XPost: rec.arts.tv
From: barmar@alum.mit.edu
In article ,
"Obveeus" wrote:
> "Thanatos" wrote:
> > "Obveeus" wrote:
> >
> >> "Thanatos" wrote:
> >>
> >> > Barry Margolin wrote:
> >> >>
> >> >> So it's worth risking people's lives to air a cartoon?
> >> >
> >> > No, it's worth risking people's lives to thwart the ability of a bunch
> >> > of psychopathic barbarians to dictate our culture to us.
> >>
> >> Very few people in America would say that South Park is 'our culture'
> >> except
> >> perhaps within the phrase 'South Park is an unfortunate result of our
> >> culture'....kinda like dog fighting videos.
> >
> > Whether one likes the show or not (and since it's been a hit for over a
> > decade and still going strong, I'd dispute your characterization of it)
>
> The show has a few million viewers out of the hundreds of millions of people
> in the USA. it is not representative of US culture.
If that's how you judge it, then hardly any individual piece of art
would be considered representative. The closest would be the Super
Bowl, or in the case of regular TV, American Idol. Is that American
culture?
Others may prefer to use other measures than popularity. There are some
American values that have been part of our culture for centuries. We
can then judge things based on how they match those values. Shows like
South Park and The Daily Show demonstrate how our society allows for,
and even encourages, open dialogue.
It's the old "I may not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend
to the death your right to say it" philosophy. Many people who don't
actually enjoy watching South Park may still feel that it embodies the
freedoms we enjoy, and is a good representation of what American culture
is about.
--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
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