South Park
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The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis.
Towards a Theory of Postmodern Humour:
South Park as carnivalesque postmodern narrative impulse
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Screen and Media Studies at The University of Waikato
By
BLAIR SCOTT FRANKLYN
The University of Waikato 2006
Abstract The philosopher Martin Heidegger describes humour as a response to human ‘thrownness’ in the world. This thesis argues that there is a form of humour which can be usefully described as postmodern humour and that postmodern humour reflects the experience of being ‘thrown’ into postmodernity. Postmodern humour responds to and references the fears, fixations, frameworks and technologies which underpin our postmodern existence. It is further contended that South Park is an example of
postmodern humour in the way that it exhibits a carnivalesque postmodern narrative impulse which attacks the meta-narrative style explanations of contemporary events, trends and fashions offered in the popular media. South Park’s carnivalesque humour is a complex critique on a society in which television is a primary instrument of communication, a centre-piece to many people’s lives, and a barometer of
The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). The thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. Authors control the copyright of their thesis. You will recognise the author’s right to be identified as the author of the thesis, and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate. You will obtain the author’s permission before publishing any material from the thesis.
Towards a Theory of Postmodern Humour:
South Park as carnivalesque postmodern narrative impulse
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts in Screen and Media Studies at The University of Waikato
By
BLAIR SCOTT FRANKLYN
The University of Waikato 2006
Abstract The philosopher Martin Heidegger describes humour as a response to human ‘thrownness’ in the world. This thesis argues that there is a form of humour which can be usefully described as postmodern humour and that postmodern humour reflects the experience of being ‘thrown’ into postmodernity. Postmodern humour responds to and references the fears, fixations, frameworks and technologies which underpin our postmodern existence. It is further contended that South Park is an example of
postmodern humour in the way that it exhibits a carnivalesque postmodern narrative impulse which attacks the meta-narrative style explanations of contemporary events, trends and fashions offered in the popular media. South Park’s carnivalesque humour is a complex critique on a society in which television is a primary instrument of communication, a centre-piece to many people’s lives, and a barometer of