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Comment by drawkbox | Hacker News Reader

Comedy is not dead. Comedy can change minds. Comedy is powerful and attacks the self-important and authoritarianism. Comedy can take on serious challenges in the best way.

> John Cleese in On Creativity said: "the self-important always know with some level of their consciousness that their egotism is going to be punctured by humor -- that's why they see it as a threat. And so {they} dishonestly pretend that their deficiency makes their views more substantial, when it only makes them feel bigger. {John blows "raspberries" with his tongue.} No, humor is an essential part of spontaneity, an essential part of playfulness, an essential part of the creativity that we need to solve problems, no matter how 'serious' they may be. " [1]

Not everyone is appeasing authoritarians, definitely not South Park.

China is Cartman right now "RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!!"

[1] https://youtu.be/Pb5oIIPO62g?t=1544

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Comedy is threatened by corporations and people assuming the position for tyranny.

Maybe corporate comedy. There will always be a joke in dark places. You can find books written from the jokes told by those in the Nazi concentration camps.

Do you have any examples of such books?

"the pessimists are in new york, the optimists are in auschwitz."

source: woman i cared for when working in a home for the elderly. she had a number tattoo.

Comedy faces a greater threat from the "woke" #metoo crowd at colleges and online than any profit seeking corporate entity.

Truth. Ask Chappelle... "You people are the worst motherfucker's I've tried to entertain in my life!"

Why are we conflating "woke" PC culture with #metoo?

One is about being offended by things, the other is about coming forward about having been sexually assaulted or showing solidarity for them.

Let's keep clear and separate distinctions between people being offended and people being raped.

I think they're referencing the mob-like mentality that built up around #metoo, trial by social media etc. See the Al Franken fiasco, for example.

To me women's rights needs to be distinguished from #metoo for this reason, but in any event I don't think the gp comment was totally inappropriate in equating "wokeness" and #metoo as having a large social impression management component (even if you disagree with it).

To be fair for Viacom, they still haven't pulled South Park. In fact, they renewed it until 2022. Yes, they've forced censorship here and there. But when you take South Park as a whole, you'd be hard pressed to find a big entertainment conglomerate who would allow South Park antics. Matt and Trey really don't take prisoners and Viacom has been bank rolling that. They've done what they can to protect themselves legally, which yes, is censorship. But again, to be fair, they're running a business. It would make far more business sense just to shut down South Park instead. So, for that, you can't just totally shit on them. Maybe just a small poo fling. Maybe two. But that's it.

South Park is in a unique situation, because they make fun of everyone, it's less toxic to brands than a show that has offeneded a specific group.

I don't know, I think they pretty much offend everyone poignantly. At such a level I find it hard that a brand, especially these days, wouldn't be scared to be affiliated with them. To their credit, yes, they tend to offend both sides of an issue in a rather honest way. There's a good reason they got a liberal award. They play middle fence pretty damn well... so well the group giving the award didn't know they were republicans.

Still, they do specifically call out groups. I can't think of any that are actually safe or get a pass. I mean, they rag on Christianity and Judaism all the time. Then they do an episode harpooning and calling out atheists & Dawkins for being a bunch of assholes and make the case that religion isn't so bad.

I don't know if we'll ever see another South Park. Tight turn around times on episodes so their content is fresh and relevant. Best example of balanced opinion thus far... as a show where kids swearing and making fart jokes are the tame/mild highlights of the episodes... It's just... I think it's a straight up anomaly, not simply a unique situation. Seinfeld being as long running, successful and "sophisticated" show, that was unique. South Park said "hold my beer" to that and then shits in your hand just to get laughed at by a fat kid with an alien dish satellite popping out of his ass. And we are all okay with it!

> I don't know if we'll ever see another South Park.

We need more, not fewer South Parks.

Not that I agree with their every riff (being of the Evangelical ilk) but their irreverence is as American as the 1st and 2nd Amendments.

We either wear our South Park with pride, or become as Hong Kong or Venezuela or another country people are fleeing.

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