Simpsons, South Park and the Right
I was reading on a blog somewhere (and I’m really frustrated that I can’t find it again) that there are those that argue that the Simpsons and South Park are right-wing. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this either and it always strikes me as bizarre. To me, both have always been left-wing social commentary and I wonder what this says about me and these people.
The evidence sited seems to be the way both shows take the piss out of left wing people. But just because you’re left-wing doesn’t mean that you can’t have the piss taken and the over sensitivity of some on both the left and right always amazes me. For example when Matt Stone and Trey Parker (creators of South Park) put out Team America, David from the movie show was up in arms about taking the piss out of all these actors that spoke out about the war. At the time I was left thinking ‘thank god someone finally took the piss out of Michael Moore’. Did David forget Trey Parker’s appearance in Bowling for Columbine? And last night’s episode of the Simpsons were Marg’s sister Marries a woman and proudly affirms her homosexuality would surely leave any doubt behind. Moreover, Homer is a continual piss take of the American Dream and just keeps getting dumber (and funnier).
South Park tends to target Political Correctness gone wrong. It would be easy to see this as a right-wing opinion (particularly if you wear the blinkers that the right so often wear). I feel that their real target is oversensitive social conservatives. The Christian right is their primary target and their overt antagonism with regards to homosexuality is surely evidence of this. Perhaps this is yet another example of the right’s continual search for political point scoring – it’s hard to say.