MovieBob said:
Out of the Park
You shouldn't turn to South Park for life lessons.
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Y'know, I've learned something today. People shouldn't draw their personal philosophy or political beliefs from a cartoon on TV. We shouldn't rely on other people to tell us what to think, though it is reasonable to be influenced by others' beliefs and consider adopting them ourselves, our beliefs and opinions must always be ours. Culture is not a crutch, and we are each responsible for our decisions whether or not they were on TV.
Wait, this is the life lesson that is consistently presented on South Park, every disaster is caused (or made worse) by a mass response that isn't thought out by anybody...often influenced by television or celebrity.
What South Park provides is exactly what society needs right now, no - not fart jokes, but an eye for critical thinking and a reluctance to
ever side with one side on every issue.
I think it's completely irresponsible to look at
any philosopher / politician / thinker and draw the entirity of your beliefs from them. Most of all that's just lazy, but even worse is that it means the theory/belief is not being tested, just treated with blind faith. Any author/activist who doesn't actively spur and challenge their followers is irresponsible, and a pretty sucky leader. South Park, whatever their personal philosophy may be, acts in this way, and I'm glad the term "South Park Republican" has dissolved as it has.
I'm a bit unsure of these people saying: "Don't take South Park seriously!" because, well, the issues it deals with are serious, and they usually come up with some worrying points concerning them, all of which is very relevant. I wouldn't conflate "No explicit, concrete message," with "Nothing of worth to take away," because they do deal intelligently with issues, and often have something relevant to say that isn't raised elsewhere.
In a nutshell, South Park is fantastic precisely because it lacks a dogmatic message, but that doesn't mean it is 'just a cartoon' and therefore politically or philosophically irrelevant, just that its worth isn't in providing a consistent belief system, only a constant and consistent challenge to
our beliefs and actions.