SOUTH PARK: TOILET HUMOUR PANCHATANT
The American animated series South Park is in its fourteenth season and is gaining grounds with the broadcast of every episode. For all those who are not aware about South Park a brief synopsis is a sure help. South Park is an animated series shown on television broadcasted by the Comedy Central channel in the U.S. It is a satire based on the lives of four eight years old in the fictional town of South Park in the state of Colorado. Now this might sound a bit familiar, a show based on the lives of young children in a laid-back town might seem a bit mundane but one should be aware that these four young boys are not the kind of angel-faced kids with sweet disposition. The boys use foul language with an ease and their adventures are not simple as one could imagine with children of their age.
Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, Stan Marsh and Kenny McCormick are the cultural icons of the decade. They are the ones people in America and the rest of the world can identify with just like us Indians who can identify or relate to the characters from the Panchatantra and other stories from ancient India. These four protagonists are almost real like and the situations they are suck into are at times extraordinary but the humor never loses its sheen even in its fourteenth season. The four boys represent a universal similarity, which is common in almost every society even though the show is set in American society, but the traits are common and one could easily relate to them irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Eric is the most hated yet popular of the four characters. He is racist, obtrusive, and manipulative in addition a bully the kind of which is common in every school environment. All the children in the elementary school hate him and his weird nature can be related to the fact that he comes from a dysfunctional background (his mother is supposes to be a hermaphrodite, a promiscuous person and a crack addict). His target of hatred is his fellow classmate Kyle, a Jew who is the smartest and the most rational of the four and this trait of Kyle makes Eric jealous. Stan is Kyle’s best friend and is almost the same character as Kyle. Kenny is the poorest of them and he dies every episode in a very violent manner. The other characters include their fourth grade homosexual teacher Mr. Garrison, the parents of the children, quirky neighbors, a dubious catholic priest, ignorant red necks, Satan as a sensitive gay individual with Saddam Hussein as his lover and a host of interesting characters that makes the show a fine tune. The adventures include fighting f an invading army of illusionist David Blaine, accusing their parents of molestation, protesting against the Catholic Church for their global domination and many misadventures as well. Each episode varies from one another and at times, it significantly relates to the events happening in real life as well. For example ripping on the 2000 American Presidential elections; sexual molestation of young boys by the Catholic priests; the dubious policies of government; the war against terror; criticizing celebrities for their superficialities; lampooning Tom Cruise for his double standards; spoofing over rated real life events; attacking mainstream media at times for their irresponsible behavior and so on. No stone remains unturned to make the humor acerbic and heavy, and this is the reason the show is so profound in its originality. The two creators Trey parker and Matt Stone make sure that the humor is original and defining ,crossing barriers of censorship even if it has to show Jesus being stabbed in the throat by an eight year old Jewish boy to gain super powers or portraying Mel Gibson as a racist individual indulging in self- torture for kinky pleasure or even to the extent of showing God as a vermin explaining the menstrual cycle to one of the characters.
Now what makes this show tick? The humor is rib tickling and the satire perfect but above all, it is the message that delivers through each episode, which makes it unique. No other show on television has the ability to poke fun at so many figures in a unique way. It raises questions and tries to lift the veil that society as a whole imposes on us. It is more than a satire. It is a social commentary, an exercise of democracy, an assault on things superficial and tabooed and a platform for freedom of expression. It does not spare everyone not even God (god is depicted as a vermin). From Bill Clinton to Paris Hilton the two creators of the show make sure that every questionable aspect of an individual or a group or an institution according to them has the criteria to ridicule at whether they are political figures or petty religious leaders. Like a moral tag line at the end of every episode similar to that of Aesop fables or even our very own Panchatantra South Park puts forward a logical message through one of the four protagonists for every important issue be it homosexuality, racism, abortion, freedom of speech, religious extremism, culture wars, manipulation of the catholic church and etc. For example in one episode titled “Super Easter Bunny Adventure” Jesus comes to earth and declares ‘one man cannot be the voice of the church’ after violently slaying the president of the American Catholic League Bill Donahue (he is shown being sliced into two by a razor sharp discus).
The show’s obsession for things unpleasant can be disgusting for some while at the same time an object of crude humor. Take this for instance, the pilot episode titled ‘Cartman gets an anal probe’, got an overnight cult status. The animation is comprised of simple crude features and the various characters’ shape is simple geometrical figures but the impact made by the voice artists is impeccable. The representation of holy figures like Buddha snorting cocaine or Jesus surfing the net checking for porn sites can be quite shocking for many but there has been no opposition either from the Buddhist community or from the Christian community. However, early this year the two creators did receive death threats from a radical Islamic group for the depiction of Prophet Muhammad in the two hundredth episode of the show. The depiction was in fact retaliation a show of support for the controversial cartoons of the Prophet in some Danish cartoons in a show of defiance against religious extremism. There was nothing shocking in the depiction of the Prophet, it only showed him being used by the various celebrities led by Tom Cruise (a regular victim) to get some immunity from being parodied since no one can get Prophet Mohammed parodied in any aspect possible. Eventually the network heavily censored the depiction and the image of the holy figure blacked out with the word CENSORED all over it. The monologue delivered by Kyle, a positive message for the freedom of speech and expression, which is essential for a civil society was completely beeped out. Nonetheless, the controversy spread like wild fire bringing out to light the very subject of freedom of expression and the question is any religion above criticism?
South Park is modern day toilet humor Panchatantra. It may seem blasphemous to some regarding why something like this which uses farts, tampons, body fluids and other elements deemed dark and spurious by some cultures, can be at the same level as a classic like Panchatantra. The point of the matter lies in the fact that Vishnu Sharma used the stories to teach four unruly princes the virtues of life. Since the days and age are not as same as that of the period during the existence of Vishnu Sharma and his disciples, the moral fabric remains the same. Yes South Park is offensive (it begins with a disclaimer) but the very core of the show is what morality really is in a very non-preachy manner through hilarity and humor. It stands for anti political correctness, it is neither liberal nor conservative motivated. It is about what kids are like when they are without adults, the way life shapes up in a materialistic environment without any definitive objectives governed by prejudices and always judged by the collective consciousness of judging complicated society.
South Park is itself a celebration of democracy, and to be frank and honest is not a crime, and this is the reason why India cannot have a share in this aspect. We proclaim ourselves a democratic society and yet somehow we have lost our will to poke fun at ourselves because we let ourselves to be consumption for the petty politician in power. Vote banks politics govern our secular credentials and it is indeed a shame that our very own democratic culture is at stake. We tend to forget national tragedies within a very short span and yet we pretend we are so sensitive when someone hurts our some aspects or the other that it comes to the open represented through bandhs or violence. Until and unless we can laugh at our flaws and mend it through freedom of expression and prevent all the blame game that we are in so much involved India shall and will remain a nation of ignorant and corruptors.
GAURAV DAS
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