Simply by existing on this glorious green earth, one is subject to scrutiny. There is fodder that surrounds us all, and those with wit have the advantage of capitalizing on the opportunity to make fun of others.
Humor is not easy to come by. Some of us are born with impeccable comedic timing and others wallow in a shallow grave of stale gags and mediocre one liners they picked up from a guy funnier than they.
Recently, the shock value of a joke is at a price too high for riches. All the cock talk, dick and fart jokes, and the grotesque animation to date dominates the comedic spectrum and almost drowns out classical stand up gigs and variety shows.
Of course, at the top of this heap of vulgarity and sarcasm notoriously lies South Park. Creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone have crafted the basest farce known to air on syndicated television. The humor is ribald and offensive; an abomination of what the notion of cartoons used to stand for as a wholesome, friendly way to send a message. A modern-day Aesop's fable, if you will. South Park attacks nearly every ethnic group known to man and does it shamelessly and with cutting truth. Lest we forget, their biggest targets are themselves. As an American expatriate, living in Japan has enlivened a sarcastic spirit. In the last few seasons of South Park, my interest was waning and I believed it had lost any sense of real poignancy in it's humor and creativity to do so.
However, my mind is no longer addled by the senselessness of American culture, politics and people, so I therefore seek truth in that which I can bemuse myself. That, or Japanese have no sense of humor I can understand, so I resort to the extreme and inundate myself with potty talk and the patronizing defamation of any living soul.
The one thing South Park doesn't discriminate on is it's fair and equal castration of ethnic groups alike. The Mexicans, Mormons, Peruvian flutists and gays--they get it all the same, and they get it good. Nonetheless, the Japanese more so than other defamed featured foreigners seem to have captured the attention of South Park's creators for several seasons.
Season 7's Japancentric episode, Good Times with Weapons was a rattling spoof on anime and ninja play fighting. The boys' imaginations take them to an anime world where all sense of reality is lost--much like Japan in the sense that people can become so obsessed with the anime otaku culture.
In both episodes, Parker and Stone clearly identify Japanese fads that became mainstream in America. Yet, in the most recent Japan episode from Season 13, "Whale Whores", South Park has seemed to step up it's social commentary game and tried to stir the pot, targeting both the issue of whaling and dolphin killing in Japan as well as the craptastic Discovery Channel show Whale Wars.
It was well-played, and these Japan episodes definitely have a native player on the inside. Word is Trey Parker's wife is Japanese and he can speak the language well. In that case, I'm sure his understanding for the culture is much greater than the average American's. Even if not, he at least made his point that sometimes the funniest ethnic put downs are more elaborate than just exaggerated racial profiling. It is an attack on our own ignorance and maybe those of us too dimwitted to realize have the last laugh.
The one thing South Park doesn't discriminate on is it's fair and equal castration of ethnic groups alike. The Mexicans, Mormons, Peruvian flutists and gays--they get it all the same, and they get it good. Nonetheless, the Japanese more so than other defamed featured foreigners seem to have captured the attention of South Park's creators for several seasons. Starting in Season 3, the episode Chinpokomon aired. "Chinpokomon", in Japanese means "little penis", which is a reference I would have never picked up on had I not recapped the episode in the break room with my American co-worker within an earshot of my Japanese manager who laughed hysterically and proceeded to explain it's meaning.
The episode features knock-off Pokemon dolls who brainwash the children into conspiring with the Japanese to take over America. In the end, the toys ultimately became uncool and the plan to re-bomb Pearl Harbor is aborted.
Season 7's Japancentric episode, Good Times with Weapons was a rattling spoof on anime and ninja play fighting. The boys' imaginations take them to an anime world where all sense of reality is lost--much like Japan in the sense that people can become so obsessed with the anime otaku culture.
In both episodes, Parker and Stone clearly identify Japanese fads that became mainstream in America. Yet, in the most recent Japan episode from Season 13, "Whale Whores", South Park has seemed to step up it's social commentary game and tried to stir the pot, targeting both the issue of whaling and dolphin killing in Japan as well as the craptastic Discovery Channel show Whale Wars.
This episode, like many others, uses a little reverse psychology. They aren't making fun of the Japanese, rather the people who are complaining about the Japanese killing whales and dolphins and believe the Japanese to be a barbaric country full of men dressed in robes who run around spearing things. It only proves American ignorance to foreign cultures such as Japan and exposes such stereotypes through mockery.
It was well-played, and these Japan episodes definitely have a native player on the inside. Word is Trey Parker's wife is Japanese and he can speak the language well. In that case, I'm sure his understanding for the culture is much greater than the average American's. Even if not, he at least made his point that sometimes the funniest ethnic put downs are more elaborate than just exaggerated racial profiling. It is an attack on our own ignorance and maybe those of us too dimwitted to realize have the last laugh.
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1 comment:
brilliant write up...these Japan episodes are too funny!
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