South Park Republican
Encyclopedia
"South Park Republican" was a term that first circulated in blog
s and articles on the Internet
between the years circa 2001 and 2002, used to describe what some modern commentators describe as a "new wave" or generation
of young adult
s and teenager
s who hold center-right
political beliefs that are, in general, aligned with those portrayed in the popular American
animated television program South Park
.
The phrase was coined by commentator Andrew Sullivan
in 2001.
South Park co-creator Trey Parker
is actually a registered member of the Libertarian Party
. Fellow co-creator Matt Stone
sums up their views with the comment "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals."
In August 2006 Parker, Stone and Sullivan headlined a conference in Amsterdam
hosted by the libertarian
monthly magazine Reason
. During an on-stage interview with Reason editors Nick Gillespie
and Jesse Walker
, Stone and Parker reaffirmed their discomfort with labels while acknowledging that their political views could be described most accurately as libertarian
and rejected the direction of the Republican Party that they described as "more government and more Jesus". John Tierney
documented the declaration on the pages of The New York Times
a few days later in a column called "South Park Refugees". "South Park Libertarians," an edited version of the interview, appeared in the December 2006 issue of Reason.
Trey Parker was asked about the term "South Park Republican" in an interview for his feature film
Team America: World Police, and what he thought about it:
In another exchange from the same interview:
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s and articles on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
between the years circa 2001 and 2002, used to describe what some modern commentators describe as a "new wave" or generation
Generation
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
of young adult
Young adult (psychology)
A young adult, according to Erik Erikson's stages of human development, is generally a person between the age of 20 - 40, whereas an adolescent is a person between the age of 13 - 19, although definitions and opinions vary. The young adult stage in human development precedes middle adulthood. A...
s and teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
s who hold center-right
Centre-right
The centre-right or center-right is a political term commonly used to describe or denote individuals, political parties, or organizations whose views stretch from the centre to the right on the left-right spectrum, excluding far right stances. Centre-right can also describe a coalition of centrist...
political beliefs that are, in general, aligned with those portrayed in the popular American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
animated television program South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
.
The phrase was coined by commentator Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
in 2001.
South Park co-creator Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
is actually a registered member of the Libertarian Party
Libertarian Party (United States)
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
. Fellow co-creator Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
sums up their views with the comment "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals."
Creators' views
In an online forum (South Park Studios Chat, 10 May 2001), Parker and Stone responded to a participant's question:- Q: Are you two guys liberal or conservative? Me and my friends have had debates about this.
- TREY: We avoid extremes but we hate liberals more than conservatives and we hate them [conservatives].
- MATT: I hate conservatives but I really fucking hate liberals.
In August 2006 Parker, Stone and Sullivan headlined a conference in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
hosted by the libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
monthly magazine Reason
Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
. During an on-stage interview with Reason editors Nick Gillespie
Nick Gillespie
Nick Gillespie is the editor of Reason.com and Reason.tv and was the editor in chief of Reason magazine from 2000 to 2008...
and Jesse Walker
Jesse Walker
Jesse Walker is managing editor of Reason magazine. The University of Michigan alumnus has written the book Rebels on the Air: An Alternative History of Radio in America and maintains a blog called The Perpetual Three-Dot Column...
, Stone and Parker reaffirmed their discomfort with labels while acknowledging that their political views could be described most accurately as libertarian
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and rejected the direction of the Republican Party that they described as "more government and more Jesus". John Tierney
John Tierney (journalist)
John Marion Tierney is a journalist and author who has worked for the New York Times since 1990.-Career and background:...
documented the declaration on the pages of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
a few days later in a column called "South Park Refugees". "South Park Libertarians," an edited version of the interview, appeared in the December 2006 issue of Reason.
Trey Parker was asked about the term "South Park Republican" in an interview for his feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Team America: World Police, and what he thought about it:
- Q: I don't know if you've heard about this, but there have been essays written about the concept of the "South Park Republican."
- TREY: Yeah, we have seen that. What we're sick of—and it's getting even worse—is: you either like Michael MooreMichael MooreMichael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
or you wanna fuckin' go overseas and shoot Iraqis. There can't be a middle ground. Basically, if you think Michael Moore's full of shit, then you are a super-Christian right-wing whatever. And we're both just pretty middle-ground guys. We find just as many things to rip on on the left as we do on the right. People on the far left and the far right are the same exact person to us.
In another exchange from the same interview:
- Q: You seem to feel free to roast everybody equally.
- TREY: Everybody needs a good roasting.
- MATT: It's been pretty funny on both sides.
- TREY: And it comes from an honest belief we have, which is... George BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
doesn't know what's going on. Michael Moore does not know what's going on. And Alec BaldwinAlec BaldwinAlexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
definitely does not know what's going on. Basically, this shit is gigantically complicated.