5 ms·

I think the word you are looking for is 'satire' and it's cutting and intelligent not because of the depth of their understanding of some issue, but their willi

by jariel 6y ago

I think the word you are looking for is 'satire' and it's cutting and intelligent not because of the depth of their understanding of some issue, but their willingness to offer characters and comedy around simple ideas and perspectives others dare not broach. Charlie Chaplin was didn't exactly delve into ideology. 'PC Principal' is a brilliant satirization. They skewered the sometimes insufferable Tom Cruise because everyone else has to 'fall in line' to the inside censorship and only they had the courage to just 'have a go'. The bubble they've created for themselves where they can now get away with just about everything is otherwise non-existent in the industry.

dragonwriter 6y ago
> I think the word you are looking for is 'satire' Yes, that's the genre they operate in, which I thought goes without saying. No, that's no part of what I was trying to describe. > it's cutting and intelligent not because of the depth of their understanding of some issue, but their willingness to offer characters and comedy around simple ideas and perspectives others dare not broach. It's clever in presentation more than “intelligent”, and, no, almost none of it is around “ideas and perspectives others dare not broach”.
- jariel 6y ago
  Well almost every central bit in South Park surrounds a concept others won't touch, or at least, not in the manner SP will. + Mickey Mouse as a totalitarian fascist? You couldn't breathe this outside of a writers room, anywhere, and yet, it's something that probably a lot of people, even within the industry, absolutely love. + Walmart as a cultural monster, devouring society? Possibly not an unpopular idea, but definitely not one that anyone can do, because Walmart represents too much advertising power. Many of us hate Walmart, so where's the Walmart skits on SNL? There are none, because they're shills. SNL literally exists to sell Walmart ads. + Very simple articulation of how China is able to suppress and censor American businesses? Nobody in entertainment will touch this. Hollywood exists to sell films, and China will eventually be their biggest market. + Insufferable WholeFoods/hipster gentrification culture? + Jesus snorting cocaine, depictions of Mohamed? + Wrestlers as posing, effect actors, ultra authoritarian 'PC Bro' culture, Japanese businessmen deferring to the 'large penises' of American businessmen for social favour, a 'Token' Black character ... Most of it is completely inane obviously, but the whole thing exists to satire/make light commonly accepted norms with insufferable artifacts, or to give air to the the issues nobody can talk about. That's what makes it funny. 'Man Bear Pig' was probably wrong and not in a good way, so they did another show about it ... which is great ... but really who cares? It was funny at the time.

by jariel 6y ago

dragonwriter 6y ago

> I think the word you are looking for is 'satire' Yes, that's the genre they operate in, which I thought goes without saying. No, that's no part of what I was trying to describe. > it's cutting and intelligent not because of the depth of their understanding of some issue, but their willingness to offer characters and comedy around simple ideas and perspectives others dare not broach. It's clever in presentation more than “intelligent”, and, no, almost none of it is around “ideas and perspectives others dare not broach”.

jariel 6y ago
Well almost every central bit in South Park surrounds a concept others won't touch, or at least, not in the manner SP will. + Mickey Mouse as a totalitarian fascist? You couldn't breathe this outside of a writers room, anywhere, and yet, it's something that probably a lot of people, even within the industry, absolutely love. + Walmart as a cultural monster, devouring society? Possibly not an unpopular idea, but definitely not one that anyone can do, because Walmart represents too much advertising power. Many of us hate Walmart, so where's the Walmart skits on SNL? There are none, because they're shills. SNL literally exists to sell Walmart ads. + Very simple articulation of how China is able to suppress and censor American businesses? Nobody in entertainment will touch this. Hollywood exists to sell films, and China will eventually be their biggest market. + Insufferable WholeFoods/hipster gentrification culture? + Jesus snorting cocaine, depictions of Mohamed? + Wrestlers as posing, effect actors, ultra authoritarian 'PC Bro' culture, Japanese businessmen deferring to the 'large penises' of American businessmen for social favour, a 'Token' Black character ... Most of it is completely inane obviously, but the whole thing exists to satire/make light commonly accepted norms with insufferable artifacts, or to give air to the the issues nobody can talk about. That's what makes it funny. 'Man Bear Pig' was probably wrong and not in a good way, so they did another show about it ... which is great ... but really who cares? It was funny at the time.