Subliminal South Park
For many years now, from the birth of rock and roll music, to video games, to violent TV, to the present, the various talking heads of bourgeois political analysis are always trying to divert the people from the root causes of social problems by blaming various media sources. Violence in Movies and television, video games, rock and rap music, and other pop-culture media sources are blamed for every social problem in our society, from violence to drug use, suicide, etc, etc.
Of course, I would say that this is mostly rubbish. While certain media can be influential to young people, this is a cop out to avoid the system itself assuming any responsibility for the social alienation of the youth, and the breakdown of the society. This is a smoke-screen to bale out the system itself, propagating the fairy tale that "Capitalism works".
I will agree, though, that certain media is having an adverse effect on our society. The media that I speak is not a symptom of the decay of capitalism, but rather one of the agencies used to prop it up. In all forms of propaganda, the agenda of capitalism is promoted, more so now than ever before. Of course you would expect nothing less than the propagation of the official line of the capitalist class from bourgeoisie news sources ( FOX, CNN, BBC, CBC, etc...). The problem, however, is not only coming from the news sources; it is coming from the entertainment sources.
Of course, the infamous television show, "South Park", comes to mind. Granted that South Park can not seem to win, as the political right wing has been mercilessly blaming them for every sort of problem affecting the nation. Of course, now some of the right wing are a little more sympathetic to South Park. This makes more sense to me anyway, because I have never seen South Park as anything but a backwards neo-conservative mouthpiece.
The American right wing is finally starting to embrace South Park as the conservative mouth-piece that it is. This is the new way to spread their message to the youth; rather than coming right out and saying it, they serve their reactionary tripe to the masses in the form of humour and entertainment. Of course, as I have said, the political right-wing are masters of the art of propaganda; the best kind of propaganda is the kind of the subliminal nature.
Of course, South Park creators deny that they are right-wing, and indeed many South Park episodes feature moderately progressive themes , such as stem-cell research, gay marriage, and they took a some-what progressive stand on the post-9/11 hysteria, commenting on the situation in Afghanistan. Still, a few liberal stances are not enough to redeem them of the recurring agenda of the series.
Of course, the show preaches recurring denial of the existence of global warming, scoffs at any possibility of 9/11 being a conspiracy (without providing any rhetoric,), bullshit lampooning of the the Cuban government in the Elian Gonzales incident, lampooning regime change in Cuba,
taking an stance in favour of rain forest de-forestation, taking a stance similar to the conservative rags like the "Western Standard" on the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, not to mention re-curring homophobia and anti-semitism.
South Park is more dangerous than the news. The news presents the line of the bourgeoisie up-front; South Park cloaks it in entertainment. As always, who benefits? Who is benefiting from the on-going opposition to the existence of global warming on South park? Sounds pretty similar to the line of George W Bush and the oil barons. Of course, if an oil baron came on TV and said it, you would be skeptical. Who is benefiting from the opposition to 9/11 conspiracy theories (South Parks take on the conspiracy theories are that they are propagated by the government of the US to maintain the illusion of control; this is the exact same theory used by UFO enthusiasts.)?
If the government wanted to propagate the line of 9/11 conspiracy theories, they would flood the media with it, rather than constrict it.
Of course, South Park isn't the only culprit. "The Simpsons" is also guilty, with their wonderful
episode on China, where they assert that Mao "killed 100 million people" and made many references to Tibetan nationalism, which is a recurring theme on the show. In the words of Homer Simpson, "Communism works!...In theory!" Don't even get me started on "King of the Hill", with their propagation of regime change in Cuba, resistance to feminism, continuing portrayal of their only aboriginal character as an adulterer, and staunch support of Bush during the 2000 election, etc, etc(What can you expect from a FOX program?).
In films, you have "Team America: World Police" (Also by the creators of South park),
which defends aggressive American foreign policy and ruthlessly slanders the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. As always there are the James Bond movies, invented to attack communism, one of the most recent features both the DPRK and Cuba as the villains.
As I have said before, in it's many clashes with the forces of revolution, capitalism has gained experience; it is smarter. While in the 50's the US media would accuse communists of worshipping Satan, they now have to accuse them of human rights violations. While in the 50's
the line of the reactionary class was presented in full to the masses, now they are disguised in media and popular culture.
Beware comrades. As Mao said "In the world today, all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines." Beware even the most frivolous media, Comrades. I assure you, all media is monopolized by a handful of capitalist magnates, and is used to reinforce the system. This is why I write my blog. I try to present a view of the world, un-tainted by bourgeoisie political analysis and propaganda.
I' m not saying that South Park should be shunned; I'm only saying, take it with a grain of salt; It is very entertaining, but it is a mouthpiece of the bourgeoisie. In the meantime, support the truly independent press, and look for many perspectives on all issues.
Free your minds, comrades!
Of course, I would say that this is mostly rubbish. While certain media can be influential to young people, this is a cop out to avoid the system itself assuming any responsibility for the social alienation of the youth, and the breakdown of the society. This is a smoke-screen to bale out the system itself, propagating the fairy tale that "Capitalism works".
I will agree, though, that certain media is having an adverse effect on our society. The media that I speak is not a symptom of the decay of capitalism, but rather one of the agencies used to prop it up. In all forms of propaganda, the agenda of capitalism is promoted, more so now than ever before. Of course you would expect nothing less than the propagation of the official line of the capitalist class from bourgeoisie news sources ( FOX, CNN, BBC, CBC, etc...). The problem, however, is not only coming from the news sources; it is coming from the entertainment sources.
Of course, the infamous television show, "South Park", comes to mind. Granted that South Park can not seem to win, as the political right wing has been mercilessly blaming them for every sort of problem affecting the nation. Of course, now some of the right wing are a little more sympathetic to South Park. This makes more sense to me anyway, because I have never seen South Park as anything but a backwards neo-conservative mouthpiece.
The American right wing is finally starting to embrace South Park as the conservative mouth-piece that it is. This is the new way to spread their message to the youth; rather than coming right out and saying it, they serve their reactionary tripe to the masses in the form of humour and entertainment. Of course, as I have said, the political right-wing are masters of the art of propaganda; the best kind of propaganda is the kind of the subliminal nature.
Of course, South Park creators deny that they are right-wing, and indeed many South Park episodes feature moderately progressive themes , such as stem-cell research, gay marriage, and they took a some-what progressive stand on the post-9/11 hysteria, commenting on the situation in Afghanistan. Still, a few liberal stances are not enough to redeem them of the recurring agenda of the series.
Of course, the show preaches recurring denial of the existence of global warming, scoffs at any possibility of 9/11 being a conspiracy (without providing any rhetoric,), bullshit lampooning of the the Cuban government in the Elian Gonzales incident, lampooning regime change in Cuba,
taking an stance in favour of rain forest de-forestation, taking a stance similar to the conservative rags like the "Western Standard" on the Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, not to mention re-curring homophobia and anti-semitism.
South Park is more dangerous than the news. The news presents the line of the bourgeoisie up-front; South Park cloaks it in entertainment. As always, who benefits? Who is benefiting from the on-going opposition to the existence of global warming on South park? Sounds pretty similar to the line of George W Bush and the oil barons. Of course, if an oil baron came on TV and said it, you would be skeptical. Who is benefiting from the opposition to 9/11 conspiracy theories (South Parks take on the conspiracy theories are that they are propagated by the government of the US to maintain the illusion of control; this is the exact same theory used by UFO enthusiasts.)?
If the government wanted to propagate the line of 9/11 conspiracy theories, they would flood the media with it, rather than constrict it.
Of course, South Park isn't the only culprit. "The Simpsons" is also guilty, with their wonderful
episode on China, where they assert that Mao "killed 100 million people" and made many references to Tibetan nationalism, which is a recurring theme on the show. In the words of Homer Simpson, "Communism works!...In theory!" Don't even get me started on "King of the Hill", with their propagation of regime change in Cuba, resistance to feminism, continuing portrayal of their only aboriginal character as an adulterer, and staunch support of Bush during the 2000 election, etc, etc(What can you expect from a FOX program?).
In films, you have "Team America: World Police" (Also by the creators of South park),
which defends aggressive American foreign policy and ruthlessly slanders the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. As always there are the James Bond movies, invented to attack communism, one of the most recent features both the DPRK and Cuba as the villains.
As I have said before, in it's many clashes with the forces of revolution, capitalism has gained experience; it is smarter. While in the 50's the US media would accuse communists of worshipping Satan, they now have to accuse them of human rights violations. While in the 50's
the line of the reactionary class was presented in full to the masses, now they are disguised in media and popular culture.
Beware comrades. As Mao said "In the world today, all culture, all literature and art belong to definite classes and are geared to definite political lines." Beware even the most frivolous media, Comrades. I assure you, all media is monopolized by a handful of capitalist magnates, and is used to reinforce the system. This is why I write my blog. I try to present a view of the world, un-tainted by bourgeoisie political analysis and propaganda.
I' m not saying that South Park should be shunned; I'm only saying, take it with a grain of salt; It is very entertaining, but it is a mouthpiece of the bourgeoisie. In the meantime, support the truly independent press, and look for many perspectives on all issues.
Free your minds, comrades!
posted by RedJulie at 5:47 PM
2 Comments:
Thank you very much, comrade
I'm having trouble accessing your blog...Is blogspot giving you any trouble with the address?
I have to say, your post is really quite encouraging. While it is impossible to know the precise amoun to people who visit my blog, and I do have a few regulars, mostly I rely on people leaving behind comments.
As far as your position right now, i want you to know right off of the top, you're not alone.
When I was a 16 year old communist in my tiny town in the conservative canadian province of Alberta, it was difficult. I was threatened and mocked by my classmates, persecuted by my teachers, alienated from my friends and family, and harrased by state police forces. All that I can say is, be strong and walk tall. I will keep posting on my blog for as long as I can, and I will continue to organize and educate every day. Organization is also the key.
Do you have an e-mail address?
Allright, Live the Revolution,
Comrade RavenBlade
I always interpreted South Park and Team America to blatantly make fun of right-wing fascist politics. Especially Team America. "America! Fuck YEAH!" If that's propaganda for the government then I'm a moose. They're intentionally stereotyping both sides to ridicule the view that the average american idiot has.
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