The only funny thing about South Park and Family Guy these days is that they think they weren't 100% responsible for Trump.
What I want to know is: what does Mike Judge- the creator of Idiocracy- think of Alex Jones, who he has championed in the past, NOW? Does he still support that dangerous blowhard? Asking for a friend.
Beats me. Looking it up, Judge appeared on Jones' show in 2013. They're both local to Austin and Jones presumably reached out and befriended him. That was awhile ago.
Mike Judge is not a liberal but he's also not a moron, he's a very bright guy. I don't think he's ever gone along with the Republican party line as it exists now. I hear very little about his politics, but I'd call that a good thing in our current climate.
Idiocracy kind of reeks of Hitlerian concepts of Eugenics - that the "wrong people" (trailer trash, and also whites who act black) are breeding while "bright" (and more white/educated/affluent coded) people aren't. Which is gross. But it's also a wonderful attack on the dumbing down of our culture generally, which I think we should all be worried about, as it's certainly a form of control. I like to imagine it as not a Eugenics film but rather being about stupidity in the media and lack of education. That would have been much less problematic -- it's still a good piece of work.
I would never lump Mike Judge in with South Park and Family Guy -- his work hasn't gotten super political and has generally taken the high road, just making fun of what he sees as "stupidity" in general, and celebrating/satirizing the quirks of American life and culture.
The co-writer of Idiocracy, Etan Cohen, definitely spoke out very publicly against Trump, with Judge's permission. The two made anti-Trump ads with Terry Crews' character which were then blocked by Fox. I'm figuring Judge sees a lot of stupidity in the rise of Trump ...
At any rate, South Park taught two whole generations that the only villains in this world are people who clearly care about things -- AKA liberals, 90% of the time. That it's only cool to not care about things and think the world is all some bullshit joke. For them, the "real" enemy has always been Hollywood liberals. And they bleat on and on and make speeches about their view of the world as if it's profound. Sad to see, as their early work showed a ton of comedic promise. If they had kept it non-political, or had any political ideas which weren't awful, I'd still consider them comedy greats.
Seth MacFarlane's work has reinforced any toxic attitude our society has, constantly punching down at women, minorities and the vulnerable and making our society dumber and more foul. He also did an episode "praising" Rush Limbaugh, I'm sure at FOX's request. Sad to see, as he's clearly very talented. He just never took the high road. Not ever. His work was always cruel and mean when it didn't have to be. He now makes angry tweets about Trump, as if he wasn't part of the machine that made Trump possible.
I don't know who wrote it - I think in late 2015 - but this Reddit comment has stuck in my mind since.
Yeah, and Manbearpig was almost ten years ago. What an idiot Al Gore was to think climate change was real.
South Park has always been fundamentally reactionary; those pushing for change are wrong no matter what change they push for. Nothing is a bigger crime to Matt and Trey than Giving a Shit. Their ideology is apathetic-libertarian; whether you're on the left or the right, if you're asking me to change my behavior, you suck.
As it stands, the political left tends to push for more change than the political right does; as it stands, Matt and Trey admit they dislike conservatives and "really fucking hate" liberals. It isn't about left or right; it's about change versus comfort. If you're trying to change something, they think you're annoying. And they think you're lame, because caring about stuff is lame.
It's the same attitude that establishes "u mad" and "butthurt" as the ultimate trump cards in internet arguments: caring is for losers, and if you become personally invested in politics you're part of the problem. Uncritical, detached acceptance of the status quo is the only morally upright posture, and those who draw a distinction between is and ought are all smug bullies, outlandish freaks, and/or closed-minded zealots.
It's a show that teaches its audience to become lazy and self-satisfied, that praises them for being uncritically accepting of their own biases, and that provides them with an endless buffet of thought-terminating cliches suitable for shutting down all manner of challenges to their comfort zones.
South Park is a place where you never have to have your assumptions challenged. It's a place where you're always right, you shouldn't bother to think, and the people asking you to change your mind are annoying busybodies and prigs who should just shut up and leave you alone.
South Park is, if you'll excuse the expression...a "safe space."