Transgression of Rhetoric of South Park - Essay Example

?Introduction The use of rhetoric in various mediums is able to define and express specific approaches to those that are developing specific ideologies. In some instances, the traditional rhetoric is altered because of the expression which is used. This develops a sense of persuasion and understanding in a way that is able to create alternatives. The transgression that is used among certain mediums is able to create a different message to the audience through the techniques which are used. An example of transgression of rhetoric is with “South Park.” This television show has episodes which are consistent with transgression and applications of what the main expressions are. The transgression is used to express opposition to the current political, social and economic environment, while developing personalized theories from the authors that are expressed in each episode. Transgression of Rhetoric of South Park “South Park” is now recognized as one of the most controversial shows on television. The show aired in 1992 with the “Spirit of Christmas,” which starred Jesus Christ battling his rival Satan. From this point, the show developed into productions based on Hollywood flicks, political controversies and statements which rebelled against the popular culture in society. The approach is one which continues to develop with the issues which are currently associated with conflict in society while approaching these with a sense of cultural and political humor. The approach which has been taken by “South Park” in the last 20 years has developed it as a show noted as an oppositional culture. Instead of defining acceptable in terms of the political and social order, the show transgresses all of the order and opposes every angle with dichotomies and by negotiating the ideologies which are currently accepted in society (Gournelos, 2009: 15). The oppositional culture which is developed from “South Park” is furthered with the transgressions which are developed that rebel against popular culture. The show takes the taboos which are in society and creates these into an episode. The taboos combine the cultural and political cultures that are popular at the time while showing these all as irrelevant and in a space which is not able to create or represent any part of society. The communication which is used is developed by taking apart the popular communication and showing that this exposure is one which does not provide relevant content to the current approaches. By opposing the statements which are made, “South Park” uses the transgression to make an even stronger statement. This is based on how the exposure in popular culture and in politics is irrelevant and is usually a substitute or metaphor toward an issue which is not being confronted or which does not exist at all. The tactic of oppositional culture then creates a transgression that shows another theory the authors effectively express (Pype, 2011: 114). An example of the oppositional culture that is created and the transgression that shows the irrelevance of the points is from the episode “Imaginationland” in season 11. This particular show was defined with the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that began to take over the popular media. The oppositional culture is one which defined the terrorist attacks as non – existent. The opposition was based on the continuous statement by the main characters of the “terrorists taking over the imagination” of those that were a part of the area. This moved into a red alert with the fear that was shown by the government of the terrorists taking over all of imagination land with no recovery. The show leads into not only oppositional statements about the terrorist attacks, but shows the clips as controversial because of the absurd which is used, such as seen in figure 1. Figure 1: Imaginationland The opposition which is created is based on rejection of the theories and media of terrorism. This is combined with the discourse and rhetoric which rejects the political and cultural theories about terrorism while showing that it is a part of the land of the absurd (South Park, 2009: Season 11). The reactions which are created by the government, such as not being able to find the sources and stopping them from the imagination lead even more into the absurd while showing the deeper meaning of anti-trust for the government and how the media and culture has taken extremes with problems such as terrorism. The transgression which is created is not only developed with the approach of the overall themes. The use of animation and storytelling through the narrative also display the same oppositional culture that is related to the cartoon. The storyworld which is created shows the absurdity through the use of the main characters, consisting of four boys that are between the grades of 4 and 6. The boys carry a perspective that shows that they are smarter than their parents while holding an understanding of how the world is seen through their ideas. There are several times in which the smaller boys are seen as the ones that hold the knowledge and understanding that the parents, political leaders and the main establishments are incapable of understanding. This is combined with the smaller boys telling the stories in which they have to find odd ways of getting out of difficult situations that the parents created, specifically because of the problems which are overlooked and responded to in the wrong manner. The narrative and the animation are able to represent the oppositional culture while developing an understanding of the issues which are created (Hongfang, Xiaoling, 2010: 6). Every episode which is a part of “South Park” shows this specific perspective as a format for the transgression and format of narrative. For instance, in season 11, “Night of the Living Homeless” is able to identify the ignorance of those in the communities in dealing with specific issues. The animation first represents the horror movie of “Dusk Before Dawn,” or “Night of the Living Dead,” in which zombies take over the city and are unable to get out. However, the zombies in this episode are those that are homeless. The continuous interaction with the parents is with the fear that one of the parents will turn “into one of them.” The response is that they all begin to shoot each other for being homeless, including their neighbors who may foreclose on a home and their wives that are living with them. The children are then required to stop this from occurring, before the parents all kill each other with the problem being solved by offering change in California. The animation is followed with showing destruction and killing over the change that the homeless continue to ask for, such as seen in figure 2. Figure 2: Night of the Living Homeless This particular episode is able to highlight the narrative of the children and how they see the transgression because their parents are unable to solve basic problems or think logically over what it means to be homeless. The children then become responsible for solving the problem which was created by the definition given by the parents (South Park, 2009). Justification of Actions The narrative, animation and themes in “South Park” use transgression to display a different perspective and viewpoint that opposes and ridicules the problems in popular culture and politics. The first approach to this is through the concept of biopower and biopolitics. The approach taken by the authors is to represent that the powers and politics that are currently associated with every individual, including parents, schools, institutions, popular culture and politics, needs to be re-examined. The assumptions made by each of these individuals is one which the authors show as having no point and often jumping to conclusions that are harmful, rather than helpful or logical to society. The questioning which is associated with each of the transgressions is based on a questioning of the structure of society from the cultural, social and political expectations that are now within society. This provides affirmations to contemporary experience in which there is a voice which can disagree with the current approaches taken among several in society while developing different relationships to the understanding of how this has created more problems than solutions because of the lack of logic or thought that is given with specific problems (Crome, 2009: 57). The biopower which is used with the transgressions is furthered by the symbolism which is used in each of the episodes. This is inclusive of blatant images and approaches which move to a different level of the psychological problems in society. Symbolic violence and outturns in each of the episodes are used to prove specific points. At times, this occurs without any reason and is developed with a state of not paying attention to those who die in “South Park.” For instance, each of the earlier episodes kills Kenny in each episode, only to have him return in the next. The symbolic violence equates through each of the later episodes as well to show the same problem. The symbolic violence and the narrative told is one which shows an opposition to the political and social culture, specifically with defining how the plot line is not only absurd, it also leads to a lack of development, evolution and progression in society. The result is that the power of cultural and political affiliations is leading to the death of the overall culture. The transgression works to show this by ridiculing and violently equating the events with the plot line and thematic events (Cowie, 2011). An example of this is with the “South Park” episode “Canada on Strike” in Season 12. In this particular episode, Canada decides to go on strike because they do not have enough money. As a result, the four boys decide to raise money for Canada because one of their relatives is dying from the strike, specifically which will not be stopped because the political leader has “never done anything of value and completed it.” The rest of the political leaders forget about Canada, leaving them to die while the four boys decide to make money off the Internet. The levels of violence are inclusive of going to sign in for theoretical money from the Internet, in which others in line decide to kill each other off. The symbolic violence continues with Canada continuing to die either from fights or from the starvation from remaining on strike for so long. The depictions are showed in a literal manner, as seen in figure 3. Figure 3: Canada on Strike The “South Park” episode is one which conveys the violence in this literal sense in both instances (South Park, 2010). However, there is a direct link to the symbolism of the violence in conveying a deeper message. This links to the popularity of the Internet having no value. The death of all of the Internet animals shows the lack of value. This is similar to the lack of value which is given to Canada in terms of politics or carrying a voice as a global leader, shown in the lack of interest and continuous death of citizens that no one pays attention to through the episode. The oppositional voice then shows the symbolic violence as a lack of care to the things which are deemed important in other formats of society. Relationship of Long – Term Security The approach which is taken through “South Park” and the transgression which is used defines long term security because it is always linked to the oppositional viewpoint. The episodes are known not only for one oppositional viewpoint but for layers of cultural and political opposition as well as opposing all sides. The directors of these episodes have taken on the theory that if one side is opposed, then no others can have rights over the other. The creators state that they apologize to no one and are justified in creating the same voice against all formats of popular culture. The theory is based on continuously moving against the mainstream and the expectations that are associated with society. The symbolism, biopower and the approaches of transgression are then able to match a variety of angles that are a part of the philosophies of the directors while creating opposition that targets every arena of popular culture, media, politics and associations with social order and groups (Itzkoff, 2010). This creates a sense of long – term security because the opposition within each of these realms is always applicable and always carries a sense of ridicule by those that disagree with the current movements in society and politics. The security that is associated with “South Park” is furthered with the situational responses which are associated with each episode. The process that is used by the directors is based on continuing to look at current issues in the news and among political leaders and responding to each of these with a sense of ridicule (Itzkoff, 2010). This particular approach creates a sense of long term security by taking risks with the voice and using this as the expected approach of viewers. Instead of defending or taking sides, there is the ability to define and contexualize the situations. The situations are then taken and show an oppositional culture that immediately disagrees or humorizes the situation. The audience members who become interested in this may not be opposed to the situation. However, there is the ability to see the perspective which is based on the ability to stop any defenses which are associated with the shows and altering this into situational detournement that shows a perspective that is often not voiced in society (Ball, 1997). Conclusion The rhetoric and expressions which are used in “South Park” are able to show a form of new media that develops a sense of transgression at various levels. The techniques of narrative and animation are used in conjunction with specific themes that immediately create a sense of opposition. This is furthered with rejecting all aspects of current culture and expressing that these are incapable of any good within society. These various themes are repetitive throughout each of the episodes of “South Park.” This works with different types of transgression, such as biopolitics and biopower, symbolic violence and detournement that is used through each of the episodes. The voice which is created is able to ridicule all aspects of society while forming an opinion which rejects all popular forms and beliefs that are within society. By doing this, the directors are able to create expectations from the audience about disagreement while showing a perspective that immediately rejects and shows the lack of knowledge toward every situation. The result is a transgression which formats other theories and beliefs about the current concepts in society and how these are not serving the evolution or development in terms of politics or culture. References Ball, E. 1997. “The Great Sideshow of the Situasionist International.” Yale French Studies 1 (1). Cowie, SE. 2011. “Biopower: Discipline, Symbolic Violence and the Privilege of Hygiene.” The Plurality of Power 31 (2). Crome, K. 2009. “The Nihilistic Affirmation of Life: Biopower and Biopolitics in the Will to Knowledge.” Parrhesia 31 (2). Gournelos, Ted. 2009. Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies of the Tao of South Park. UK: Lexington Books. Hongfang, Lu, Gao Xiaoling. 2010. “Storyworlds: Transgression and Interaction – Digital Narrative Under the View of Transmediality.” Henan Social Science. Itzkoff, Dave. 2010. “South Park at 200: Trey Parker and Matt Stone Apologize to No One.” Arts Beat: The Culture at Large (March). Pype, Katrien. 2011. “Popular Communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture.” Media in Africa 9 (2). South Park. 2009. “Imaginationland.” Season 11. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/season-11. South Park. 2009. “Night of the Living Homeless.” Season 11. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/season-11. South Park. 2010. “Canada on Strike.” Season 12. [Online]. Retrieved from: http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/season-12. Read More