Manbearpig: Half Man, Half Bear, Half Pig, but All Global Warming? South Park is a popular animated comedy series written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. While the episodes of South Park are always humorous on the surface, each show usually has a deeper, much more profound meaning and moral. One episode of South Park entitled Manbearpig, named after the monster in the episode, has a particularly potent deeper meaning. On the surface, the episode pokes fun at monster stories, politics, and specifically Al Gore. Deeper down, however, this monster story can be read as a national allegory alluding to the dangers of global warming, the problems with the politics behind global warming, and the eventual doom we will all face if we do nothing …show more content…
Al Gore tells the student body that he is there to warn them about the single biggest threat to human existence, a horrible monster named Manbearpig. Al Gore further goes on to describe the monster’s appearance. He states that Manbearpig “is half man, half bear, and half pig” (South Park). This pokes fun at the typical monster in literature. The impossible ratio of man, bear, and pig shows how monsters can be considered scary regardless of how ridiculous they may actually be when analyzed literally. While Manbearpig is not necessarily intended to be scary to the audience of South Park, it is intended to be scary to the students by Al Gore. In fact, the attributes of Manbearpig are similar to those of many different monsters throughout literature. Manbearpig is a creature that is a mixture of man and animal. This is a characteristic attributable to many monsters in literature. For example, the werewolf addresses this same fear about crossing line between man and animal. Man-animal Strauss 2 hybrid monsters are scary because they can have the intellect of man but an animalistic nature. They are also unnatural and present the question of where they originated. Additionally, man-animal hybrid monsters are scary because they imply that a human can become part animal. This is, it may be possible, either willingly or unwillingly, to become a man-animal hybrid. Al Gore
The maxim of manner is flouted when the speaker uses ambiguous language or does not talk properly and understandably (Hu 2012: 1188). Sitcom humour makes use of lexical and referential ambiguity to flout this maxim for humour (Wu n.d.: 66/67). In the episode, the characters flout this maxim by using words that others do not know or by using words and phrases which are lexically ambiguous. When characters use words that others do not know, it either ridicules the speaker (because they are unable to communicate with others) or the listener (because they have a lack of knowledge). The humour in lexically ambiguous phrases derives from the phrase's interpretation either by the characters or the audience.
Global warming is a serious issue in everyone’s day to day lives, but nobody really wants to acknowledge it, whether it be because of their political beliefs or blatant skepticism of scientific research. 2006 was the sixth hottest year on record with widespread drought, as well as the hottest year in Britain since records began in 1659 (Connor). The world had turned a blind eye towards the issue of global warming, but someone influential needed to speak out and let the world know that this phenomenon was occurring. Serving in an elected office for nearly thirty years, in addition to being the Vice President of the United States, Al Gore became the perfect candidate to take the lead on global warming issues (Biography). The grave danger that the world was in, as well as his effective use of logos, ethos, and pathos, helps him prove to the world that global warming is a threat to us all.
Comedy is an integral part of our daily lives and routines. It can be as simple as telling a joke to our friends to as complicated as a political cartoon depicting a satirical image of a president committing a crime. However, according to author Alain de Botton, comedy is a conduit that is used to express ideas that society is not generally willing to propound in public. It is clear that the role of humorists is not only to humor an audience, but also to provide a channel for the expression of ideas that are not necessarily ones that we would say to the public, making their role crucial to the functionality of society.
One of the main conflicts in the book is that people automatically assume that the monster is evil simply based on it’s looks. People instantly reject the monster because nobody knows what he is; he is something completely new, not animal or human. Though he seems to be human on the inside, it seems that everyone rejects him and is hates him simply for how he is physically. The monster acknowledges this by saying “Why did you form a monster so hideous
Determining the classification of a human is generally simple. In the case of Victor Frankenstein’s creature, however, the line between human and monster are slightly blurred. When most qualities of humanity are taken into account, the creature may be considered human. Though the physical aspect might deter this idea, the mental and emotional level the creature was able to reach can signify that the creature is in fact
Monsters are intimidating creatures created by artists. It is incredibly common for a monster to be “ugly”. Human beings judge stranger’s personality based on their aesthetic, and researchers has actually discovered that this is factual (Mlodinow). Members of the modern society would deny that they judge others based on appearance, however, since prejudice is a human’s survival instant, it is nearly impossible to deny this fact (ASU). Long before scientists could prove this concept, writers used this flaw against readers, in order to create terrorizing fictional novels. Play writers would make the monster distinctively different from any other living beings, notably they achieve this task by creating an irregular creature with a wide-range
South Park turns important political ideologies regarding race, gender and sexuality into a spectacle, desensitizing its viewers to the social injustices the show raises, marginalizing and trivializing minorities and ultimately, contributing to outrage culture. But before the viewer has time to process the political incorrectness of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the writers of South Park have made a mockery of the scene dousing the potential outrage and placating the viewer’s opposition. Yet although a handful of viewers observe South Park intellectually the remaining majority does not. In theory South Park is a cleverly planned out show meant to raise awareness to the ignorance of people through satire. However, South Park deconstructs satire, and in turn employs the use of pseudo-satire. Further
Of course human monsters are just as one should expect, monsters that look and act like humans. Although human monsters look and act like humans, small nuances differentiate them from the human race. These traits can come in the form of difference in height, complexion, number of body parts, and behavior. For example, Humbaba, the giant from the Assyrian myth of Gilgamesh, is described as such, “his face is as fearsome as a lion’s, his dreadful rear resounds through out the forest like a river that is swollen with flood. His teeth are those of a dragon, and flames issue forth from his mouth” (Rosenberg 34). What separates Humbaba from the humans is that he is a terrifying giant. He is larger than humans and has a great anger for anyone who attempts to enter the Cedar Forest. Although Humbaba is a giant he still shows human characteristics when he begs Gilgamesh to spare his life, this shows the even though they are monsters they still can show emotion. Other examples of human monsters are gorgons, which are known for their incredible ugliness. It is rumored that if one would look into a gorgon’s eyes, that they would turn to stone. Cyclopes are also another type of human monster, being giants that only have one eye in the middle of their forehead. The cyclopes were born to Uranus and Gaea along with the hundred-hand giants, which are (as
In the first show we watched, Al Gore visits the kids at South Park to talk to them about a non-existent creature called “ManBearPig”. He is trying to warn everyone about this creature that is coming for them therefore, they should protect themselves from it. In Reality, Al Gore informs people that Global Warming is slowly taking over the world and if we don’t do anything about it, we will face serious consequences. ManBearPig was only shown in a drawing that Al Gore drew, but was not actually shown; which is also similar to the claims that he is making about Global Warming. Assuming that he has tracked down ManBearPig, he takes the kids with him into a At the end of the episode, it shows Al Gore talking about how he saved the world from ManBearPig
The television show South Park is a very controversial show which has been attacked by the media, politicians, parents, the school system, and just about every other social group imaginable. Why is the show so controversial? The reason it is attacked so thoroughly is because of its crude humor and vulgar displays by its characters, as well as the fact that it attacks the thoughts and beliefs of every religion in the world. This vulgarity and intolerance is most notable in the character Cartman, who is extremely offensive in his thoughts, ideas, and actions. The show does, however, provide a balance to Cartman’s antics through his co-stars Stan and Kyle. Stan, and Kyle almost always stand up to Cartman and ridicule his intolerance,
To be considered a monster the character must possess an appalling appearance or personality. Monsters have heavily been prevalent throughout human history, striking fear into the hearts of people for centuries. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Bram Stoker’s Dracula Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula possess appalling personalities and exterior that attributes to their own unique monstrosity. They are both iconic monsters that have terrified people around the world for ages. However, they are two very different creatures; for instance Frankenstein is a monster because he is shunned by society for his grotesque appearance. Dracula is a monster because he feasts upon the living for
The creature is viewed as scary monster and someone that terrifies the world perceives as a bad creature yes he has killed and terrified people before but if you take into consideration that when he was brought to life there was no one to guide him through anything and also the fact that he was hideous looking that does not help him be visually attractive to people and that’s something that people see first their looks then they judge
Before receiving a license or a school permit, a person has to take a Drivers Education class. A few months before I turned fifteen I decided that I would get ahead of the game and take the class. As an avid learner I had nothing but excitement for the class. The first day I showed up in good spirits expecting to take a class that I would enjoy. Little did I know that my instructor would loathe my work ethic and abhor my drive to overachieve.
I believe comedy can be both cultural and universal. In the text it states that cultures tend to understand their own humor better than they do humor from someone of the opposite culture. This stems from not being able to identify with them. I believe that when it comes to comedy we may all find something funny but we will most likely find it funny for different reasons. However, there are some comedians that will make everyone laugh without it regarding a specific culture.
This is a study of humor in stand-up comedy, focusing on analyzing a script using the Cooperative Principle and Flouting the Maxims by Grice (1975). Humor is used in our daily life to address social, cultural or political issues in an entertaining manner. Repeatedly, people express their opinion and ideas with short, funny, exaggerating, dramatic and sarcastic ways to achieve certain effects, thereby they could feel humorous. Also, humor is practical because without even realizing it, the audience will change their view on matters they were once deeply convinced with. In this article, I will shed light on the different functions of humor. I will study and analyze the