South Park: “Night of The Living Homeless”
I don’t know, something about mocking the homeless has always rubbed me the wrong way. Not to be too sensitive, as any of you who read this site with even a modicum of regularity are well aware that I’m not. But something about mocking the disenfranchised and desperate has always seemed unnecessary. Luckily, my convictions are only so strong. In fact, most would probably label them as weak.
So any episode that features a healthy amount of Ryan Marsh, despite any halfhearted socio-political objections, receives a positive review from me. That guy epitomizes the fumbling TV dad. From accusing everyone of turning “homeless”, to blowing the guys head off to refusing the cherry pop-tarts, he provided most of the comic relief in yet another episode that was overly concerned with something other than comedy (In this case it was parodying George Romero’s Dawn of The Dead).
Was it their best episode? Not even for this season. Did they manage to genuinely satirically reflect our reactions when being approached by panhandlers? To a tee (”Oh, this guy’s a war veteran, I’m going to have to give him some change”). But I would just assume there is something better to satirize Dawn of The Dead with than the homeless.
One element of this show I do enjoy is the contempt the four boys hold for their parents (”These people are just as dumb as the people in South Park, pretty soon our town is going to look like this!”). Its apt in that their parents, particularly Stan’s dad, are utter morons when put in realistic (”Lord of The Rings” video) or mythical situations (fighting the non-human corporate entity of Wal-Mart).
Also, as a footnote, there was yet another early-mid nineties rap reference with Tupacs “California Love”. proving once again, if you were not already aware, that Parker and Stone are Gen X’ers. The first one I can recall was last season and Satan’s Birthday Party with the Notorious BIG interpretation. Perhaps a sign they are running out of ideas and just putting the four protagonists in absurd situations and relying on that for laughs? Nah, couldn’t be.
A recap of last weeks Survivor is coming this afternoon. Stay tuned.
April 20th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
I just stumbled upon your blog. I realize that some people may find this episode offensive, but south park is not making fun of the homeless in this episode. They are making fun of the way our country handles its homeless problem. They just add a layer of violence and crude humor to make the point they are trying to make more subtle.
April 21st, 2007 at 10:44 am
Good point, but only a select few can/will discern those nuances, the average TV viewer or even the average South Park viewer laughs at the expense of the homeless. No one can hold Parker and Stone accountable for the shortcomings of their audience; I suppose I should have conveyed that better in my post.