BECA Senior Seminar

One of the things we decided to code about small businesses is the stereotypical “going out of business” signs. These signs usually point to big business as the evil entity that is taking away all of the small business’ customers. This episode of South Park plays up the going out of business signs by also illustrating an abandoned downtown area with shops having broken windows and doors that are boarded up with wood. It shows how powerless small business owners are over larger corporations. Throughout the episode, characters comment on how low the prices are and what great deals the new Wall-mart offers compared to the local small businesses. Even when the people of South Park decide that they are all going to make an effort to shop at their local stores, they each secretly shop at the big box store instead. While the writers mean to jab at viewers who practice the same habits, they fail to make genuine criticisms at companies like Walmart that take advantage of small towns that d...

I think that Jonathan Swift has the explanation to why shows like The Simpsons and South Park have been running for so long. Even though the shows are offensive, audiences fail to see that they are part of what is being criticized or poked at, so they don't take personal offense to the jokes. For example, the pilot episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" takes aim at top management, pointing at their greed when the workers at the nuclear power plant don't get their Christmas bonuses. The episode also takes a swing at the working man when Bart tells his dad, "you must really love us to sink so low," when it is revealed that Homer has been secretly working as a Santa at the mall to make up for the lack of a Christmas bonus. Bart's comment implies that there is something shameful in not having enough money. Because  The Simpsons has something to say about everyone, it's possible for viewers to filter out what they don't want to hear about them...