Abstract
This paper summarizes the article South Park and the Transformation of Meaning, by explaining a few main points of the article. The first main point of the article summarized is linguistic transformation and false neutrality which goes into detail on how words like fag or obscene can have multiple meanings. The second main point discussed is the language used in the show and why some believe it is for shock value alone while others believe that it is used for a different more complex meaning. The final topic I will be covering in the article is the criticism the show received and the surprising source of it.
South Park Article Summary and Critical Response
The paper South Park and the Transformation of Meaning …show more content…
It is known that South Parks uses the appeal of bad words to “push the boundaries of what can be said on television.” William Young in the book Flatulence and Philosophy: A Lot of Hot Air, or the Corruption of Youth? says “ceaselessly testing the limits of our culture’s tolerance, South Park ask(s) us to examine the things we think we know, why certain words and actions are prohibited, what we desire, and what we are teaching our children” (Schulzke, 2012). But it is often disputed on why South Park uses such offensive language, Robert Samuels stated in his book Freud Goes to South Park: Teaching against Postmodern Prejudices and Equal Opportunity Hatred “in the case of South Park, the universal claim of free speech relies on the unstated idea that words have no real effect on people and thus they should never be constrained”(Samuels, 2007). The article believes Samuel’s is “over-simplifying” the shows use of offensive and shocking language, and that a “more accurate claim would be that South Park argues that some bad words have no effect (usually those that are not sued as group=specific insults), whereas words that are offensive because they attack particular groups should be reduced to the level of no offensive speech by being disempowered. Only words not used as pejorative labels are meaningless” …show more content…
I believe along with William Young that South Park uses highly offensive language to test “the limits of our culture’s tolerance, South Park asks us to examine the things we think we know why certain words and actions are prohibited, what we desire, and what we are teaching our children.” The use of offensive language definitely provides some shock value when you hear the words, but as the show progresses your mind negates the shock value and starts to focus on how the word is used. The show attempts to disempower the word by oversaturating it into the show. An example of South Park attempting to oversaturate shock words is seen in their movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut which set Guinness World Records for the Most Swearing in an Animated Movie, with the 81-minute movie contained over 399 swear words (“Guinness Book,”
This paper summarizes the article South Park and the Transformation of Meaning, by explaining a few main points of the article. The first main point of the article summarized is linguistic transformation and false neutrality which goes into detail on how words like fag or obscene can have multiple meanings. The second main point discussed is the language used in the show and why some believe it is for shock value alone while others believe that it is used for a different more complex meaning. The final topic I will be covering in the article is the criticism the show received and the surprising source of it.
South Park Article Summary and Critical Response
The paper South Park and the Transformation of Meaning …show more content…
It is known that South Parks uses the appeal of bad words to “push the boundaries of what can be said on television.” William Young in the book Flatulence and Philosophy: A Lot of Hot Air, or the Corruption of Youth? says “ceaselessly testing the limits of our culture’s tolerance, South Park ask(s) us to examine the things we think we know, why certain words and actions are prohibited, what we desire, and what we are teaching our children” (Schulzke, 2012). But it is often disputed on why South Park uses such offensive language, Robert Samuels stated in his book Freud Goes to South Park: Teaching against Postmodern Prejudices and Equal Opportunity Hatred “in the case of South Park, the universal claim of free speech relies on the unstated idea that words have no real effect on people and thus they should never be constrained”(Samuels, 2007). The article believes Samuel’s is “over-simplifying” the shows use of offensive and shocking language, and that a “more accurate claim would be that South Park argues that some bad words have no effect (usually those that are not sued as group=specific insults), whereas words that are offensive because they attack particular groups should be reduced to the level of no offensive speech by being disempowered. Only words not used as pejorative labels are meaningless” …show more content…
I believe along with William Young that South Park uses highly offensive language to test “the limits of our culture’s tolerance, South Park asks us to examine the things we think we know why certain words and actions are prohibited, what we desire, and what we are teaching our children.” The use of offensive language definitely provides some shock value when you hear the words, but as the show progresses your mind negates the shock value and starts to focus on how the word is used. The show attempts to disempower the word by oversaturating it into the show. An example of South Park attempting to oversaturate shock words is seen in their movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut which set Guinness World Records for the Most Swearing in an Animated Movie, with the 81-minute movie contained over 399 swear words (“Guinness Book,”