Blasphemous representations: Celebrities and the carnivalesque in South Park.
Date
2014-01-30
Authors
Van Jaarsveldt, Robyn
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Abstract
‘Blasphemous Representations: Celebrities and the Carnivalesque in South Park’ is a Masters dissertation that examines the tripartite of South Park, celebrities, and the carnivalesque. This research argues that the animated television series South Park uses laughter and humour to unpack the absurdities of celebrities and public figures which operate within a liminal space of excess. The literature review refers to academic literature focusing on South Park and briefly discusses the series in relation to cultural studies, popular culture, and television and film theory. This discussion develops into a focus on literature on celebrity culture, the genre of satirical animation, and the relationship between laughter, humour and the comic devices of satire and parody. Key elements become evident and are theoretically adapted for the theoretical framework. The idea of the methodological pleasure of South Park is developed, suggesting that there is a sense of pleasure for the audience in decoding the intertextual references and allusions. The selection anthology of celebrities resulted from a process of elimination, ranging from popularity to the type of categorisation of fame of the celebrity or public figure. The analysis focuses on three thematic concerns: contextual identity and play, billingsgate language and ambiguity, and the grotesque and obscene body. In the end, however, the main argument is substantiated through an analysis of the ambiguous nature of carnivalesque laughter used in South Park. This suggests that the critical laughter directed at the ‘celebrities’ and public figures (represented in the series), is simultaneously directed at its audience.