9: New South Park

In the South Park episode that premiered last Wednesday, Trey Parker and Matt Stone really epitomized the self referential humor that the show is known for. Having read J.D. Sallinger's "Catcher in the Rye", Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny decide to write a more obscene book that will certainly be banned by the schools.  Fearful of the trouble they will be in when Stan's mother reads the book, they claim that Butters is the author, not realizing that the public thinks the book is brilliant. This episode is a personal analysis of the debate over and about South Park, and a thourough synopsis of the shows history.

The book, "Scrotie McBoogerballs", represents the basic obscenity that Parker and Stone intended with their show when they first developed it. Like Cartman, Kenny, Stan, and Kyle, Parker and Stone intended to shock the establishment with the crassness of South Park. However, once it premiered the public thought it was brilliant, and refused to acknowledge its crudeness.

Also, when some of the critics in the episode are analyzing the book, they claim that it is both liberal and conservative. This is a reference to the debate around Parker and Stone's political leanings. In 2005 Brian C. Anderson published a book called "South Park Conservatives" claiming that the show's creators emphasize a new form of conservatism on television. Once the book was published, leading liberal scholars disagreed and published works arguing for the liberal bent of South Park. Parker and Stone have repeatedly denied political affiliations, their basic stance seems to stand with libertarians, and with neither liberals nor conservatives.

Stop Motion

Here's the ocean!

8:

The Simpsons has been on the air since 1990, and although it was one of the best shows in its time, its time is coming to and end. Seasons three through 9 host a spectacular number for great episodes including "The Stone Masons", "Marge vs. The Monorai" and "Bart of Darkness". However, I'm not sure how long Matt Groening will keep the show running, but I find with each new episode, The Simpsons loses more and more of its claim to be the greatest television show of all time. 


In one of the most recent episode of The Simpsons, entitlted "Postcards from the Wedge", we find Bart in a predicament in which he can no longer garner the attention for his mischief that he once did.  As the plot evolves we see Homer and Marge fight over how to handle Bart, and then make up again. It seems that any criticism of American culture that had gone on in previous season has now completely disappeared, leaving sappy romance and happy endings in its place.

Furthermore, many of the most interesting characters, such as Moe, Otto, and Police Chief Wiggum, only make small cameos, leaving their fully developed characters in the wake of the Simpson family. No longer do we hear weird tales from their lives, but we are completely focused on the Simpsons.  Sad to say, but I think its long time that Groening accepts that the show has lost its way and cancels it, before it loses all the prestige it once attained.

7: Adult Animation Archetypes

I was watching Futurama, and I began wondering what kind of characters are recurring through most of the adult animated shows on contemporary television?  Futurama, South Park, King of the Hill and Family Guy all use similar archetypes throughout their series, and I am going to expound on these briefly.  Characters such as Bender, Cartman, Meg, and Peggy Hill reflect similar characteristics throughout these three shows.

Peter Griffin in Family Guy, Bender in Futurama, and Cartman in South Park are all clearly the most interesting characters in their respective shows.  Cartman's evil genius, Peter's stupidity, and Bender's hatred for all mankind are very similar characteristics because they express much of the driving humor in the shows.  They drive the shows and are the most interesting people to look at, holding the viewers attention throughout.

Furthermore, characters such as Peggy Hill in King of the Hill, Meg in Family Guy, and Zoidberg in Futurama all represent the characters that are kinds of punching bags.  Meg is constantly being made fun of by all the characters in Family Guy.  Peggy, although she thinks she is smart, is constantly proven to be dumber than she thinks she is.  Similarly Zoidberg represents the same character archetype in the sense that the viewer and the other characters in the show hate him.