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[17 Seconds]

i always laugh at the "both sides" stuff when it comes to south park. you people have no understanding of the show. the fact that they make fun of everybody doesn't mean that they don't make their stances very clear.

 

[Quixzlizx]

What other important social issues have they portrayed both sides the same? What about all of the pro-gay marriage and gay acceptance episodes they've done? Do they portray homophobia with the same respect that they do with said acceptance? Cut the tired both sides critique because it doesn't apply to 75% of South Park. Outside of their confusing climate change messages/non-messages can you actually even cite any major social or political issues they've actually done the both sides thing or are you just throwing out cliche'd talking points because you're still mad they poked fun at PC culture for a couple seasons?

This is from a long time ago, but Turd Sandwich vs Giant Douche is pretty much the definition of "both sides."

 

[smokeymicpot]

Sure thing, it's Margaritaville.

At the very end the newscaster gives Obama credit for fixing the economy when we're supposed to assume it was Kyle who saved everyone, but that's the only time Obama is mentioned in the episode.


They never really went in on Obama except for saying he's basically just another politician and people are expecting too much from him, which isn't anti-Obama by any means. They were much harsher on other presidents imo.

Of course. I don't think they had any problems with Obama they just used him here and there.

Only times I think of Obama in South Park is about last night and Sexual Healing.

 

[Dirca]

They're going to "both sides" the shit out of this aren't they?

Absolutely as they should

 

[Trojita]

Of course. I don't think they had any problems with Obama they just used him here and there.

Only times I think of Obama in South Park is about last night and Sexual Healing.

Which of course was a joke that all men, including a man in the highest position of the country, try to cover up sex addiction.

"There's a turd in the punch bowl".

 

[17 Seconds]

This is from a long time ago, but Turd Sandwich vs Giant Douche is pretty much the definition of "both sides."

You didn't watch the show.

Pointing out that Hillary was a crap candidate doesn't mean they were taking both sides. They had a literally where they literally told everyone not to vote for Trump.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz-PtEJEaqY

This is the wheel scene you were talking about.

Right, I misremembered the details of the scene. Obama wasn't in the scene. And they didn't spin a wheel. They had a headless chicken stutter on the wheel while the Benny Hill theme was played on a kazoo. Which is an even stronger libertarian making fun of government intervention than the way I misremembered the scene. My main point had nothing to do whatsoever about Obama lol.

Oh, and in the next scene where Kyle forgives everyone's debts they're making fun of the entire concept of central banking, Ron Paul style.

 

[Quixzlizx]

You didn't watch the show.

Pointing out that Hillary was a crap candidate doesn't mean they were taking both sides. They had a literally where they literally told everyone not to vote for Trump.

That episode was from 2004, so I guess you're the one who doesn't watch the show.

 

[17 Seconds]

"both sides" is neogaf's go-to phrase for trying to sound progressive without bothering to understand the topic

 

[DarkKyo]

This is from a long time ago, but Turd Sandwich vs Giant Douche is pretty much the definition of "both sides."

That's true but I think that's more so disillusionment in the whole electoral process rather than any commentary about equating the politics of either candidate. Even with this election they made the same douche and turd argument and while Clinton's political beliefs were far less deplorable than Trump's(which they illustrated throughout the season by showing how gross Garrison-Trump was), it is true that both candidates were largely unpopular and uninspiring to a large portion of the US.

That's why they're not going to pull any both sides bullshit between racism vs. acceptance/tolerance, because they're not OK with the middle ground between the two. Mark my words and make a bet with your tag if you think they're actually going to both sides this.

 

[17 Seconds]

That episode was from 2004, so I guess you're the one who doesn't watch the show.

Um, they did it against last season.

 

[Trojita]

Right, I misremembered the details of the scene. Obama wasn't in the scene. And they didn't spin a wheel. They had a headless chicken stutter on the wheel while the Benny Hill theme was played on a kazoo. Which is an even stronger libertarian making fun of government intervention than the way I misremembered the scene. My main point had nothing to do whatsoever about Obama lol.

Oh, and in the next scene where Kyle forgives everyone's debts they're making fun of the entire concept of central banking, Ron Paul style.

I took that scene as making fun of how complex economics was made or turned into. The way banks and firms acted along with the government's decision on who gets bail outs and why things failed was like a chicken with their head cut off. The value given to Stan for his dad's margaritaville was how things are ascribed a value that isn't real.

 

[Spieler Eins]

The famous Obama spins a wheel both sides episode

That one made me really think that they wanted Cartman to be the voice of reason all along.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Um, they did it against last season.

Sorry wrong quote here is the clip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlqKFlU7YAs

 

[hydrophilic attack]

Oh and there's the Sexual Harassment Panda episode that has as its main thesis that sexual harassment is an overblown problem that basically only exists for cynical lawyers to make money off of poor innocent men

 

[Trojita]

Oh and there's the Sexual Harassment Panda episode that has as its main thesis that sexual harassment is an overblown problem that basically only exists for cynical lawyers to make money off of poor innocent men

Wasn't that about the over litigation of America that was a noticeable problem starting in the 90's?

 

[Quixzlizx]

That's true but I think that's more so disillusionment in the whole electoral process rather than any commentary about equating the politics of either candidate. Even with this election they made the same douche and turd argument and while Clinton's political beliefs were far less deplorable than Trump's(which they illustrated throughout the season by showing how gross Garrison-Trump was), it is true that both candidates were largely unpopular and uninspiring to a large portion of the US.

That's why they're not going to pull any both sides bullshit between racism vs. acceptance/tolerance, because they're not OK with the middle ground between the two. Mark my words and make a bet with your tag if you think they're actually going to both sides this.

Promoting disillusionment in the electoral process is a bad thing. That's probably why we have President Trump right now.

But I was just posting the counterfactual.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Oh and there's the Sexual Harassment Panda episode that has as its main thesis that sexual harassment is an overblown problem that basically only exists for cynical lawyers to make money off of poor innocent men

This episode was made in the 90's. Viewpoints change at that time chances are everyone was trying to sue everyone. If I am not mistaken they had an island of misfit toys like in Rudolph.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

They really should just leave it alone like they have been.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Am I in time for the monthly "South Park does both sides, raised the alt right" thread?

 

[DarkKyo]

Promoting disillusionment in the electoral process is a bad thing. That's probably why we have President Trump right now.

Is it though? The two-party system and electoral college is why we got Trump, I'd say that's a damned good reason to question the efficacy of the complete sham that is our electoral process.

Am I in time for the monthly "South Park does both sides, raised the alt right" thread?

A couple pages late actually!

 

[Averon]

I don't understand this fear that Matt and Trey are going to "both sides" fucking Neo Nazis.

 

[Quixzlizx]

Is it though? The electoral college is why we got Trump, I'd say that's a damned good reason to question the efficacy of the complete sham that is our electoral process.



A couple pages late actually!

You're not going to fix the electoral college by making less people care about politics due to the belief that nothing is going to change regardless of who is elected.

 

[Dude Abides]

South Park's a dick joke show that reflects conventional wisdom with a basic glibertarian spin. Expecting it to have something insightful or knowledgeable to say is like expecting your dog to play Chopin.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I don't understand this fear that Matt and Trey are going to "both sides" fucking Neo Nazis.

Particularly if the image is anything to go by, since the "they took er jerrrbs" guys have almost entirely been used as idiots.

 

[Trojita]

South Park's a dick joke show that reflects conventional wisdom with a basic glibertarian spin. Expecting it to have something insightful or knowledgeable to say is like expecting your dog to play Chopin.

But I play Chopin, Nocturne in E Flat Major.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

I can't play Chopin.

I play the blues.

Bitch took my baaaaall

Bitch took my squeaky toooooy

All she done left me is my water booooowl

 

[Dude Abides]

But I play Chopin, Nocturne in E Flat Major.

Yeah and you mangle it horribly.

 

[Sho_Nuff82]

Libertarianism is still on the left on race/gender/orientation/etc. tho. It's a fair assessment on where they've historically been in terms of a viewpoint- the issue is that it's not a pure "right wing" ideology at all and many people don't understand that part of it.

This is also part of why when they go after white liberalism/feminism (see: everything related to Whole Foods and performative displays of political views) many of those people don't understand that they're not mocking those things from a right-wing perspective, it's a self-critique.

A true libertarian would applaud the NCAA for their blatant exploitation of a free, nigh-unlimited working pool to make billions of dollars in television and stadium revenue.

This is from a long time ago, but Turd Sandwich vs Giant Douche is pretty much the definition of "both sides."

Their actual portrayal of Hillary - boring and repetitive.

Their actual portrayal of Trump - Egotistical douchelord who ran because he wanted to fuck over Canadians, knows he's completely unqualified for the job, knows all of his followers are hateful idiots who continually allow him to fail upward, begs people not to vote for him by doing a stand up comedy routine where he lambasts women on national television.

 

[Trojita]

Yeah and you mangle it horribly.

Dog paws don't work too well on piano keys

 

[ZeoVGM]

no more continuity/serialization shit please

It wasn't as good last season but the year before that was one of the best in the series. And the continuity was part of that.

While I was looking forward to more one-offs again, I now am kind of hoping for more continuity again. I think what has happened in the world lately could lend itself to that.

 

[Quixzlizx]

A true libertarian would applaud the NCAA for their blatant exploitation of a free, nigh-unlimited working pool to make billions of dollars in television and stadium revenue.



Their actual portrayal of Hillary - boring and repetitive.

Their actual portrayal of Trump - Egotistical douchelord who ran because he wanted to fuck over Canadians, knows he's completely unqualified for the job, knows all of his followers are hateful idiots who continually allow him to fail upward, begs people not to vote for him by doing a stand up comedy routine where he lambasts women on national television.

Giant Douche vs Turd Sandwich originates from the 2004 election.

 

[Kain-Nosgoth]

Wow already? Don't know why i thought the season was going to start in october... probably cause the game release in october!

Well that's good news for me, can't wait!

 

[Trojita]

Giant Douche vs Turd Sandwich originates from the 2004 election.

We all know that.

 

[OmnipotentO]

I've recently rewatched a lot of the seasons, and god damn was the last one really awful.

I have full faith in them, it was just a bump they hit. I'm sure they learned a lot from it.

Yeah it was fucking terrible with no payoff whatsoever. I get them trying to experiment with new formats and stuff but man I'm so glad they're returning to the normal format.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Yeah it was fucking terrible with no payoff whatsoever. I get them trying to experiment with new formats and stuff but man I'm so glad they're returning to the normal format.

Two seasons ago when they first did a continuous plot it worked really well. But I guess when they decided to keep trying it, it failed. So they are returning to more episodes of kids having adventures which is fine by me.

 

[Sapiens]

People are still watching South Park? It’s a very problematic show.

 

[Quixzlizx]

We all know that.

So I'm not sure how bringing up their portrayal of Hillary vs Trump has anything to do with how the original usage of it was clear-cut "both sides"?

I mean, I was originally responding to a poster who said they haven't done that with political issues.

 

[KimiNewt]

After watching 3-4 seasons of Rick and morty and bojack horseman I don't know how people can go back to this garbage. Very different shows but the difference in quality is so huge that I really can't imagine going back and watching a full season of south park.

The humour is super lowbrow and regardless of whether you agree with the political views, most people would agree the views are presented in a shallow and almost childlike way (and not in a good sense).

 

[ZeoVGM]

People are still watching South Park? It’s a very problematic show.

Is this one of those weird, "I actually know that people watch it but I'm going to pretend I don't because I personally don't like it" things?

 

[McMoneyman]

Welp I did a mistake by reading the comments on the Facebook post that the official South Park Facebook account just posted...

 

[Ooccoo]

After watching 3-4 seasons of Rick and morty and bojack horseman I don't know how people can go back to this garbage. Very different shows but the difference in quality is so huge that I really can't imagine going back and watching a full season of south park.

The humour is super lowbrow and regardless of whether you agree with the political views, most people would agree the views are presented in a shallow and almost childlike way (and not in a good sense).

That's like, your opinion, man.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Two seasons ago when they first did a continuous plot it worked really well. But I guess when they decided to keep trying it, it failed. So they are returning to more episodes of kids having adventures which is fine by me.

The first time was when they "really" killed Kenny in season 6 and that was the only funny one (finding Kenny replacements, Kenny in Cartman, Professor Chaos...). There were some decent build ups and new characters in the last few seasons, but the payoffs were shit in all 3 cases and ultimately going nowhere.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

The first time was when they "really" killed Kenny in season 6 and that was the only funny one. There were some decent build ups and new characters in the last few seasons, but the payoffs were shit in all 3 cases and ultimately going nowhere.

I don't know man, the isis ninja episode was the pay off for me. Love that episode.

 

[timetokill]

After watching 3-4 seasons of Rick and morty and bojack horseman I don't know how people can go back to this garbage. Very different shows but the difference in quality is so huge that I really can't imagine going back and watching a full season of south park.

The humour is super lowbrow and regardless of whether you agree with the political views, most people would agree the views are presented in a shallow and almost childlike way (and not in a good sense).

They're very different shows.

One could easily say they can't understand why you would watch Rick and Morty because it's mired in nihilism. Are we going to have people saying that Rick and Morty "raised a generation of kids who don't care about anything?"

Do you guys think Rick votes? Are we going to have these threads when Rick says "voting is for idiots" the same way he says not to go to school?

Or are we going to recognize that maybe the creators of a show don't believe everything their characters say? That cartoons offer a way to explore issues in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise?

 

[Spieler Eins]

I don't know man, the isis ninja episode was the pay off for me. Love that episode.

I can't believe none of the episodes featuring ISIS had them decapitating Kenny. But at least we have the games for the classic South Park style.

 

[WordAssassin]

Two seasons ago when they first did a continuous plot it worked really well. But I guess when they decided to keep trying it, it failed. So they are returning to more episodes of kids having adventures which is fine by me.

It failed because they had written the story for Season 20 around Hillary winning and had to scrap the entire ending to their arc and season at the last minute. In Season 19 it worked because the actual season arc wasn't tied to something like an election, so they were able to properly plan and write it in advance. They rolled the dice on Season 20 and it bit them on the ass hard. I bet if they tried another story like Season 19 where it wasn't all based around a major event that hadn't happened and they were trying to predict, it would be fine.

Or are we going to recognize that maybe the creators of a show don't believe everything their characters say? That cartoons offer a way to explore issues in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise?

I've always felt it's EXTREMELY apparent when Matt & Trey are speaking directly through their show to viewers. Stuff like "I learned something today" can be a little subtle sometimes or it can be super on the nose or satirical, but the speech after Chef died was 100% them talking through the kids, and when they had to recut the 2016 election episode to fit with Trump winning they had Randy running around screaming at people and that was also pretty blatantly them too.

 

[Real Hero]

After watching 3-4 seasons of Rick and morty and bojack horseman I don't know how people can go back to this garbage. Very different shows but the difference in quality is so huge that I really can't imagine going back and watching a full season of south park.

The humour is super lowbrow and regardless of whether you agree with the political views, most people would agree the views are presented in a shallow and almost childlike way (and not in a good sense).

They are all cartoons for 20 years olds. Don't act like you have some higher level sense of humour for liking one over the other.

 

[Bronx-Man]

If there's one thing I appreciate from modern Simpsons, it's that they relegate their terrible, dated jabs at politics predominantly to their YouTube channel instead of permeating that commentary into the show (which would largely be to its detriment).

Unfortunately, there's still no shortage of pop culture parodies and homages. The Season 29 premiere is going to be a full-fledged Game of Thrones send-up (complete with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau cameo). Their track record with these is pretty hit-or-miss.

Yikes, FOX needs to put that behind the woodshed already.

 

[Sarcastic Poster]

They're very different shows.

One could easily say they can't understand why you would watch Rick and Morty because it's mired in nihilism. Are we going to have people saying that Rick and Morty "raised a generation of kids who don't care about anything?"

Do you guys think Rick votes? Are we going to have these threads when Rick says "voting is for idiots" the same way he says not to go to school?

Or are we going to recognize that maybe the creators of a show don't believe everything their characters say? That cartoons offer a way to explore issues in a way you wouldn't be able to otherwise?

Bang on. Rick in the therapist's office is the exact type of thing South Park gets shellacked for on here.