Katedra Anglistiky a Amerikanistiky Bakalářská Diplomová Práce I 2018
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Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce i 2018 Marek Šichtař i Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Marek Sichtar Politically (In)correct Racial Stereotypes in South Park Bachelors Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Jeffrey A. Vanderziel, B.A. 2018 / declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. Author's signature I would like to thank my supervisor Jeffery A. Vanderziel, B.A. for his continuous support, useful comments and encouragement through the whole writing process. TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1: The Introduction - 1 - CHAPTER 2: The Two Pillars of South Park - 4 - Satire -4- Parody -6- CHAPTER 3: Walking on Eggshells - 9 - CHAPTER 4: From Papercut to an Emmy - 14 - CHAPTER 5: Race Vs. Political Correctness - 22 - The African-American Stereotypes in South Park - 23 - The Hispanic Stereotypes in South Park - 33 - CHAPTER 6: The Conclusion - 41 - Works Cited - 43 - Episodes Referenced - 49 - Summary -51- Resume - 52 - 1. INTRODUCTION Curse words, controversy and inappropriate humor — those are topics undoubtedly connected with television show South Park. However, those are just the tip of the iceberg — underneath the swearing and obscenity there lies a whole new world to explore, full of hidden messages for those who are willing to look for them. As it happens, creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have made racial stereotypes and stereotypical behavior a very common utterance in the show, barely balancing on the edge of what might be called appropriate comedy. And so, what is the purpose of stereotypes in an animated comedy show like South Park? What is it that makes those stereotypes work? And what do the authors of the show want to point out with their anti-politically correct humor? Those are the questions which the following pages will answer, with the focus on the two arguably most reappearing minority race groups in South Park — African-Americans and Hispanics — as well as on the stereotypes associated with them. From 1997 to today, there have been 21 seasons of South Park and majority of them contains improper and (to some extent) even offensive stereotypical behavior, much of which is often being misinterpreted, and so I have chosen this topic to point out and clarify their intended purpose. Rather than to criticize the stereotypes of South Park and discuss their negative effects, I will focus on their positive and constructive aspects as intended by the authors, which is to point out issues with political correctness, which the creators achieve by making their characters as anti-PC as possible. Of course, South Park uses racial stereotypes to make fun of wide range of subjects, so it would be bold to say that they serve only as a criticism of political correctness and nothing else, but the disagreement with some of its principles is arguably the most reoccurring. The creators of South Park at the time of this thesis writing have produced 287 episodes, two major videogames (South Park: The Stick of Truth and South Park: Fractured but - 1 - Whole) and one feature movie {South Park — Bigger, Longer <& Uncut), but unfortunately it is not within the limits of this thesis to go over every single occurrence of racial stereotype from all of those sources. Therefore, its focus will be on the two racial groups which are arguably the most commonly portrayed minorities on the show — Hispanics and African- Americans. This thesis will cover six episodes (three for each racial group), analyze the authors' intended point of criticism and provide a couple of personal observations. South Park's unique humor plays an important role in the message (and in the criticism) it spreads, and it is therefore necessary to elaborate on the two foundation stones it is built upon — satire and parody. The authors of the show use these instruments of comedy to create their characters and storylines, and so the second chapter of this thesis (divided into two subchapters) will focus on the groundwork of South Park's humor and will provide a brief history of origin for both satire and parody, followed by their respective definitions to avoid any possible discrepancies. The third chapter is solely dedicated to political correctness. From university campuses straight on the television screens, political correctness is a vital part of South Park and similarly to satire and parody, origins of the term will be covered and its clear definition will be given. Even though the second and the third chapters are heavily theoretical, these descriptions complete a comprehensive body of ground terms, making it easier to follow what is being argued. As South Park has been on the air for over 20 years, and even though the formula of the show is more or less the same as it was during its beginnings, it is crucial to properly introduce the show. That is what the fourth chapter is here for — to present South Park as a show, make it clear how the series started and cover several significant moments in the show's long history. It will also focus on the two most important people behind the South Park's creation - Matt Stone and Trey Parker. -2- The fifth chapter contains the actual analysis of the six selected episodes in connection to the racial stereotypes and to the criticism of political correctness. Divided into two subchapters, it will firstly focus on the African-American stereotypes, which will be analyzed in episodes number 77 "Here Comes the Neighborhood", number 154 "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" and 117 "The Jeffersons". The episodes featuring Hispanic stereotypes are the number 218 "The Last of the Meheecans", 138 "Free Willzyx" and 118 "Goobacks". The show (as mentioned above) has been here for many years, and even though it is not in the capacity of this thesis to analyze or mention every single reference regarding race, ethnicity or stereotype, it uses more than enough points from the episode pool to make sure that the argument of this work is clear and valid. Also, as some of the show's episodes are directly dedicated to the argument of this thesis, they are looked into more thoroughly, or at least mentioned more often than the others. I have seen all episodes more times than I can count, but it will be fascinating to approach the show from a scholarly perspective. And even though at first it may seem like South Park is an ordinary, foul-mouthed television comedy show full of toilet humor and inappropriate jokes, after some time its qualities certainly flush to the surface. -3- 2. THE TWO PILLARS OF SOUTH PARK THE HISTORIES AND DEFINITIONS OF SATIRE AND PARODY South Park's distinctive humor is a vast subject. This chapter will focus on arguably the two most significant devices that the creators use to produce their offensive and sometimes inappropriate comedy — satire and parody. They are not only key elements in what makes the show entertaining, but they also are one of the main reasons why the South Park's Wikipedia page solely devoted to the show's controversies is getting longer and longer. Because parody and satire are so intertwined in South Park and the boundary between them is rather obscure (Thorogood 216), both of those instruments of comedy will have their brief histories and definitions covered within the two following subchapters rather than in two separate sections. The first subchapter is dedicated to satire, the second one will cover parody and since there is neither a unified definition for satire nor parody, the subchapters will provide numerous definitions together with a few personal observations. Satire Satire is an old and powerful instrument of comedy which has been here for many years, and it is the Egyptians and the Ancient Greeks who are being credited for its creation. According to Ancient History Encyclopedia, as the first work of literary satire is considered "The Instruction of Dua-Khety", known also as "The Satire of Trades" (currently located in the British Museum), which was written sometime during the second millennium BC and only few fragments of papyrus survived (Mark par. 2,8). Lichtheim describes "The Satire of Trades" as a "text [which] achieves its satirical effects by exaggerating the true hardships of the professions described and by suppressing all their -4- positive and rewarding aspects" (Lichtheim 184). In Ancient Greece Aristophanes had been considered the first major satirist, but it was Horace whose satire "of hinting rather than attacking directly" (Griffin 8) is considered more subtle and elegant. Since then, satire was scarce circa up to the Elizabethan era which gave the world satirist like Barkley and Langland (Griffin 10) and then came and went in waves, reoccurring alongside big historic events like revolutions or wars. It has served as an instrument of not only criticism of sovereigns and public officials, but also as an entertaining way to engage masses into discussion about contemporary issues. Satire carries with itself the potential to ridicule, and satirist Charles Churchill described how powerful it can be in his poem The Ghost . tremble, and turn pale, When SATIRE wields her mighty Flail SATIRE, still mindful of her aim, Shall bring the Cowards back to Shame. (Churchill pg. 98 9-10, 13-14, emphasis in original) For example, as Ernest Henderson mentions several times throughout his book, satire played a significant role during such an important historic event as the French Revolution (see an illustration no. 87 on pg. 189 in "Symbol and Satire in the French Revolution"). From satirical articles in newspapers, through George Orwell's Animal Farm or Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal to Late Night Show with hosts David Letterman or Stephen Colbert, satire represents a unique combination of entertainment and criticism.