South Park Conservatives
Brian Anderson, senior editor of City Journal, was kind enough to send me a copy of his latest book, South Park Conservatives. “South Park Conservative” is a coinage of Andrew Sullivan’s, invoking the philosophy of Comedy Central’s hit TV show where characters are more likely to ridicule political correctness rather than observe the PC guidelines so common today. South Park, according to Anderson’s thesis, is typical of how the culture is shifting to a “more critical attitude toward liberal media.”
Bloggers play a crucial role in Anderson’s analysis of how conservatives use alternative media to “revolt against mainstream bias.” Although South Park conservatism has adherents in all ages, it is certainly more common among my generation. In chapter eight he explores the rise of campus conservatives, but notes there are losses as well. Anderson offers this quote:
Recent Indiana University grad (and now law student) Joshua Claybourn agrees: “It’s not uncommon for me to hear, even among conservatives, something like this: ‘I don’t have time for a relationship, so of course I hook up,’” he reports. “And I can count on one hand, among the thousands of students I’ve met, those who refrain from drinking regularly.”
That particular chapter is also offered online at CJ in an article titled On Campus, Conservatives Talk Back. Anderson’s book keenly reports the new media revolution with thoughtfulness and flair. Indeed, Anderson is first and foremost a reporter observing the movement, but he reports with a sense of humor and intelligence not common in the genre. You may order it online through Amazon, Conservative Book Service, or this page which offers comparison prices from various outlets.
This:
“South Park, according to Anderson’s thesis, is typical of how the culture is shifting to a more critical attitude toward liberal media.”
Just after:
As my inbox explodes with emails from people demanding I “learn the ‘liberal media’ line is a myth,” I’d like to note that I’ve never used that phrase, with this story or any other.
http://www.intheagora.com/archives/2005/04/abc_news_had_it.html
Seems as if you use it.
That’s a quote of Mr. Anderson, not me. Further, that is even the first I’ve used in noting another’s quote. Noting the phrase that Anderson uses is far different from me lumping the media in together myself. I do not like the phrase “liberal media.”
I’m not too sure about analyzing SP as a particularly conservative cultural phenomenon. It seems to me to be pretty well beloved across the political spectrum — certainly I know many very liberal philosophers who are huge fans of SP, which tends to puncture the PC dogmas of both the left and the right. (Cf. the recent utterly wicked & utterly hilarious Schiavo-related episode.)
Btw, Jason - Eric’s use of quotation marks and an attribution to Anderson both seem pretty clear to me.
*raises hand* My name is Expertise, and I am a South Park Conservative.
I don’t understand the triumphalism of using “South Park” as an example of “Conservative” media. It’s not conservative as we think of conservatives today.
The key part of the phrase “South Park Conservative” is “South park”… not “conservative.” Mr. Sullivan originally used the term to describe young people who are anti-PC, and anti-leftist wing-nuttiness, but you’ll find that South Park “conservatives” are also far more socially persmissive than anyone you’ll find on capital hill, and about as far away from the “religious right” as can be.
If youre a “Falwell” Republican or think such things as gay marriage will “destroy civilization,” then SouthPark is not for you, and any *true* South Park conservative would make fun of you as much as any leftist hippie.
I can only imagine what Trey Parker and Matt Stone think of their creation being used to somehow indicate the “death” of “Liberal Media” when
TriMT7, as an agnostic, irreligious conservative, I must ask: Do you conflate much? Conservative, “South Park Conservative”, and “religious right” are three different groups that might have some overlap, but cleary are not co-extensive.
The claim is not that South Park is conservative, or even that those who are lableled “South Park Conservatives” all watch South Park. The thesis is that South Park is indicative of an increase in dissatisfaction with political correctness.
Among those who are dissatisfied with political corrections, there are conservatives who are not in lock-step with other conservatives on soial issues but would still like to conserve certain institutions that have proved their worth over time. (The best definition of conservative that I know is that it begins with a presumption in favor of retaining working institutions.)
What’s so hard about this? Everyone on the left, or who might be described as liberal, does not agree on every issue and there are sizeable blocks with similar views who disagree on some other issues.
Sorry for the double-ping :/
The Right Nation
John Jenkins hit it on the nose. My political beliefs fall very close to the center of the spectrum. I lean right on most foreign policy, security and tax issues, but lean left on most social platforms. The religious right creeps me out just as much as the liberal (Ward Churchill variety) left. The allure for me in SPC is an aggressive aversion to political correctness and the way it is used by the media (and yes, I do believe there is a significant left leaning bias among the traditional news outlets). For me, political correctness is little more than a publically acceptable moniker for something that essentially amounts to a particularly pervasive for of social censorship.