When is humour which uses ethnic stereotypes and mockery of “others” in film and television, racist and when is it social commentary? Some argue that humour which perpetuates an ethnic stereotype is always unacceptable but other commentators believe that this type of satire is a valid text type which is not discriminatory. Staszak (2008) explains otherness "is due less to the difference of the Other than to the point of view and the discourse of the person who perceives the Other as such”. This discussion will focus on Sienkiewicz and Marx’s argument that the ethnic humour typified in the popular animations South Park and the Simpsons, is evidence of “prejudice as a systematic, social problem” (2009, p. 5).
The New York Times critic A.O. Scott believes that works such as South Park, the Simpsons and the movie Borat, are not racist because “only creators secure (in their) lack of racism would dare to make, or to laugh at, a racist joke” (as cited in Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009, p. 5).
This thinking is mirrored in so-called “Wogsploitation” television and films in Australia, including “The Wog Boy” and “Fat Pizza” which were created by an Australian of Greek origin, Nick Giannopoulos (Speed, 2005). Giannopoulos (Sixty Minutes, 2010) believes that his ethnicity allows him to use the term “wog” as a “term of endearment” which he would otherwise consider to be racist when used by someone of a different background.
First, let’s consider the intended and actual audiences of South Park. Parker and Stone, the creators of South Park, describe their humour as subversive comedy which is a counter to political correctness on television (Sixty Minutes, 2011). When recently interviewed for Sixty Minutes in America, they claimed that their only target audience is each other, "if it makes them laugh, they include it” (Kroft, as cited in Sixty Minutes, 2011).
The themes in South Park, which often parody current news or popular discussion, make the program suitable for an adult audience and this is reflected in the 10:55 pm timeslot on Australian SBS television. The actual audience however includes a strong following of young people: it is an animation featuring primary school age children and young people find the “low comedy” and profane language amusing, even if they are not mature enough to understand the events which have inspired the creators or their satirical intent. Lesley Speed (2005, p. 139) describes low comedy as “vulgar comedy, gross-out comedy” which “alludes to an emphasis on the lower body and also to an association between this type of humour and the lower classes”.
Melissa Hart (in Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009) discusses South Park from a literary perspective and compares the characters in South Park with obscene characters created in classic literature by Chaucer and Shakespeare. Hart categorises viewers of South Park as either “those who miss the point and those who get it” (Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009, p. 6). She contends that intellectuals, including usually politically correct students and faculty staff, have a better capacity to discern the intended meaning of the humour which is "making fun of us - both the people who recognise the ignorance-based stereotypes that humanity has cultivated, and the people who buy into those stereotypes" (Hart, as cited in Sienkiewicz & Marx, p 7).
Hart (as cited in Sienkiewicz & Marx, p. 6) also believes that "(viewers) of an older generation tend to be unable to move beyond the show's crudeness, dismissing South Park as 'coarse and ugly'". The graphically blood-thirsty sequences and scatological humour may indeed appeal more to a younger audience. The question is whether this younger audience has the maturity and knowledge necessary to "get the point". Some of the comments posted on You Tube draw me to the conclusion that many viewers are not interested in the context of the episodes in relation to current events but have a racial agenda.
Dobson (as cited in Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009, p. 7) also uses a literary perspective to interpret the portrayals of Japan and Japanese people in the Simpsons. While Dobson acknowledges that the stereotypical depictions of Japanese people in the Simpsons may inflame anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States, he believes a close examination of the text demonstrates that it is not bigotry but rather an example of Bakhtin’s carnivalesque where “everyone and everything is a target” (Dobson, as cited in Sienkieqicz & Marx, 2009 p. 7). He further argues that as the medium of the Simpsons and South Park is animation, viewers can recognise that the shows are “an opportunity to ridicule and let off steam against the piety of current political correctness” (as cited in Sienkiewicz & Marx, 2009, p. 7).
Like many popular television shows and movies, South Park and the Simpsons are not just broadcast once on television when the theme being parodied is current. As Sienkiewicz and Marx point out, these programs have a life beyond their initial broadcast. This is encouraged by the creators of South Park through its website containing past episodes (only viewable in the United States) and scenes which can be shared through social networking pages and the internet, DVD sales, and sales on iTunes and Amazon video. Scenes are also posted to You Tube by fans (sometimes with edits or additions), a process which removes them from their original context and which can be replayed when that context is forgotten or irrelevant.
An example of this is the clip posted to You Tube, Muslim Sensitivity Training in South Park, which might be argued by the creators of South Park as acceptable because it is a commentary on the Danish Muhammad cartoon controversy and rights to freedom of speech.
The proponents of this comedy argue that we should be looking to these shows and films as text forms which need to be analysed and understood on an intellectual level. They reject claims of ethnic insensitivity in the interests of freedom of speech and justify the mocking of ethnic stereotypes because the perpetuators of stereotypes are also being mocked. They argue that while stereotyping might be socially unacceptable in one context it is acceptable as a text in popular media.
The Muslim Sensitivity Training in South Park video has over 500,000 views since it was first posted to You Tube two years ago and comments are still being posted, many of which are divisive and blatantly racist. These comments have the potential to do as much harm as the episode itself. As Sienkiewicz and Marx state, the comedy in South Park “could be used as tools for those who wish to authentically advance bigoted agendas” (p. 17). Comments posted on You Tube are evidence to me that Sienkiewicz and Marx are correct. Some people are merely enjoying a laugh at stereotypes which reinforce ethnocentrist views in our society.
Astrid
References
IMDb (November 23, 2006). Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443453/
I survived a Japanese game show - The Simpsons parody. (January 2, 2009). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyyq15MNRCI
Muslim sensitivity training in South park. (May 2, 2009). [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNtDrUhcKyQ
Sienkiewicz, M. & Marx, N. (2009). Beyond a cutout world: Ethnic humor and discursive integration in South Park. Journal of Film and Video 61(2), 5-18. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=10&hid=123&sid=8cbc1968-ee88-4201-b695-64749a266181%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=vth&AN=37564154
Sixty Minutes (May 10, 2010). Chat: Nick Giannopoulos. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/webchats/1050426/chat-nick-giannopoulos
Sixty Minutes (September 25, 2011). Subversive, satirical and sold out. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/24/60minutes/main20111044.shtml?tag=currentVideoInfo;videoMetaInfo
South Park vs Islam. (April 25, 2010). [Video post]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEvwfvRpqCA&feature=grec_index
Speed, L. (2005). Life as a pizza: The comic of traditions of Wogsploitation films. Metro, 146/147, 136-144. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp01.library.qut.edu.au/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=123&sid=03c6fb73-1f76-4bb0-b5de-0aa2b448bc61%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=anh&AN=20341207
Staszak, J.F. (2008). Other/otherness. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Retrieved from http://www.unige.ch/ses/geo/collaborateurs/publicationsJFS/OtherOtherness.pdf
