{"product_id":"taking-south-park-seriously","title":"Taking South Park Seriously","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCollection of scholarly essays on the wildly popular Comedy Central show.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSince it came on the air in 1997, Comedy Central's top-rated animated program, \u003ci\u003eSouth Park\u003c\/i\u003e, has been criticized for its crude, scatological humor and political insensitivity. However, the program also fearlessly wades into the morass of American political life as it tackles and satirizes all American sacred cows, including \"political correctness,\" the value of celebrities, ideas about childhood, and the role of religion in American life. In the process, \u003ci\u003eSouth Park\u003c\/i\u003e raises provocative and timely questions about politics, identity, and the media’s influence in shaping American thinking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eTaking \u003c\/i\u003eSouth Park\u003ci\u003e Seriously\u003c\/i\u003e brings together scholars who explore the broader implications of \u003ci\u003eSouth Park\u003c\/i\u003e's immense popularity by examining the program's politics, aesthetics, and cultural impact. Topics covered include the pleasures of watching the show, \u003ci\u003eSouth Park\u003c\/i\u003e's relationship to other animated programs, and the program's representations of racial and ethnic minorities, the disabled, celebrities, children, religion, and education. This book will be of interest not only to communications and cultural studies scholars, but to anyone who has ever laughed along with Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eContributors include Matt Becker, Jason Boyd, Lindsay Coleman, Michael W. DeLashmutt, Randall Fallows, Stephen Groening, Alison Halsall, Brannon Hancock, Brian L. Ott, Marc R. Plamondon, James Rennie, Robert Samuels, Damion Sturm, and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"State University of New York Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54410540286296,"sku":"9780791475669","price":31.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780791475669_36b0247f-e2c3-48b5-a85b-d9059906732b.jpg?v=1777896076","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/taking-south-park-seriously","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}