Humor of South Park Essay - 1969 Words

Manbearpig: Half Man, Half Bear, Half Pig, but All Global Warming? South Park is a popular animated comedy series written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. While the episodes of South Park are always humorous on the surface, each show usually has a deeper, much more profound meaning and moral. One episode of South Park entitled Manbearpig, named after the monster in the episode, has a particularly potent deeper meaning. On the surface, the episode pokes fun at monster stories, politics, and specifically Al Gore. Deeper down, however, this monster story can be read as a national allegory alluding to the dangers of global warming, the problems with the politics behind global warming, and the eventual doom we will all face if we do nothing†¦show more content†¦Al Gore tells the student body that he is there to warn them about the single biggest threat to human existence, a horrible monster named Manbearpig. Al Gore further goes on to describe the monster’s appearance. He states that Manbearpig â€Å"is half man, half bear, and half pig† (South Park). This pokes fun at the typical monster in literature. The impossible ratio of man, bear, and pig shows how monsters can be considered scary regardless of how ridiculous they may actually be when analyzed literally. While Manbearpig is not necessarily intended to be scary to the audience of South Park, it is intended to be scary to the students by Al Gore. In fact, the attributes of Manbearpig are similar to those of many different monsters throughout literature. Manbearpig is a creature that is a mixture of man and animal. This is a characteristic attributable to many monsters in literature. For example, the werewolf addresses this same fear about crossing line between man and animal. Man-animal Strauss 2 hybrid monsters are scary because they can have the intellect of man but an animalistic nature. They are also unnatural and present the question of where they originated. Additionally, man-animal hybrid monsters are scary because they imply that a human can become part animal. This is, it may be possible, either willingly or unwillingly, to become a man-animal hybrid. Al GoreShow MoreRelatedHumor: An Essentially Social Phenomenon1042 Words   |  4 Pages Humor is an essentially social phenomenon. Humorous jokes and funny performances and scenes in films are a form of communication that is typically common in social interaction. These humorous jokes and expressions are socially and ethnically made. They often relate to a particular to a specific time and place. The subjects and issues that an individual may joke about may typically be essential to the social and moral order of society. 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