Whole Foods is bad. Got it.
Haven’t seen this show in years. I just started up “Sponsored Content” as it was mentioned above.
I’m only about five minutes in, and I know I’m missing a lot of context. Quick question: Do you have the impression the writers are aware that (and are intentionally depicting) the PC Principal character is doing a lot of the things that SJW types themselves would criticize as displaying privilege etc? (For example, gaslighting Jimmy, exhibiting toxic masculinity, equating power with authority.) In other words, PC Principal reads to me as an explicitly bad example of an SJW, rather than as an effective parody of the SJW movement in general. Is this the intention, do you think?
And, a few more minutes in: Speaking over minorities while presuming to speak for them. This is a big no-no in SJW circles. Does the show realize this? I’m not sure.
I’m sure they do realize that. That’s why it’s funny; the viewer knows it, and the writers know it. Hence, the joke.
Well, the joke could be “this guy is doing SJW wrong,” or the joke could be “those SJWs are all like this.”
My best guess: it’s both.
At least judging from the kind of ridiculous stuff that makes the front pages of Reddit, a lot of the more visible behavior that’s labelled “SJW” incorporates inconsistency and hypocrisy; hatemongering in the name of greater tolerance, savagery in the name of promoting civilized society. PC Principal seems to exhibit a lot of r/TumblerinAction’s favorite foibles, and embodies the perception that SJWs are doing Social Justice wrong.
If you’re referring to it as social justice “whining,” by definition you’re viewing it as wrong or inappropriate.
What they’re saying (IMO) is that the more outspoken PC crusaders can (ironically) be guilty of bullying as well. They display the same tactics as fratboys, as in PC Principal’s frat.
Of course, South Park’s stock in trade has always been satirizing social trends by taking them to an absurd extreme. Almost every show they build bigger a straw man than Burning Man.
Sorry I’m having a little trouble parsing this–who referred to it as social justice “whining”?
Thing is, they used to do this and make it funny. This season was just kind of tedious.
Post #20. Though I was of the understanding that the “W” stood for “warrior” usually.
Just caught up to the finale of this season, and if I understand it correctly, the main plot can be summarized as thus;
[SPOILER] There exists a being or beings that travels from planet to planet, usurping its native population and consuming its resources before moving on. On Earth, it takes the form of Whole Foods Market and commercial advertisement in general. It inserts itself into the pre-existing culture subtly and inconceivably as a way of rendering the natives incapable of resistance once the takeover begins.
When it came to Earth, it saw PC Principal and used him, without his knowledge, as the force by which Whole Foods Market could be inserted into communities worldwide, and through which sponsored content could be dropped into the media so as to distract anyone from realizing the bigger pattern. Ads in human form, like Leslie, were introduced as ciphers who people like PC Principal (and later, Kyle) would trust and promote in order to further promote a self-destructive idealogy where law enforcement would break down, the economy would collapse, people would distrust one another, and everyone would become heavily armed - and if Randy, Principal Victoria, Mr. Garrison, and Caitlyn Jenner had not figured it all out, the eventual result would have been the orgiastic autogenocide of all mankind, whereafter the newly depopulated and freshly gentrified planet would be free for resettlement by its nouveau riche inhabitors. [/SPOILER]
TLDR version; it’s an old-school sci-fi allegory about gentrification, but with more F-bombs. (And when did they start throwing around the F-bomb so casually on South Park, anyway? I missed the last few seasons and I was pretty surprised when I heard them using it so casually in this one.)
The NYTimes just had an article on this season, they are going to longer story arcs and continuity between seasons to stay relevant. How ‘South Park’ Perfectly Captures Our Era of Outrage - The New York Times
Gonna go ahead and bump this… First two episodes of the new season are out and… I’m not laughing. I dunno what it is. I mean, there are a few little things, like how their coverage of the election as just “business as usual” is kinda bizarre*, but for the most part, I just don’t find the jokes funny. The whole “quitting social media as analogy for suicide” thing is phenomenally dumb (Scott Malkinson should quit social media), the idea that a troll could cause this kind of damage and nobody could do anything to stop them stretches suspension of disbelief, and Eric’s whole schtick as a wannabe social justice warrior was just not very funny to me. I feel like a lot of the jokes are just falling completely flat, and it’s not just because my ox is getting gored. The extended trolling scene set to Boston music, for example - what, exactly, is the joke there? And why did it need to drag on for as long as it did? What the hell is up with all the girls dumping the boys over the actions of one troll? That scene just didn’t seem funny, pastiche or not. I dunno, maybe my sense of humor has shifted, but there was so much there that was just really, really unfunny.
*Yeah, the whole “everyone’s an idiot both sides are always wrong” schtick was stupid in the past because on many of these issues, it does very much lead to taking one side, but at this point it just gets kinda absurd. Their characterization for Trump is literally “racist shitlord who wants to fuck people to death” and somehow Clinton is still a turd sandwich to Trump’s giant douche in this example? This ain’t just politics as usual, which makes applying South Park’s usual “everyone on all sides are idiots” schtick not work very well.
I don’t think they’ve ever carried a story arc this long before.
Hey, Old Thread of Mine! I’m still alive!
Yeah, I don’t know what the fuck is going on this year. They seem to be all over the place. No focus at all.
The only time I recall laughing at all was the scene with Cartman in the auditorium prompting girls to be funny.
That was some classic Cartman. But other than that, this season has been a big WTF?
Member when South Park used to do stories contained in a single episode?
They’re clearly trying to shake up the narrative structure, and are writing what’s probably a season-long story in 10 episodes which are not particularly self-contained. I’m interested to see where they go with it all, and I admire them for trying new things and going outside their comfort zone.
I disagree, it’s pretty sharply focused. they’re just focused on a bunch of different groups.
I’m thinking of taking it off my DVR’s schedule. It has really lost it. Not even a shadow of its former self.
I disagree with all you grandpas.
It’s been funny as hell this and the last two seasons… which were serialized also.