Generation South Park, Generation Y Conservatism
NewsReal’s Chris Yogerst is currently blogging about Comedy Central’s satirical cartoon South Park. Chris’s focus: the show’s relationship with “Generation Y Conservatism,” an emerging ideological orientation among those born between 1980 and 1995 who are just beginning to emerge onto the political scene.
What is Generation Y Conservatism? There’s no clear answer yet. It’s up to those of us in Generation Y to define it. And we’re beginning that discussion here at NewsReal Blog. NRB features the writings of numerous Gen Y conservatives in addition to Yogerst: Tim and Alissa Birkel, Calvin Freiburger, Alex Knepper, Nichole Hungerford and editors Michael van der Galien and David Swindle. That Gen Y Conservatism has developed in the constant shadow of the cable news culture is another reason why NewsReal Blog is an appropriate venue to begin this discussion. Unlike previous generations, for as long as we’ve been politically aware the cable news matrix has played a role in shaping our understanding of the political landscape.
This page will feature links to all of the entries in Chris’s series as well as other articles on the subject of Generation Y Conservatism by NewsReal’s bloggers and others. If you’ve written an article or a blog post about this subject then please use the contact form below so it can be added to our collection. Likewise, if you would like to submit an article for NRB to consider adding to this collection please get in touch.
Chris Yogerst’s Generation South Park Series
- Part 1:Butters Goes to ACORN
- Part 2: Stan Takes On Sissy Environmentalists
- Part 3: Cartman Gives Wendy the Glenn Beck Treatment
- Part 4: The Rise of Stealth Conservatism
- Part 5: The Left’s Assault on Literature
- Part 6: Tweeting ourselves Towards A Room Temperature IQ
More Articles About or Relating to Generation Y Conservatism
(Most recent articles are on top)
- NewsReal: What Does David Frum’s New Majority Name Change Say about the Conservatism He Advocates? By Michael van der Galien
- Calvin Freiburger Online: Generation Y Conservatism
- NewsReal: Why So Many on the Right and the Left Can’t Figure Out How to Deal With Glenn Beck By David Swindle
- NewsReal: How Will Generation Y Distinguish Itself on the Conservative Chessboard? By David Swindle
- NewsReal: Understanding, Accepting, and Finally Celebrating the Conservative Chessboard By David Swindle
- NewsReal: Meghan McCain is Not Generation Y’s Best Voice… Yet… By David Swindle
- David Swindle’s Books In Depth: David Horowitz’s Conservatism, Postmodern Conservatism, Generation Y Conservatism By David Swindle
Trackbacks and Pingbacks
- One Cannot Be Both a Soldier of Allah and a Soldier of America « NewsReal Blog
- Generation South Park 3: Cartman Gives Wendy The Glenn Beck Treatment « NewsReal Blog
- My Friend Ben Shapiro Unveils His Top 10 Filmmakers… And Confirms His Blindspot | NewsReal Blog
- Generation South Park Part 6: Tweeting ourselves Towards A Room Temperature IQ | NewsReal Blog
I remember the good old days when the Concerned Women for America put out pamphlets about just how horrible South Park was (“They make fun of Jesus!…and …this one child dies horribly almost every episode!!).
My how times have changed (flip-floppers..feh!).
wait wasnt when kenney died the best part of the show?
Thanks again, Davids.
I am looking forward to using this arena to get to know “you kids” as my grandmother used to say. That was pretty hip in her day!!
I have always seen young adults of any era as beautifully idealistic and wanting practical expression for their lives. This is a good thing. We need heroes. We need hope.
I am really looking forward to reading more of the articles in NewsReal about Gen Y and maybe I’ll even start watching South Park, especially if there is now some content I might enjoy.
The one thing South Park, Family Guy and American Dad does do is puncture the pomposity of PC.
Because of animated formats they are allowed much more freedom of expression without infringing hate law. Isn’t that good?
One episode of AD for instance described Allah as a small, smelly brown guy. Even the Danish Cartoons didn’t go that far and the difference of reaction is quite boggling. A few geeky pictures sets the world on fire, direct satirical insult, silence.
I’m amazed that CAIR didn’t leap on it like a ton of bricks but there you go.
South Park is more libertarian than conservative.
I emphatically state that Trey Parker and Matt Stone's followers are not engaged in a child's game of politics, but are political children. Outside of the redeeming power of Christ, I see no hope for the recruitment effort.
This is the same Parker and Stone who called W. a "turd sandwich" after 9/11 and after W. shut down Udai's rape rooms. Much more gains would be made by mobilizing a base that already possesses the same ideology. If you want cartoons, here is my namesake:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EC_Comics
They're much better stories and art, plus the elderly republicans would go ga-ga if EC Comics became mainstream again.
The turd sandwich vs douche episode was about how we fight and fight and either way with a two party system we end up losing.
This entire attempt to claim South Park is part of some conservative generational movement is ridiculous.
You don't get anything we do here Timmee so I don't expect you to get this.
Do you really want the face of the GOP, the party of Lincoln, to be replaced by a cartoon rear end with nipples drawn on it in black marker?
Only a good tree can produce good fruit and only a bad tree can produce bad fruit. There is no hope here for a political movement. They are cartoons for a reason. They appeal to child minds with absolutely no executive function. Resources would be better spent somewhere else, like recruiting disenfranchised service men and women.
That's me!
Flip flopping has nothing to do with it. Making fun of Jesus doesn’t affect Gen Y Conservatives like it does the Religious Right. There are clear differences between the two, Gen Y is not rooted deeply into religion as previous generations are. People try to say South Park isn’t conservative because it makes fun of Christians. That is exactly why it resonates with Gen Y Conservatives, because they don’t like the Religious Right either.
Hi Gen Y Conservative: Following up on another Newsreal thread discussing the semanitics of the phrase Religious Right (http://newsrealblog.com/2009/10/27/semantic-confusion-%E2%80%9Cthe-religious-right%E2%80%9D-allies-or-antagonists/), I’m curious how your generation defines “Religious Right.” What does that term mean to you?
Yes, they skewer PC foolishness but don’t forget the tempest that the Family Guy episode caused when Stewie had top go back in time and rescue Mort. A Nazi officer, I believe was sporting a “Bush/Cheney” button (the horror!).
Even P.J. O’Rourke will opt for “silly” if it provides a punchline.
Actually that was a McCain/Palin campaign button on the Nazi officer uniform. Episode aired in October 2008.