Editorials & Other Articles

Uncle Joe

(62,479 posts) Sat Jul 26, 2025, 10:38 AM Saturday

'South Park' didn't just skewer Trump -- it exposed the weakness of MAGA edgelords

If operating under the shallow assumption that "South Park" is a show that exists to mock woke culture, Cartman’s despair could be seen as a meta-commentary.

(snip)

Trump’s baby penis and gay relationship with Satan seems to have grabbed the most headlines, but the true insult to South Park’s MAGA fans came in Cartman’s arc. Cartman, realizing that his entire personality was based on triggering liberals and mocking wokeness, finds that his knee-jerk contrarianism is no longer interesting. Without purpose, he decides to kill himself and Butters. (He does this by trying to asphyxiate them both using Butters’ parents’ car, which turns out to be electric and thus an ineffective suicide tool.)

If operating under the shallow assumption that “South Park” is a show that exists to mock woke culture, Cartman’s despair could be seen as a meta-commentary on the program itself, which in the past has frequently satirized liberals by poking fun at activism in favor of trans women in sports, inclusive Hollywood casting, the #MeToo movement and performative antiracism. But with Cartman’s existential crisis happening as the show fires on all cylinders at a new target, it’s clear that it’s the MAGA-fied edgelords in the audience who should, like Cartman, feel useless.

Like Cartman, MAGA media figures who have built their entire careers painting themselves as aggrieved and silenced victims of a cultural “left” must grapple with who they are now. They are the dog that caught the car.

“South Park” is once again making clear that the show’s humor was never about agreeing with its creators (or anyone) ideologically; it was about exposing phoniness, satirizing moral rigidity, poking fun at bullies and mocking unquestioned power. Trump demanded unquestioned power; he got it. MAGA fell in line. Institutions are falling in line. Now it’s their turn to be mocked.

(snip)

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/south-park-trump-maga-jesus-season-27-premiere-rcna220928

3 replies

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'South Park' didn't just skewer Trump -- it exposed the weakness of MAGA edgelords (Original Post) Uncle Joe Saturday OP

The South Park producers are playing the important role LastDemocratInSC Saturday #1

I've always thought that Uncle Joe Saturday #2

Maddow Blog-The White House lashes out at 'South Park,' signaling Trump's weakness LetMyPeopleVote Saturday #3

LastDemocratInSC

(4,092 posts)

1. The South Park producers are playing the important role

Reply to Uncle Joe (Original post)

Sat Jul 26, 2025, 11:36 AM

Saturday

as court jesters who poke fun at stupid leaders and the situations those leaders create. In the distant past jesters were considered to be moderating influencers who criticised bad ideas and spoke, in a way, for the everyday people outside the halls of power.

Jesters were a time honored role and some probably regretted their comments. But this is a time when their efforts are sorely needed.

Uncle Joe

(62,479 posts)

2. I've always thought that

Reply to LastDemocratInSC (Reply #1)

Sat Jul 26, 2025, 11:45 AM

Saturday

Jesters fertilized the soil for the Enlightenment to subsequently grow.

Without that psychological preparation, we might still be in the Middle Ages.

LetMyPeopleVote

(166,920 posts)

3. Maddow Blog-The White House lashes out at 'South Park,' signaling Trump's weakness

Reply to Uncle Joe (Original post)

Sat Jul 26, 2025, 12:02 PM

Saturday

The more the president and his White House team are rattled by satire, comedians and cartoons, the more they appear weak and pathetic.

The more Trump and the White House whine about satire, comedians, and cartoons, the more they appear pathetic.

For all of Trumpâ€™s efforts to convince the world that heâ€™s some kind of colossus, his whining about comedy makes him look tiny and weak. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-07-25T16:08:52.538Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-house-lashes-south-park-signaling-trumps-weakness-rcna221087

To hear Trump tell it, with all that’s going on in the world, asking about the Epstein scandal was an example of media professionals taking an interest in meaningless trivia. These are serious times, which means serious people should focus on matters of national and global significance.

You know, like “South Park.” Variety reported:

Donald Trump‘s White House has responded to Wednesday night’s explosive ‘South Park’ Season 27 premiere, which portrayed the president begging for sex from Satan and featured a Deepfake-assisted PSA where Trump goes fully nude.

In a written statement, a White House spokesperson said, among other things, that the show’s creators are lacking in “authentic or original content.”

“This show hasn’t been relevant for over 20 years and is hanging on by a thread with uninspired ideas in a desperate attempt for attention,” the statement continued, dismissing the program as a “fourth-rate show.”.....

But just as notable is the degree to which the president and his White House team come across as crybabies and snowflakes every time they invest attention in comedy at odds with their delicate sensibilities.

The more the president and his team are rattled by satire, comedians and cartoons, the more they appear weak and pathetic. For all of Trump’s efforts to convince the world that he’s some kind of strong colossus, his whining about comedy makes him look tiny.

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