Tag: animation

Um… I Think South Park Just Criticized Liberal Media and No One Is Talking About It

SPOILER WARNING: Contains spoilers for the South Park Vaccination Special

CONTENT WARNING: Politics

Curiously, the argument between the anchor and reporter about the “passion” of the kids for stealing the vaccines and distributing them independently… this entire bit is absent from every review I’ve read about the episode. It’s not mentioned in any of the summaries.

Not AV Club. Not Indie Wire. Not Den of Geek, IGN, Collider, or even The Daily Beast.

For me, this was a big moment of the special. The news anchor argues that the anti-vaccine Q-Anon kids are just as valid in fighting for what they believe in as the pro-vaccine kids. Here, Trey Parker claims that you can use the same rationale to justify the acts of one group as the other. Since the initial confrontation between the two groups were reminiscent of the Capitol riot in January (ffs Butters waves that big U.S. flag), I’m preeeetty sure this as an indictment of the liberal media for their coverage of the BLM protests in the summer. I have seen conservatives and libertarians online pointing out a perceived hypocrisy of liberal media qualifying the Capitol rioters as “traitors” and “insurrectionists” and “seditionists”, while elevating any rioters during the BLM protests to an exalted status, or excusing their behavior as “frustration” with the system. Now, I personally do not think these events are equivalent. What I AM suggesting is that Trey Parker is probably making the comparison in order to admonish the liberal media for stoking acceptance of violence at police and property during the BLM protests. At the very least, Parker seems to posit that the Capitol rioters’ violent actions are logically consistent with their beliefs; it’s pointless to claim it was “senseless”, as the media often does. This criticism of liberals would be on brand for South Park, since Parker and Matt Stone have a solid history ridiculing any liberal or conservative who takes a belief as gospel and runs with it. Whether any of us agrees with Parker’s comparison or not, I think he is making it. Liberal outlets have already criticized South Park for its role in stowing political cynicism to the point of inaction, and for contributing to trolling culture. Why aren’t they talking now?

The referenced reviews:

South ParQ Vaccination Special Review: The futility of returning to normal (avclub.com)

‘South Park Vaccination Special’ Review: Comedy in Crisis — Spoilers | IndieWire

South Park Vaccination Special Review | Den of Geek

South Park: ‘South ParQ – The Vaccination Special’ Review – IGN

South Park Vaccination Special Review: A Hilarious Return to Normal (collider.com)

‘South Park’ Brutally Mocks Wacky QAnon Supporters in Vaccination Special (thedailybeast.com)

The Consequences of Negative Fat Representation

When I was doing research on the presence of fat cartoon characters on television, I came upon a few news articles that discussed a 2015 study out of the University of Colorado. The articles warn about the study’s findings that kids who see cartoon characters with a “rounder” shape are more likely to make unhealthy food choices afterward, unless they are first reminded about healthy behaviors. I immediately became worried about an implication that fat characters had ought to NOT be visible on TV, so as to not prime kids into eating poorly. I think it is very important to have better fat representation in the media, especially for kids. The researchers wrote that there is already evidence that children form negative stereotypes about fat people by the age of 3, and by 8 years old they think fat people are “lazy” and “less healthy”. 

I think it’s not completely clear that seeing fat stereotypes “cause” kids to eat more or eat unhealthily, or if it’s really that seeing fat characters LETS them NOT police their own eating. From what I’ve read in the study itself there is no mention of this possibility, but I think it’s important. Because in a way I think that’s not a bad thing, and if anything, what might contribute to a “letting loose” mentality is the constant admonishment for eating “bad” foods that kids are exposed to. Researchers have found that part of the reason diets don’t work for most people is that denying yourself foods you think are bad for you makes you crave them even more. So I think we should hold off on blaming depictions of fat characters indulging themselves.

I hope that people don’t refrain from portraying positive and diverse fat characters in the media because A) the only reason kids and adults hold negative stereotypes about fat people is because the media historically shows fat people as overindulgent, lazy, fearful, etc. and B) you’re NOT going to get kids to make more healthy food choices by erasing fat people from the media; they’ll just think only thin people eat healthy and that there’s no place for fat people who eat healthy, that both these things can’t be true simultaneously.