South Park Stereotypes

South Park is an adult animated cartoon that is currently in its 20th year on Comedy Central. The show revolves around the bizarre adventures of a group of four young boys: Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick. South Park debuted on August 13, 1997, quickly becoming the hit it is today. The name “South Park” comes from the real-life South Park basin in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado where the small fictional town is set for the show (IMDb). The boys are far from your normal elementary school children, as they display inappropriate behaviors and often partake in foul language. Drawing in a vast audience, South Park being a controversial show has created a humongous fan base. The appeal that many of its audience members are attracted to is the show’s willingness not to conform to social standards. There is hardly ever a filter on the content the show puts forth. In its early years, the show was believed to be profane and disrespectful to American institutions, as far as saying it was “dangerous to democracy” (Stewart and Clark 321). The writers are aware of the seriousness of the subjects they dive into and they make the matters more digestible for the
Sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender orientation, age, religion, etc. are all stereotypes projected in these shows at one time or another. The quick gags that adult cartoons use generally revolve around the degradation of the LGBT community and implied sexual interactions. In an episode of The Simpsons, a same-sex marriage was the focus of the episode; it was not created to bring people together rather just to poke fun. Al Jean, Simpsons head writer, proclaimed, “We'll offend you whether you're gay or you're straight” (Duralde). Adult cartoons thrive off the controversy they produce; thus, they will continue to create offensive content to remain