspiration,time,andpatience.Ihave
always valued the advice of several people whenever I write or edit. My
frequent coauthor Tony Kelso, the original “Dr. Rock” (William Philips),
and of course Laura Tropp and Lila Bauman. I would also like to thank not
only Michael Grabowksi for his advice over the years, and for showing me
theoriginal“SpiritofChristmas”shortonagrainyVHStapeallthoseyears
ago.
I learned quite a bit on the subject of media studies while finishing my
PhD in the media Ecology Department at New York University. I had five
great mentors there, Neil Postman, Terrence Moran, Christine Nystrom, Sal
Fallica,andJonathanZimmerman,allofwhomtaughtmetheartofscholar-
ship and collegiality. I would also like to thank the inspiring scholars in the
MediaEcologyAssociationandinthePopularCultureAssociation,forcon-
stantlyremindingmethatthereisstillalwaysmoretolearnandthatthereare
deeperwaystopeerintothelookingglass.
No book is ever complete without excellent editorial advice and the two
editorsIwasblessedtohaveonthisbook,RebeccaMcCary(whostartedit)
and Lenore Lautigar (who finished it) have provided outstanding advice
through the years I worked on this book. I appreciate their dedication and
patience.
I would like to thank someone who never gets enough thanks from me,
mylovelyandtalentedwifeLisa,whonotonlyputupwithmewhilewriting
this book, but also formatted the text you see here. Her contributions and
lovearealwaysappreciated.
Last, but not least, I would like to thank Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Althoughtheyconveyedthroughinformalchannelsthatthebookwas“prob-
ablyabadidea,”Ithankthemforalltheworktheyhavedoneincreatingone
ofthemostsubversivetextsontelevisionnow,andIhopeforalongtimeto
come.