Customer Reviews

South Park Conservatives: The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

First, let me say that the chapter on anti-liberal political humor in South Park Conservatives is hilarious-one of the funniest things I've read in age! With rich examples, Anderson shows the subversive genius of South Park's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and gives the reader an excellent sense of what comedians like Nick Di Paolo and Colin Quinn, and talk show host Dennis Miller, are up to in their humor. The chapter is worth the price of the book.

But there is lots more of interest in South Park Conservatives, which provides a clear-eyed view, expressed in reader-friendly, punchy prose, of the remarkable shifts in media and culture that are undermining liberal control of the institutions of information and argument. Want to know why liberals aren't good at talk radio? Read the chapter on the rise of conservative talk radio and find out. Anderson's take on how the blogosphere is transforming politics-drawing on extensive interviews with everyone from Andrew Sullivan to Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)-is a model of lucid analysis (plus, it's pretty funny too, except maybe to CBS News and Dan Rather). The chapter on Fox News, also based on behind-the-scenes interviews, in this case with Fox people like Sean Hannity and Dick Morris, offers lessons both liberals and conservatives can learn from. The final chapter, on the rising conservatism-or at least anti-liberalism-of college kids, is fascinating, in part because so the reader encounters so many interesting student voices.

One last thing about this book should be noted: it's a real triumph of reporting. So few books, by conservatives or liberals, feature any reporting these days. One of the pleasures of South Park Conservatives is the thickness of detail-everything from Neilson ratings to off-the-cuff remarks by comedian Colin Quinn about PC critics. You come away from the book knowing a lot more.

Now this is not a great book, but it's a pretty interesting book. It's about, in large part, a demographic that Anderson calls "South Park Conservatives" because they're philisophically conservative- or at least more conservative than big-L liberal- but they reject much of the social conservatism that has characterized old-school Conservatism or modern day religious conservatism.

Personally, I find "South Park"'s vulgarity usually exceeds my taste boundries, but I've seen it enough to understand the demographic Anderson is talking about- my under-40 co-workers.

That having been said, it's a pretty funny book. Anderson tells a good story- even if I may differ with him on a number of points- and does so in a way that's pretty darn funny. But a number of the reviewers don't seem to have gotten far enough to have figured that out. For them, let me explain:

1. It's not a book about South Park

2. It's not arguing the thesis that South Park is a conservative show.

3. You should really turn off the TV once in a while.

Brian Anderson has, in honest and fair detail, provided me with hope that my children (and my husband and I) will experience a far healthier media environment than that to which I was exposed growing up. South Park Conservatives is factual and capably written. It is good to know, as Anderson reports from the "inside", that a new, less Left-dominated, era is dawning on our editorial pages, on the airwaves, on campus, and through the Internet.

I found the book to be illuminating and a quick read. As a person whose interests customarily lie beyond politics, I am happy that I found a book on the topic that was so compelling and eminently readable. Hats off to Mr. Anderson!

I've been a big fan of South Park for years - their brand of irreverent foul-mouthed humor hits a nerve with me I guess. However, I never really thought of that cartoon as a particularly pointed political satire. Maybe because I generally agreed with most of what they had to say, so it did not seem that they were going out on a limb with their message. Then some months ago I got an e-mail from a friend that linked to the original article that coined the term "South Park Republicans." That article claimed that a new brand of conservatism is growing, especially among the younger generation. It had very little to do with the preppy, staid attitudes that were the norm of conservatives just a generation ago. Suddenly, things made a lot of sense. Although the Creators of "South Park" spare no one from their ridicule, and they don't seem to have a single coherent political agenda, with a help of hindsight it is easy to see that they have an especially low regard for the lefty activist types.

Brian C. Anderson's book is not only, nor even primarily, about "South Park". And that is a good thing. When I first bought the book I was a bit apprehensive that it might get boring after a while. After all, how much can you really write about one particular aspect of one cartoon series? Luckily, Anderson focuses mostly on the subtitle of the book, and in a very detailed and well researched exposition demonstrates how the rise of new media outlets is evening the field for the conservatives. "South Park Conservatives" is a very well written book, and an invaluable resource and a reference for other sources of conservative opinion.

Whether you consider yourself a conservative or an independent, if you feel like there's nothing to see, hear, or read other than what's endorsed by the New York Times et al., buy this book: it contains a mother lode of resources for you to turn to in your hour of intellectual need.

I could have done without the subtitle - "The Revolt Against Liberal Media Bias" - I would think all of us, except media insiders themselves, already know that it's biased, and even some of the more honest media insiders, e.g., Nicholas D. Kristof of the said New York Times, are beginning to realize that the public doesn't trust them ("A Slap in the Face," NYT, op-ed, 4/12/05).

I also have to agree with some other Amazon reviewers of "South Park Conservatives" that "South Park," which fully represents my political and social views, is an equal-opportunity offender, and lets both sides have it. Its vehement anti-PC stance is no reason to ignore its equally vehement anti-fundamentalist stance when it comes to religious or social issues.

That said, "South Park Conservatives" is an excellent retort to liberals who have appointed themselves the sole guardians of all things intellectual, and a great boost for those of us who sometimes think we're the only sane ones in this touchy-feely loony bin of the contemporary America.

Brian C. Anderson presents a well-researched and well-argued proof that the Right is no longer losing the culture wars and that there is, indeed, culture in the USA which is not defined by the liberal elites and which extends farther and wider than Tom Wolfe alone could stretch it.

Unfortunately, it's still very difficult to find something in the middle, or, better yet, something outside of the whole Right-Left paradigm. Whether purposely or unintentionally, Mr. Anderson does a terrific job of covering sources - e.g., bloggers, comedians, publishing houses - that might appeal not so much to truly conservative readers as to readers who are fed up with political correctness but don't consider themselves particularly socially conservative. It is a little sad that such independents as Instapundit, Colin Quinn, or ENC Press have to be filed under "conservative," but there's no independent media yet - only the old liberal media and the rapidly growing conservative media - and so, anything slightly to the right of the extreme Left is considered conservative by the Left and seems to be happily claimed by the Right in its cultural war against the Left.

Dinesh D'Souza, a renowned conservative intellectual, likes to say that ". . . [T]he liberal's operating impulse seems to begin with indignation, a sense of passion, a sense of outrage. A lot of sentences begin, `I'm shocked and appalled.' Whereas the conservative's operating impulse seems to be cynicism, kind of a chuckle or a horse laugh." That doesn't explain why such liberal venues as The Daily Show find humor in issues that shock and appall conservatives, e.g., the Terri Schiavo case, but it does remind us yet again that the lines between liberals and conservatives continue to blur. Not all liberals are outraged by every single thing, nor are all conservatives prone to chuckling at every single thing.

Anderson infers that "Over time, a greater number of right-of-center voices will find audiences, whether it's via talk radio, blogs, cable news, the press, the entertainment world, and even the academe. The Left will have to reexamine, argue, and refine its positions, so many of which have proved disastrously wrong, and stop living off the past. It's hard to imagine that this development won't result in a broader, richer, deeper national debate - something liberals of an older, John Stuart Mill-stripe would have welcomed."

A real debate without sneering, dismissive name-calling, yelling, and interrupting, as in, a debate between mature adults - as distinct from a debate between, say, Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly - would be so nice. I would only hope that when it wins the culture war, the Right doesn't get as smug as the Left has been, because then the backlash will begin again, and it will blow in the opposite direction.

I would also like to hope that a "broader, richer, deeper national debate" results not in "a more conservative America," as Mr. Anderson concludes, but a more reasonable America, an America where an opinion can be voiced, heard out, and perhaps even considered, without those who disagree (whether they stand to the Right or to the Left of the opinion) clapping their hands over their ears and shouting, "LA-LA-LA, I can't hear you!"

Before I begin, let me assure you, as the author does, that this book is not (entirely) about South Park, nor does it take its fuel from the characters and situations therein. Brian C. Anderson has explained here how the new generation of other-than-left-wing college student and young professional express themselves and find solace in today's culture.

That said, I must sing the praises of the South Park chapter. For years I have tried to give my conservative peers, including church members, a sibling,Bush-43 campaigners, etc., an accurate, funny explanation of South Park. "Well, there's these four guys...well, they're fourth graders, and their teacher, Mrs. Garrison...well, he used to be Mr. Garrison, but he had a sex change, you see...anyway, the kids are always railing at anything that's PC. And there's two handicapped kids in the classroom, Jimmy and Timmy, and Timmy can only say his name. And he wins the rock contest with his band, just saying, 'Timmy! Timmy!' And Jesus has his own show, and he sent his producer to hell for turning it into a Jerry Springer type show." By now my audience is either looking at me very sympathetically, or they're at probate court filing a petition to have me hospitalized at the nearest psychiatric ward.

Anderson, to the contrary, writes a brilliant essay on Trey Parker and Matt Stone's anti-PC creation, which has been adopted by Republicans and conservative libertarians alike and tells us what appeals to us about the show (a bingeing Rob Reiner coming around trying to shut down the cigarette factory down, for example).

Surrounding this essay, though, are other writings about what impacts conservatives, and what we impacts. Rush Limbaugh's rise is chronicled, as are Newt Gingrich's and C-Span. And what would a book on conservative culture be without the story of FOX News? As Anderson was completing his book, Matt Drudge and the blogging phenomenon was just coming into vogue, and he covers it well.

He also brings up the expected liberal arguments that these media outlets--Rush's show, FOX news, for example, are propoganda. Well, Rush has always maintained that his IS a thoroughly right-wing shop....and anybody can open up a thoroughly left-wing shop across the street anytime they want (like "AirAmerica"). But what about FOX's "fair and balanced" tag line? Anderson brings up examples from that seem to prove they have a right to say that.

Mr. Anderson is a joy to read. Entertaining, intellectually challenging...I will definitely be looking for further titles from him.

Oh, you mean libertarians... The primary thing I dislike is how the book puts everything into the left-right mindset. The "left" or "right" mindset is misleading because it fails to factor in "libertarianism" vs. "authoritarianism." It is a 2-D diamond, not a 1-D line. Libertarianism is nothing new; in fact, libertarianism is based in classical liberalism before the word "liberal" became synonymous with socialism. I hope it is "rising" and undoubtedly Southpark has contributed. Libertarianism does not spoonfeed morality, but it does call for limited government and economic and individual freedom.

Most libertarians hate both the right and the left, and as the Republican Party is firmly in the authoritarian quadrant and the "conservative media" blindly follows the Republican Party in the same way the "liberal media" blindly follows the Democratic Party, I don't understand why newsmedia shouldn't just strive for objectivity instead of taking sides or creating a media war. Basically, I think the book is a good read, but the approach is a bit skewed.

With style, wit and meticulous reporting, South Park Conservatives has clarified for me the dangers of a biased media. Until I read this book, I did not fully understand the implications of distortions in the press. We cannot make informed decisions without balance in news reporting. Mr. Anderson gives us a well researched understanding of how all this is changing.

As I was reading this book I felt as if there was finally a member of the older generation who "got" the mindset of the average young adult in America today. There are many topics covered in this book such as the emergence of talk radio, the blogosphere, and Fox News, as well the rise of conservative books and the arrogance and pomposity of the elite media, all of which Anderson details quite well. However, the portions of this book that he absolutely nails are the ones dealing with conservative inroads in both academia and entertainment.

I am 24 years old and am a 2003 graduate of a "elite" university. When I was a senior in college the Iraq war had just begun, and the first shots had not even been fired before the left wing reactionary faculty had begun describing the conflict as another Vietnam and a hopeless situation that we would never get out of. Anyone who dared challenge their point of view was callously dismissed by the professor and/or laughed at by his or her obidient and grade-grubbing classmates without even retorting his or her points or engaging their ideas without the words "racist", "facist", "Hitler", or "war monger" entering the ever so sophisitcated world of left-wing debate on college campuses.

Anderson details the accounts of many young college conservatives at schools such as Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, NYU, Columbia, and Berkeley as they battle their left wing professors and often times have to hide their beliefs in their academic work due to fear of retribution in the grade book. However, this is not a "woe is me tale" as Anderson illustrates the rise in the of conservative influence through the emergence of new conservative school newspapers, increased membership in conservative political organizations on campus, and polling data which indicates that more and more students are falling in line with the Republican point of view.

Anderson touched on affirmative action for a few pages, perhaps he should have paid more attention to it, as I feel one of the biggest reasons why more and more young people are becoming conservative is because of the outright robberies that occur in admissions offices all across this nation every year due to this disastrous policy. This was touched on at modest length and I believe deserved an entire chapter to set up the chapter about the rise of conservatism in the ivory echo chamber.

Finally, the section on South Park and other new forms of entertainment with an "anti-PC" edge was brilliant. Anderson explains how the writers of South Park, Dennis Miller, and Colin Quinn among others have tapped into a chord among a generation that despite Hollywood and the elite media's best efforts, thoroughly rejects political correctness and the "blame America first" crowd. Anderson recounts hilarious examples of Reiner, Garafalo, Robbins, Sarandon, Moore, and others being mocked by these newfound comedic talents and the commercial market driven successes that have derived from it.

This book could be a critical tool for the left if they wish to understand the coming generation. Speaking anecdotally, the sentiments of our generation are not best reflected in the ultra ignorant political activism of Michael Moore, Jeanenne(sp) Garafalo, Sean Combs, Russell Simmons, Gideon Yago, or Moby. The average twenty-something recognizes the severe threat Islamofacism poses to America, understands that racial prefrences are wholly unconstitutional and violate a basic sense of fairness, and still strives for the American Dream. Overwhelmingly though, there is an outright rejection of what Anderson so accurately calls "illiberal liberalism." What that basically means is that most young Americans are fed up with the self-righteous pomposity of the left. They resent the fact that Hollywood, academia, and the media elites feel that it is their duty to save them from themselves. The average Bush supporter on today's campus is not a wealthly industrail heir who has a chauffeur and sports embroidered blazers during class. He or she is your boy or girl next door. They listen to popular music, can quote movie lines all day long, probably are or were jocks, have healthy libedos, and are doing keg stands on weekends. While these commanlities vary amongst each other, the one tie that binds them together is their ardent rejection of elitism. This attitude that the left has will be their ultimate downfall as years progress and this generation matures. If their party has any interest in political relevance, they might read this book and do a little introspection. However, the arrogance, elitism, and illiberal liberalism they have will just cause them to callously dismiss the ideas in it or better yet come up with new ways to "save us from ourselves."

I really enjoyed this book! It sheds light on an emerging new political viewpoint that rejects both the family values of the Christian right but/and especially the hypocritical, super-sensitive, self-righteous liberal-left. It clearly illustrates how conservatives have succeeded over the last eleven years in completely taking over the reigns of the U.S. government (White House, U.S. House, & Senate), all the while ignoring the non-stop ineffective kickings and screamings of the shrill, hysterical, and increasingly impotent Hollywood left. This was a fun book to read!