South Park on Abortion: "The Ultimate Cheat"

By Ben Domenech Posted in | | | Comments (38) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

I know not all of you are South Park fans. I'm a huge fan of their work, and as RS editors know, I try to force them all to watch the episodes and marvel at the phenomenal social commentary hidden behind a layer of the absurd and/or the obscene.

The South Park guys aren't conservatives - they're libertarians. But they're awesome libertarians. They hate the global warming preachers, NAMBLA, Jesse Jackson, Hillary Clinton, and save some of their strongest bile for the celebrity political activists - George Clooney, Rob Reiner, Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Streisand. They can't stand politically correct authoritarians and they authored the definitive anti-9/11-truthers response (which actually ends up being kinda pro-W, believe it or not). They've made Al Gore into a walking joke among Comedy Central viewers. Yes, they bash the Catholic Church a lot and they have some cutting remarks about redneck Americans and country music...but their episodes bashing Richard Dawkins and atheism are far more vicious, and amazingly composed.

And they really, really loathe hippies. Really. Like, even more than me. Can't blame them. Their native Colorado has about the worst hippie infestation I've ever seen. There's really no hope for that place.

Anyway, that brings us to Cartman's brief commentary about abortion in the other night's episode - don't worry, nothing horribly NSFW in this clip:

Surprisingly, well, good. Hmm. This isn't a pro-life clip, but it obviously ridicules the idea that abortion is anything but a cop-out that sacrifices another human life to an individual's whim.

There's no reason to think that Parker and Stone meant anything by this other than the context of the joke...but still. It's something. And it's good.

Thanks to South Park Studios awesome redesign, you can now watch a whole collection of clips with the Abortion tag. Most of them are either mocking the selfishness of the people involved, the ulterior motives of those seeking the destruction of human life (particularly the stem cell episodes), or in some cases, using brutally accurate descriptions of abortion to make a gag joke.

I seriously doubt the South Park guys are pro-life. I just think they have a low tolerance for B.S. from either side. And in this case, most of the B.S. isn't on our side.

That's a funny clip though. Classic Cartman.

Anyway I can't help but think about the real politics here though. They have Cartman tell the classic lie that the key consumer of abortions are "rich white" Republicans, secretly sneaking off and being the horrible, horrible hypocrites we all are supposed to be.

Every stat though shows that to be a complete lie though. This source says that a full 40% of the girls are not "white." That leaves 60%, when the figure is 77% for the general population.

Why the gap? Does skin color determine support for abortion? Doubt it. It's the poor girls getting abortions: "by 2000, the rate of abortion among low-income women was nearly double that in wealthy women." (source).

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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater

Great point by Ben Domenech

And very accurate.

And according to the most recent source from AGI, a full 59 percent are not white. Blacks are almost five times more likely than whites to have an abortion (much to Planned Parenthood's delight).

Right you are. by Nobama

Praise the middle class and above! They've figured out that the two easiest ways to avoid getting stuck raising a kid as a single mom are: (1) waiting til marriage, and (2) using birth control.

Now I prefer the former. But even if someone else chooses the latter, at least we don't have girls sneaking off to kill an innocent human being. And then spending the rest of their lives wondering if they're morally different from a serial killer.

Proudly supporting John S. McCain for President (McCain/Romney?)

South Park by dlussier

My favorite one is the Christopher Reeve episode. I love South Park and how they take an idea to some actually logical conclusions to some arguments. Great Post.

That's how I regularly describe SP. I get a lot of funny looks for that, but I believe it all the same.

You are absolutely right. Its pretty much the only show which is an equal opportunity offender (I like Penn & Jillette too in this regard.) It is the most sarcastic, the most topical show, and I try not to miss any episode. Sure, they will take aim at Republicans too (the one in which Kenny is in a vegetative state), but at least they dont pretend to be fair if they are not... and they are.

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Is it because I is black? - Ali G

Penn and Teller, for instance, were the spark behind the atheism two-parter. They got very mad when they found out Parker and Stone were not atheists, and their friendship ended over it.

That disappoints me by Neil Stevens

Penn Jillette always struck me as the kind of guy who might actually have a rational position there, but if he *ends a friendship* over it, he sounds more like an anti-theist than an atheist.

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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater

He stated unequivocally on Glenn Beck's show that he would never allow Beck into his house because of his belief in God.



Fighting for conservatism one day at a time.

South Park is not brilliant social commentary it is profound social commentary.

...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...

---Thomas Paine---

And I just about died when the above clip played. I could not believe my ears that Comedy Central would let this play on their air. The network of Stewart/Colbert/Li'l Bush let this on?!? Maybe they think South Park at least provides some balance/cover for the network.

I do watch the show regularly, and I will say they do take swipes at everyone, but I agree they seem to go after the left more (maybe because they have more bovine excrement?!?).

My favorite episode is still their first one (Cartman Gets An Anal Probe - sorry for the language, but that is the name of the episode). But the episodes with them mocking Family Guy with a special guest appearance by the Prophet Mohamed(sp?) was absolutely fabulous social commentary (Cartoon Wars Parts I & II). And also their "Hurricane Katrina" episode was very biting, especially the part with the reporter (Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow).

Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.
-- Pericles (430 B.C.)

"Free Government Requires Active Citizens"

www.missouriyr.com - Missouri Federation of Young Republicans

You know, with Seaman Sea-Man.

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for the entirety of Seasons 10 and 11.

(Odd, as Comedy Central wouldn't allow Mohammed to be shown in the "Cartoon Wars Part II" episode, yet he actually was anyway)

"No matter how much lipstick you put on the taxation pig, it's still a pig... and it's currently snout-down in your wallet." - Michael Fisk

One quick addition... by mikefisk

In that character montage at the end of the theme song, Mohammed is standing next to Satan, no less.

Coincidence?

"No matter how much lipstick you put on the taxation pig, it's still a pig... and it's currently snout-down in your wallet." - Michael Fisk

Where Cartman discovers the money he can make off of human embryos. He is sitting at a big executive desk wheelin' and dealin' in aborted babies.
Kind of gross yes, but it was a great joke against abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
Shoot, did I just admit to watching South Park? It really is great mindless entertainment.
MelZ

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San Francisco and see all those wacky libs smelling their own farts. They go too far for my tastes (often) but there is no escaping the power they possess to trash everything liberal. I'm glad they're successful, because they reach the younger generation in a way most conservatives can't. They see South Park as cool and start them questioning liberal premises at a younger age.
Tim Schieferecke

I loved the other clip from the same show talking about the Patriots cheating :)

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than they are about abortion. Nonetheless, it was very interesting.

------------
The Red Sox Republican: Burkeanism, Baseball, and Sundries.

Yep, one of the Bronco's is Cartman's mother.

...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...

---Thomas Paine---

"Land of the Free and Home of da Whopper" Peter Griffin...Family Guy

conform and celebrate diversity....or else!!!

...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...

---Thomas Paine---

I know no women who can stand the show.

You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.

that women have a defective sense of humor, after all women don't like the Three Stooges either.

"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle

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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater

Ugh. Stooges by Raven

Give me some classy humour, like Cosby or Engvall or Foxworthy...

Or, failing that, mindless comedy, like Monty Python.

"Guns don't kill people...
"...But they sure help!"
-Paul Giamatti, Shoot 'Em Up

Monty Python, Mindless? by Neil Stevens

Bring out... the rack!

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"If we want to take this party back, and I think we can someday, let’s get to work." – Barry Goldwater

"Soft cushions!" by Raven

Either that or the "Comfy chair!" And don't forget about tea time.

"Guns don't kill people...
"...But they sure help!"
-Paul Giamatti, Shoot 'Em Up

Wink wink.. by speciallist

nudge nudge...
say no more!

My sister loves it by Ben Domenech

But she has a sense of humor refined by years of Monty Python.

I know several women that wear the South Park t-shirts. Heck, one of these ladies is a colleague of mine who constantly references the show to her students.

...a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right...

---Thomas Paine---

However, my wife is the one who got me watching it. The first gift I bought her even before we started dating was Season One on DVD. So there is at least one other woman who appreciates it.

I LOVE SouthPark by QueenOfCups

I am not a fan of animation, and initially dismissed it as just another Beavis and Butthead, but then a saw an article about Team America, watched it, loved it so decided to give SP a try - I caught the Cartoon Wars episodes - and was really bowled over.

PS I was a big Monty Python fan back in the day as well.

Beavis and Butthead. It was comedy gold. And, like Southpark the show made fun of liberalism.

"Nothing works like freedom, Nothing succeeds like liberty"
Kyle

My wife and I watched the episode last night, which is unusual for her. Since she hasn't seen Stand and Deliver, the spoof was lost on her ("What does the scoreboard say?!"), but how could you not laugh at Mr. Garrison's "mouse"?

"Austere, intolerant, well-armed, and blood-thirsty, in their own regions the Wahhabis are a distinct factor which must be taken into account" - Winston Churchill, 1921

And everyone was going off about how funny it was since it was all about little kids cursing.

Needless to say, it was 5 years ago that I finally turned it on to see what it's all about and I try to catch the new episodes now (especially after the episode about the Nintendo Wii and "Oh! My Science!")

"Guns don't kill people...
"...But they sure help!"
-Paul Giamatti, Shoot 'Em Up

where they mock Obamania. It might finally get the point across to Gen Y'ers that he is not some oricle.

McCain '08


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