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Nen_desharu Since: Aug, 2020
2020-10-15 21:15:03

I agree with you, jjjj2.

As a non-fan and critic, I can say that South Park is definitely cynical much more often than idealistic.

It's considered Juvenalian according to the Other Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire#Juvenalian

Juvenal was fond of using biting sarcasm in his satirical works.

Edited by Nen_desharu Kirby is awesome.
mightymewtron Since: Oct, 2012
2020-10-15 21:17:39

I'd like to know when Trey "tell my family to put a bullet in my head before I turn thirty" Parker insisted his show wasn't cynical.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Dirtyblue929 Since: Dec, 2012
2020-10-15 22:14:52

Yeah, it slides around the scale but usually lands in the cynical end, even when it's saying something uplifting.

miraculous (Apprentice)
2020-10-15 23:57:12

South park is as cynical as it gets. That is a weird edit.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."
jjjj2 Since: Jul, 2015
2020-10-16 05:55:34

Also reading up on the wikipedia article on the crack baby episode, the ending is clearly meant to be a joke, not a legitimately uplifting moment. Like it's using the fact that slash is "santa clause like figure" as a joke as put by sean' o'neal of the av club, and the fact of the matter is the whole episode was about crack babies being used for sport as a metaphor for the NCAA. That's about as cynical as you can get.

You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
jjjj2 Since: Jul, 2015
2020-10-16 13:05:10

Ok I'm gonna to reinstate the old version and site this query.

Edit: I also edited back in the older version of Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism on SouthPark.Tropes R To V.

Edited by jjjj2 You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
HBarnill Since: Mar, 2013
2020-12-05 09:14:09

Ok, so got to see my entry changed. I can list many sources where the creators didn’t intend for it to be a cynical show, if you’d like.

wingedcatgirl MOD (Holding A Herring)
2020-12-05 09:25:43

Listing your sources would definitely be more convincing than just claiming you can list sources.

Suddenly I'm... still rotating Fallen London in my mind even though I've stopped actively playing it.
jjjj2 Since: Jul, 2015
2020-12-05 10:16:58

^Agreed.

Edited by jjjj2 You can only write so much in your forum signature. It's not fair that I want to write a piece of writing yet it will cut me off in the mid
mightymewtron Since: Oct, 2012
2020-12-05 13:08:04

Plus, as per Death of the Author, if the text of the work suggests a cynical viewpoint it doesn't really matter if the creators have a more idealistic viewpoint. You'd need more explanation of the idealistic points of view in the text, not just Word of God.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
laserviking42 Since: Oct, 2015
2020-12-05 14:49:14

Don't even think that Death of the Author needs to be brought into this. Parker and Stone are quite clear in person and in their show that the majority of people are vain, self-involved and quite hypocritical. Think of the Hybrid car episode, where they gloss over the environmental consequences and portray the adults as using hybrids to be complete smug bastards to each other. The episode where the boys accidentally destroy the dam and flood a nearby town, there the adults spend the entire time trying to find someone to blame rather than help. Or even the Manbearpig episode where its portrayed as a given that Gore doesn't care about the issues and is just doing it for attention.

The show is drenched in an overly cynical attitude, whatever idealism they show is just the glaringly obvious (obsessing over celebrities is stupid! Nambla is BAD.

I didn't choose the troping life, the troping life chose me
mightymewtron Since: Oct, 2012
2020-12-05 14:56:31

I mean, I can point to some episodes that are idealistic and even critical of cynicism ("Raisins" is a big one) but the show is built off a dim view of humanity, with only Stan and Kyle really serving as the sane ones most of the time. And the "idealism" you describe isn't even idealism. "Britney's New Look" is morbidly cynical about how society treats celebrities, and the NAMBLA episode isn't really explicitly cynical or idealist.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
HeavyMetalHermitCrab Since: Sep, 2018
2020-12-06 00:09:39

The definition of "cynicism" is "the belief that humans are motivated primarily out of self-interest as opposed to moral principle." If any single word describes South Park's worldview, that is it.

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