I love cartoons and had been a constant buff of cartoon network back in India. With shows like Dexter’s Laboratory,Popeye show, Road Runner show, Tom and Jerry etc. topping my favorites list, I still have my friends’ circle who follow these cartoons in great detail and discuss in class and college ( you can’t call us being childish here). Lately ( rather again I should say), I have become an ardent viewer of south park, a comedy cartoon series available now online here. For the uninitiated, it is a comedy cartoon series now screened on comedy central in the USA based on residents of a small nondescript imaginative town called South Park at Denver, Colorado. Created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, its an Emmy wining TV series shows revolving around the life of four school kids, Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski and Kenny McCormick based on themes on latest political news, fads and issues in the US packaged in gross yet funny language. Lot of people just can’t digest seeing a bunch of foul mouthed 8 year old kids doing all (nasty and perverted things) but what 8 years must be actually doing. But I feel, we must transcend a bit deeper in the messages of this cartoon series.
Some of the best episodes include Imagination Land and Warcraft. The former, actually talks on how much that the 9/11 attacks have evaded the American psyche by featuring a terrorist attack on imagination. With public imagination running wildly, the CIA has no other option but to nuke the imagination. A hilarious episode with a strong message. The Warcraft episode talks about the growing craze for video games particularly among kids, who become couch potatoes playing games non-stop and becoming violent as they start emulating the characters and the wonder world.
The show, without any kind of inhibition pulls down all famous characters in the world may it be Bush, Al Gore, Hilary, Britney Spears etc. But what impresses me, the American Freedom of speech. Its absolute here and I guess this series can’t be screened anywhere but the US because the producers would need to spend most of their time appearing for defamation cases or receive constant death threats. I can understand freedom of expressing ones views, but abusing and using foul language..hmm..that needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. But at the end of the day, things turn out to be funny yet naughty.
I am always awed by the blatant contradictions in this country (read as USA). Probably the most immigration friendly country with freedom of expression held so high, but becomes really intolerant with the middle east and is so stereotypical that blames Indian and China responsible for growing food and energy price raises as Bush recently claimed” India’s increasingly prosperous middle class was helping to raise the cost of food“. A country that doesn’t stop its costly stockpiling of crude oil at current $126 a barrel price, that doesn’t exploit more than 5% of its oil resources, whose wall street biggies are kept afloat by sovereign funds from the middle east (if i may use Islam money), whose weak dollar is also responsible for the current price hikes (commodity is proving to be a better hedge against depreciating dollar) and lately doesn’t like growth stories in any other part of the world loves talking of world peace and order.
As in economics, the best thing a government can do, is to not to interfere but allow market forces to take control, similarly on the political scale, lots of issues would be better managed if they are not interfered with. Recently if I may quote the ministry of external affairs statement on US’s advice to India during Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visit to India “Both nations are perfectly capable of managing all aspects of their relationship….It is important that the genius of each nation living in a particular region is respected and allowed to flower to meet the expectations of enriching relations with neighbors“. Funny yet strong right!!
In spite of lingering commotions all over the world, people at large want to lead a peaceful and fulfilling life. So, I guess the possibility of future world war is pretty minimal as mutual dependance for resources would keep bargaining power distributed widely thereby reducing the emergence of power centers.
My piece of advice to this country’s political administration – “Concentrate on technology growth, financial management , keep raising the bars on standard of living, knowledge and continue embracing meritocracy. Stop this rhetoric and believe me, people would respect this nation a lot better – You would then be the real super power!“
Do you guys watch cartoons?
Dei,
I do not watch cartoons but i thoroughly enjoyed reading your viewpoints on “blatant contradictions” in the US and i concur with you. Speculation more than anything else(read as prosperous Indian middle class) has driven higher the costs of oil and food prices. So instead of blaming others sooner or later they should have more regulatory measures in place so as to stop speculation contributing to 60% of the rise in oil or other commodities.Lets hope these things change in the coming days for the betterment of everybody.
-Saravanan
What ever…rupee has crossed the 42 mark..yuppie!
I’ve watched a few episodes of Southpark. I am, by no means, a person who doesn’t use colorful language, but this was, let me see, not shocking, but a little too extreme, if you get what I mean.
I do appreciate the themes and the story that has actually contributed to the episode, some of them are very insightful.
Yup…i try to filter them off
j/k