South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today

The Book-South Park and Philosophy: You Know I Learned Something Today! This book is humor, philosophy and a great reason to own a comprehensive dictionary. As a couch potato this book now is an accompany to my time at the fitness center while on a treadmill or doing numerous sit ups. My assessment of this book could not be fair since I am not someone who reads more than 3 hours a day. There are books that envelope most of my day but either way "South Park Philosophy" is entertaining and educating and this particular book is a testament for free speech and how an animated adult comedy addresses situations that have probably been around since written history. -Craig Barr.

Who would have thought that a show about four boys from a redneck hick town in Colorado would be around 11 years after offending it's first audience? Let alone spark scholarly conversation and debate. You don't need to adjust your computer monitor, I did just mention South Park in the same breath as intellectuals. The show that spurned every ethnic group from Mormons to Christians, social and disabled groups and drove Chef to quit with their infamous Scientology episode has sparked a series of philosophical debates in South Park and Philosophy, You Know I Learned Something Today. In 22 separate essays, philosophers and sociologists churn up reasoning from Freud to Socrates to give reason to a show that often lacks a moral conscious. The essay that I found most fascinating was Vote or Die Bitch by John Scott Gray. Part of the reason that it stood out so much was that I read it during the election. In the end all of our choices turned out to be, in Stan's words between a turd sandwich and a douche. The rational by Gray actually showed that in a roundabout way, change is really just something old coming back into fashion. Much like those awesome sweaters that you have hiding in storage. While the book was a quick read, some of the discussions were over the head of philosophical novices like myself, I would suggest checking it out if you are a fan of the show.

Great book and intro to philosophy. While a bit heavy in parts, it does get you to think and gives you some material for defending the greatness that is South Park to its critics.

Walter DeRoeck says, "I was thrilled when I got this book, as I am a longtime South Park fan. The philosophy dealing with South Park is very interesting. Of course, I was expecting this book to be about what other philosophers thought of Matt and Trey's ideas through South Park. The great news is that I was right. Honestly, I do think that the book has MORE to do with South Park and Philosophy than any other book on South Park and Philosophy. The chapters are written by the likes of people doing work in philosophy, political science, literature, and musicology, with South Park playing a huge role in each section. The synopses of the episodes are anything but piss-poor. The authors have an obviously thorough knowledge of South Park, giving very complete analyses. Especially elucidating is the chapter relating to the "Vote or Die, Bitch" episode; the author must have watched it many times. Also the way the author handled the "Gay Marriage" section is thought-provoking. In fact, that chapter presents one of the fairest and most elucidating analyses of gay marriage I have ever read. What I like most about the book, however, is the fact that the authors were not just using the South Park name to sell some books. In short: the book is great, and has everything to do with South Park; the sections are accurate and true to the show; and the authors didn't twist things around to make things say what they wanted them to. It's a must read for any South Park fan."

South Park manages to offend everyone, and I suspect this book will offend everyone too. The essays included span the politcal spectrum, and so if you're only interested in seeing your own interpretation of South Park validated this book is not for you. Personally I really liked the essay on free market capitalism and libertarian philosophy, which shed new light on the underpants gnomes. I also liked the gay marriage essay, which insightfully makes the case that neither side of the gay marriage debate has yet made a sound argument. Also interesting was the application of existential philosophy to Kenny's recurring death. Matt and Trey may not be thinking of Camus and Sarter when "you bastards" kill Kenny, but it's interesting nonetheless. The book is titled "South Park AND Philosophy" so really it's a way of learning some philosophy using South Park. If you're looking for "THE Philosophy OF South Park" that's not what this book is about. Now screw you guys, I'm going home.