I agree that most shows on television need to be somewhat complex when narrative structure is concerned. But I don't know why the article left out one of the most controversial yet, overly stimulating comedies of the 21st century. The show I am talking about is South Park. Not well know for complexity and deriving most of it's key elements from other classics as "The Simpsons", it is constantly pushing the envelope as each episode unravels a plot completely unrelated to the overall setting of the show. While characters do eventually end up evolving (Eric Cartman- "Scott Tetherman Must Die" episode) into something unexpected, as well as experience gruesome deaths and sex changes (Chef) and (Mr. Garrison) respectively, the actual background of the show remains the same, much as in "The Simpsons". With hysterical metaphors and plays on society this witty comedy should be considered when talking about contemporary American television. Although it has been on a decline in recent years it is still regarded as a revolutionary show of it's time. People bad-mouth it because of the foul language involved but disregard the fact that it is actually smarter than one would think, incorporating contemporary American societal issues in amongst a bunch of elementary school kids daily lives.
No South Park?
Sep
14
2009
Yeah South Park can be
Yeah South Park can be overlooked, but it honestly takes stances on some controversial topics. Everything from the Terry Schiavo case to Hurricane Katrina. Kyle or Stan usually always has some kind of "moral" speech that wraps the plot up. And I love how it puts celebrities in their place....most recently Kanye West's whole "fishsticks" episode poking fun at how big his ego is. And who could forget the whole Scientology episode, didn't Tom Cruise sue? Anyways, South Park is not only an insightful show but a hilarious one, def one of my favorites.
south park is by the far the
south park is by the far the best social commentary around these days, because they have no qualms about viciously tearing apart everybody: liberals, conservatives, mormons, scientologists, evangelicals, goths, self-righteous and vapid celebrities, fads, etc. no sacred cows...
South Park
Certainly South Park is a significant part of our televisual landscape, but I gotta say (and I think this may be why Mittell doesn't include it as an example) that it's pretty straightforward in terms of narrative complexity. In other words, it's narratively complex the way he defines it, but it doesn't break any new ground in that regard. That is, the sense in which it deals with stories and structure in a self referential is not un-funny, but the way it handles that is fairly derivative. Sure, the content and the general subject matter has had an important influence on what's OK for TV (just one example), and it is pretty funny, but structurally, narratologically, it's not going any further than, say, The Simpsons to advance the overall complexity of televisual storytelling.
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