In this book, the author Brian Cogan discusses the most controversial television shows in history,

As something people tend to hold the most dearly, culture can be a sensitive topic to discuss and engage in. Often, it is made even more difficult due to issues of the past and the way different cultures influence one another. Moreover, the concepts of cultural assimilation and mainstreaming have brought light on problems regarding the treatment of minority cultures within American culture, specifically with the use of stereotyped imagery and hijacking outside cultural ideas. The issues of cultural stereotyping and assimilation, as seen in South Park, have garnered attention due to the nature of offence and its subjective nature.

Living by the restrictions that society places upon us, humanity is constrained to follow rules. Television writers were forced to write a certain way and were forced to leave out information that society would deem as improper, rude, and even racist. However, in 1971, a groundbreaking American television sitcom broke through societal boundaries and transformed the way that the American audience viewed television. Engulfed by the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, fight for women's right, and the Watergate scandal, Norman Lear persevered through stereotypes and entertainment norms with his show All in the Family. This show approached its audience in a very blunt and crude manner; it made conflict the center of its comedy. It dealt with contemporary cultural issues in a relatable way, which blue allowed blue-collar workers to learn about their current everyday issues and concerns. Through his show All in the Family, Norman Lear highlighted sensitive topics such as racism, bigotry, and sexual relations to prove that they are still alive in our country; thus, Norman Lear is an agent of change by bringing awareness to social issues.

“Cuss Time” by Jill McCorkle, applies that you should have the freedom to use strong language to make fiction reality in a story. McCorkle tells a story in the first paragraph about a moment her father experienced from back in his days, as a mail carrier. A little boy who was dirty and “severely marked by poverty and neglect,” called him an “old son of a bitch.” Her father recognized the boy's reality of anger and toughness, in hope of finding a better place. McCorkle discusses her and her son's experience with the strong language, related to religion, and Lenny Bruce pushing his freedom of speech.

In the first chapter of The Rhetorical Power of Pop Culture by Deanna Sellnow, the author defines popular culture and explains the importance of studying the subject. Sellnow begins with a short explanation of ethics to convey that the influence popular culture has is not always used ethically. Secondly, Sellnow compares the different contexts of culture, elitist and diversity, to explain what popular culture is not. Popular culture is compiled of everyday things that influence people through subtle messages such as what is appropriate and inappropriate, good and bad, and so on.

Popular culture is the artistic and creative expression in entertainment and style that appeals to society as whole. It includes music, film, sports, painting, sculpture, and even photography. It can be diffused in many ways, but one of the most powerful and effective ways to address society is through film and television. Broadcasting, radio and television are the primary means by which information and entertainment are delivered to the public in virtually every nation around the world, and they have become a crucial instrument of modern social and political organization. Most of today’s television programming genres are derived from earlier media such as stage, cinema and radio. In the area of comedy, sitcoms have proven

Are television series becoming more popular? The very reason for choosing this topic is indicative of how important T.V. shows have become. Today, the people working on the small screen are no less famous and rich than the stars working in movies. Yes, that same old idiot box, vast wasteland, cheap babysitter has creatively matured and pinned down movies to the mat of popular culture. In spite of being similar, they are different as T.V. series go in much depth, have a lower production cost than movies and also have thought-provoking work which is intrinsically difficult to find in movies. They also provide a more satisfying emotional experience.

Since its start, the television industry has been criticized for perpetuating myths and stereotypes about African-Americans through characterizations, story lines, and plots. The situation comedy has been the area that has seemed to draw the most criticism, analysis, and disapproval for stereotyping. From Sanford and Son and The Jefferson’s in the 1970s to The Cosby Show (1984) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the 1990s, sitcoms featuring black casts and characters have always been controversial. However, their significance upon our American culture cannot be disregarded. During the 1950s and 1960s, 97% of the families were Caucasian. In the first five years of the

With each and every new social issue that arises, there is a chance South Park will dip its hand into

South Park has been around for a while now. Since it was aired for the first time on 13th August 1997, the show has constantly pushed the boundaries taking on everything, leaving out nothing. The reception among the wider population and the media had a wide range from “shocking” to “excellent”. One of the aspects of this success story is that, because of its provocative tone the show has managed to stay in the limelight. Public debate was evolving around certain episodes, bringing more and more attention to the show. As it was constantly picking up contemporary themes, topics or events, expectations were growing and “ 'How will South Park deal with x ' has become a common catch phrase” (Johnson-Woods 257). Another

Ever since 1997, South Park has revolutionized the cable TV scene as a profane and obscene program that isn’t afraid to mock religious, political, and cultural topics and not get away with at least offending somebody. Throughout its twelve seasons, some of the most prominent events in pop culture have suffered the wrath of ridicule from the show’s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, and succeeded in making millions of Americans laugh until they cry. The creative genius behind these cultural and controversial statements has exalted the series to iconic status in our entertainment industry for its satirical voice in each episode. Throughout its ten years on air, South Park has broken multiple political,

South Park, the animated TV series aired on Comedy Central was created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker and is one of the many new shows that involve animation with high-level adult comedy that parodies current events going on across the United States and throughout the world. South Park is just one of many new shows that involve this sort of high end entertainment and they are taking the television ratings by storm. This show, along with others of its nature such as Family Guy, The Simpsons, and King of the Hill are all extremely controversial in nature and in regards to the situations portrayed on the television screen. These shows have gotten consistently more obnoxious, racial, and detrimental

South Park is a television show that was created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It circumvents the lives of 4 boys namely Eric Cartmen, Kenny McCormick, Stan Marsh and Kyle Broflovski around the town of Colorado. This show mainly aims at picking up various stereotypes in different societies and making fun of them. It is highly racist and makes fun of different genders and performs the act of gender

Summary Marcus Schulzke’s article “South Park and the Transformation of Meaning” looks at a particular episode, “The F Word” and explores its impact as well as its comment on society. Schulzke begins by commenting on South Park’s history of satire and by pointing out that the show’s creators generally avoid adamantly propagating the ideas on one side of an issue. He also makes a point that the writers “consistently favor gay rights and oppose censorship”, so when the two issues come up in one episode they will be sure to make a strong argument. The article then goes on to provide a synopsis of the episode while simultaneously addressing the questions and moral dilemmas that the content brings to the surface.

Tropes South Park is an animated television comedy for adults. The criticism and the controversy of the film, as well as its success, have brought about the tropes in the television comedy film. To begin with, Brent and Peggy argue that the film is not dedicated to children as the producer of the film says (Arp, 17). This is because there is a general humor that is not suitable for young viewers as there is a negative description of the liberal causes as well as a comic effect on religion that has generated controversy causing debate. They argue that it is dangerous for democracy.

The difference between the intended meaning of media texts and what the audience actually perceives can be shockingly different. Producers of media can do everything possible to force audiences to experience their work in the way they want them to, but in the end they still take away many different meanings even within the same audience. Stuart Hall outlines this in his encoding and decoding model. One of the most apparent examples of this is the television show South Park. The television show South Park is a media text with the producers’ preferred meaning of being decoded as joke or as being satire, but many audience members take an oppositional stance of taking it seriously. This is clear from the examples of controversy when South Park aired episodes focused on Scientology, red-headed people, and Islam. Through these examples it is demonstrated that the producers of media have less power compared to the audience in determining the meaning of media.