‘South Park’ Has Been Taking White Liberals to Task This Season

We’re only three episodes into South Park, but it’s already clear who the target of Season 21 is — white liberals. So far, the show has pinpointed the hypocrisy of some members of this group, mocked their love of dumb human interest stories, and questioned the aggressive responses that stem from white guilt. As a result, it’s made for a scathing and hilarious  season so far, but it’s also a difficult watch when you consider South Park’s confusing history with politics.

For the past couple of years, message-based comedy has been so focused on the election and mocking Trump that the left has largely been allowed a pass. It certainly makes sense. It’s overwhelming to keep track of the long list of firings and spur-of-the-moment major legislative decisions from this administration, and it’s always been reactionary comedy’s nature to attack the most recent threat. However, when liberalism has taken a moment to examine itself, the results are often hilarious. Portlandia has been kindly roasting the weirdest of the weird in the overtly Democratic Portland for seven seasons now. Though Saturday Night Live has produced some brilliant pieces of comedy about the Trump era, one of its smartest takes happened when it turned its jaded tone to examine its allies in “The Bubble.” Just as conservatism and the Trump administration certainly need to be mocked, there’s room for liberal mockery as well. That’s where South Park comes in.

Though Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s series has always been one to relish complicated targets, South Park started in a better place than most examine the hypocrisies of white liberalism under this new administration. In Season 19 the series started skewering the topic with PC Principal, a new politically-correct-focused principal who is essentially a white frat bro. There’s always been a weird vibe around PC Principal’s brand of liberalism. Though he says and does the “right” things, he doesn’t seem to be friends or associate with people of color, women, non-heterosexual people, or trans people. He’s an ally who claims to understand the plight of marginalized communities, but only seems to use that knowledge to make himself look better. He’s saying the right things, but much like the “feminists” in SNL’s “Girl at a Bar” his commitment is fake and it’s only there to make himself look better. PC Principal has now imparted his exploitative view of liberalism onto Randy, and as we know, Randy can never be trusted with anything.

I would argue that South Park didn’t really find a way to harness its liberalism critiques until Season 21’s “White People Renovating Houses.” As South Park’s out-of-work blue collar and Republican community starts protesting for their jobs, complete with a Confederate flag, Randy starts a house renovation show. Why? To prove to the world that all white people aren’t bad. By the episode’s end, it seems as though the house renovating subplot is an elaborate metaphor for how in 2017, Trump’s base of supporters needs to re-examine the foundation of their beliefs and honestly question if the issues they so vehemently oppose actually align with what they claim are those base beliefs. Except no it’s not. Instead of helping his Republican neighbor better himself, Randy blissfully continues on with his home renovation show, focusing on something he sees as “good” for the world while ignoring the actual good he could do in front of him. It’s a moment that skewers what liberal activism is and should be and one that pairs wonderfully with Caitlin Flanagan’s brilliant word of warning against HGTV’s secretly sinister fantasies.

That liberal mockery pops up in a kinder way in “Put It Down.” The larger message of the episode revolves around coping mechanisms for North Korea and begging Donald Trump — through song — to put his phone down. However, the episode wouldn’t be able to get to that point if the panicked and desperate Tweek hadn’t made Kim Jong-un cupcakes. What starts as a charming yet dumb human interest story about misguided activism quickly turns into North Korea launching missile tests over Tweek’s house. It’s ridiculous, but the criticism about how seriously we take these stories in the age of the internet still sticks.

“Holiday Special” also continues this trend of liberal mockery but with an intensity we haven’t seen since “Smug Alert!” Randy becomes a die-hard advocate for renaming Columbus Day and removing any statues of Christopher Columbus because of the horrible injustices against American Indian people the historical figure committed. Once again, it seems as though Randy is doing the right thing, but he’s doing it for the wrong reason. It’s revealed that Randy only wants to rename Columbus Day because he used to be really into Christopher Columbus, and he’s afraid if anyone finds out he won’t be seen as an ally. Randy is so desperate to be seen as the victim he’s clearly not, he’s willing to make out with and have sex with an American Indian man just to fool a DNA test. Throughout this entire episode, Randy is the lone voice asking for these changes to be made — not any members of the marginalized community he’s “protecting.” He’s protesting just to assuage the guilt of his past mistakes, not to actually help anyone.

If last season was about Trump, then this season of South Park seems to be about misguided white saviors. So far, this focus has resulted in some of the strongest episodes we’ve seen in a few years. “Put It Down” was especially great, both in its giant ending musical number and in its portrayal of Tweek and Craig’s relationship. However, South Park is in a confusing spot because we still don’t know what the show stands for.

The most scathing critiques of any movement always come from its allies. Last season, which relentlessly mocked Trump to the season’s eventual downfall, made it clear that South Park does not support this administration. But in this socially conscious time, it’s difficult to argue that this is a liberal show. This is especially true if you take into account the show’s often racist and trans-phobic past. The show has over 20 years of racy jokes to unpack, many of which have not stood the test of time. As a result, South Park once again finds itself without a side, happily mocking everything. It’s a scathing middle ground this series has perfected, but it’s difficult to say if there’s room for this limbo in these divisive times.

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