South Park: American Political Satire and Why Does it Not Work in China
Challenging taboo topics, scorning political decisions, and ridiculing authority, political satire lies in the heart of Comedy Central’s famous American sitcom series South Park. A show that ruthlessly comments on current social and political issues worldwide with lighthearted comedy, South Park reflects an American style of humor that embraces the nation’s values of disobedience and pursuit of freedom. Considered by many as the show that “defined millennial Americans,” however, South Park struggled to receive the same amount of populace when it moves beyond a predominantly American based audience body, especially in the Chinese market where cultural values and beliefs are fundamentally different than what is followed in an anglophone society. While South Park demonstrates a bold approach to political satire, the contradiction such a style has with the Chinese cultural value of humility and obedience appears to fundamentally inhibit Chinese audiences’ acceptance of the show and the American humor that it represents.
To understand the difficulties an American political satire show would face when trying to break into the Chinese market, we would have to acknowledge the different senses of humor between the two countries that emerge from their respective cultural values. While ancient Confucius values of obedience, humility, and deference still dictate Chinese society’s outlook on social and political matters today, Americans firmly believe in individuality and the freedom to express one’s personal opinion. American shows with political satire often focus on offensive humor that ultimately portrays a derogatory image of another party, such as South Park’s stereotypical, racially motivated presentation of people of color. In China, Confucius highlights humility as the “solid foundation of all virtues.” Blatantly attacking a specific group of people is considered disrespectful and certainly not a funny topic in Chinese culture. Although some Chinese audiences might find the political satire in South Park compelling, most would struggle to catch up to the show’s humor points as they are often too direct and “rude” to be even considered funny.
It is certainly not to say that Chinese television viewers can’t accept any form of American humor. Indeed, South Park’s American sitcom counterparts — shows such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory — are often considered “all-time classics” by almost two generations of Chinese audiences. Bertrand Russell once noted Chinese people as more reserved in what they find humorous and that many Chinese have that “refinement of humor which consists in enjoying a joke more when the other person cannot see it.” This doesn’t appear to hold anymore under a modern context. As could be seen in many American sitcoms’ successes in China, Chinese viewers love to laugh at punchlines derived from everyday life and certainly do not oppose some shallow humor that shows them America’s “authentic” side. Similarly, episodes where kids of South Park engage in silly activities and curse about how schools don’t make any sense are the ones with the most views on Chinese streaming websites as viewers would be able to resonate with and appreciate the more down-to-earth American humor. It might be true that Chinese audiences in the past preferred to find humor for themselves from stories with more meanings, but the growth of a globalized world exposed the viewers to more things foreign and triggered their curiosity for cultures that are beyond the border.
An important feature of many politically satirical shows, challenging a nation’s authority is another primary reason for South Park’s lack of acceptance in the Chinese market. A democratic concept, freedom of speech is engraved in the heart of South Park as the show does not hesitate to offend anyone by making the libertarian “don’t give a crap” comments on political events and figures to achieve the needed comedic effect. As Robert Mankoff states in his article, the taunting of the authority lies in the heart of American political satire. Illustrating Trump as a fat maniac-like character, South Park attacked the country’s new President surrounded by scandals and the American democratic system following the 2016 election — acceptable humor in America, but not so much in China. Unacceptable due to somewhat different political agendas and the nation’s modern history, mockery of the authority is somewhat of a bottom line for the Chinese government, which leaves little space for political satire to exist as a form of mainstream entertainment. South Park might not have openly criticized the Chinese government regularly, but the show’s American values are radical enough for it to be restricted. Many factors decide the most suitable approach to the genre, but the explanation should provide an outlook on why South Park would fail to establish a solid viewer base in China.
Continuing the discussion above, we must also point out that a unique form of Chinese patriotism affects viewers’ opinions towards political satire. Americans like to express patriotism by putting up a stars and stripes flag in their front yard. Still, not all Americans would get all riled up when South Park mocks the country for falling behind in economic development, implementing poor covid regulations when the pandemic started, and always electing people who don’t seem capable of their jobs as presidents. As Ben Rhodes suggests in his article, Americans are often confused by the question of “who we are’’ and “where we came from” when searching for a hint of nationalism in a continuously globalized world. Perhaps due to this exact reason, political satire is accepted even though it portrays an image opposite to the concepts of nationalism and patriotism.
However, patriotism in China relies extensively on a nationalist love in every aspect of the country that prevents the populace of political satire from its root. From praising the government to the country’s history, most Chinese who live in the country, especially after its rapid development in the past three decades, are genuinely and deeply proud of the Chinese identity. “They feel more defensive about the country’s achievement than ever before.” Although this quote from the Economist is not entirely true, it does present a side of Chinese nationalism that is fundamentally different from that of Americans. Chinese people care and love their country, and they don’t wish to joke about this topic. Therefore, political satire such as to the extent revealed in shows like South Park would be seen as an attack on people’s nationalist love for the country instead of something that can be openly joked about.
Although some might argue that television and humor are the perfect medium for ideas and values to translate across borders, South Park’s lack of acceptance in China reveals a deeper layer of cultural barrier that is beneath the surface. Every country has different cultural values and political beliefs that would shape its perspective of humor. The Chinese audience might accept some down-to-earth American humor, but the lightheartedness and radical libertarianism engraved in South Park’s political satire contrast too great the traditional Chinese values and modern nationalism. Political satire as a genre, therefore, has little trace in the Chinese television industry today and would be hard for the country’s viewers to accept in the future.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/no-time-passive-patriotism/621377/
https://www.economist.com/special-report/2021/01/21/how-nationalism-is-shaping-chinas-young
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/society/2020/american-individualism-and-our-collective-crisis
