When Satire Fails

[@OliveThat]

It’s hilarious how the writers make you want to hate their straw man, but they’re so bad at writing they make them the only likable character.

[@stolasgoetia5968]

Nice Uzi pfp

[@aussibear6295]

@@stolasgoetia5968 Nice Stolas Pfp

[@stolasgoetia5968]

@@aussibear6295 thanks nice miku pfp

[@rickwong9049]

Superb pfps. 😺

[@stolasgoetia5968]

@@rickwong9049 just like yours

[@cts1234567]

The thing that seems to be the problem with these main characters, is they are so confident they are right they don't put any effort into them. So Velma/Mr. Birchum don't need to justify their actions because it already "obviously correct", and all that means is their counterpart get's the chance to be nuanced.

[@flarestorm9417]

Your comment reminds me of She-Hulk's rant where she says she controls her anger much more than Bruce does because of woman struggles (for lack of a better term). Anyone who knows anything about Bruce/Hulk would not write the scene like that, but the writers try to claim she's justified because of real-world woman struggles. The show doesn't actually put in the effort to justify or address her point because they're so confident in their own world view.

[@BrandonScott-mi5pz]

EXCELLENT WORK. MJTANNER SATIRE FAILURE,

[@tacticianAlexandra]

@@flarestorm9417 oh yeah, if I recall correctly. Didn't She also fail to prove her point. By getting super Anger and almost losing control. For even without any other context. it like wait, your telling us your better at controlling your anger. Yet what we see, is you almost lose control of yourself. Making her whole statement x to doubt.

[@skootergirl22]

At least velma has professional animaters

[@cts1234567]

@@skootergirl22 Now hold on 1 minute, I've seen Mr. Birchum in a watch party and I can tell you good sir, that show does have 1 professional animator. And while it is a shame they couldn't hire anymore then that and have to animate at 1 frame an hour to meet the deadline, that doesn't excuse the slander.

[@plumaDshinigami]

For as much as it's thrown around, the term "safe-edgy" applies to this kind of current "satire" in media. The writers pretend to be smart by touching taboo subjects in as safe a way as possible, but without treating their audiences like thinking, rational adults. Usually, they try to depict one side of the narrative as correct, cherry-picking what to show. Let's take for example how the subject of race is treated in Black Dynamite, The Boondocks, and Blazing Saddles. All of them are edgy satire about race beyond just the black community in a way which makes fun of several aspects of the culture in general at the times they are set in. Often, they criticized cultures and subcultures by exagerating stereotypes in a smart way. Meanwhile, take stuff like Mindy Kaling's show where it's all about ranting and rambling about one side of the political aisle, but are too afraid to portray their negatives. Fake-Velma in that show is never called out for her hypocrisy and has the plot bend to prove her right even when she is completely in the wrong. All while pretending to be smart. Tiresome, is it not?

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Like I said; politics is the easiest way for idiots to pretend they're smart.

[@NebLleb]

Thank you so much for mentioning Black Dynamite. That movie is one of my three favourite comedies alongside Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Team America and go-to guide on how to do a truly hilarious spoof. The filmmakers and cast know and respect the genre they're taking aim at (Blaxploitation), and as such pull no punches in their loving parody of it. And the adult animated TV show it spawned is a rare case of a show being just as good as the film it came from. "SuckThatDick is not 'what', Creamcorn. He's a 'who', a 'why', AND a 'what'!" [cue hilarious story about how BD ran into a drag-clad pervert named "SuckThatDick" as a toddler on Halloween]

[@EatWave]

Spite, self righteousness and contempt are not good motivations for producing art.

[@pokemonrampagemake]

I disagree I think they are excellent motives as they evoke powerful emotions. In my opinion the issue with these shows is that there is nothing that these emotions channel into, instead of the setting and events conveying the authors message you routinely get the characters explicitly stating what the message is. It’s terrible writing rather than terrible motivation

[@EquesTron]

I wish people realize that making something that sticks it to a certain group typically doesn't work out, especially when there's no nuance or subtlety to it. I don't think they'll ever get it, though.

[@MegaGlassguy]

Spite can be a great motivator for getting things done, but is always a terrible goal to aim for.

[@skootergirl22]

We went from "don't hate watch" to "yay more hate watching"

[@dramonmaster222]

I mean at least with South Park, they understand the concept of humor. These other shows are severely lacking in the comedy department.

[@animezilla4486]

These other shows don't care about humor

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

They want to say something while being funny, rather than being funny while saying something.

[@iluvchess14736]

​@@DISTurbedwaffle918I assume you're referring to the other shows because I think trey parker himself has said that the whole point is funny first messages second

[@thecaptain6520]

South Park *used* to understand the concept of humor

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

@@iluvchess14736 Oh yes, I thought that was obvious.

[@itspikachutime5624]

The left: “anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you!” The right: “can you make a good cartoon?” The left: “no.” The right: “neither can I.”

[@Miles-Morales-q3w]

Real

[@ahmadhadi177]

​@@Miles-Morales-q3wWhat about Andor?It seems to be a very political show.

[@ahmadhadi177]

@itspikachutime5624Excuse me.What's your opinion on the Left?

[@PatrickWDunne]

New Norm really saw Mr. Birchum and said "hold my rainbow beer"

[@CrraVideos]

It also fails when you have nothing to say other than " [Thing that i dislike] am i right guys?" aand that being the only message, instead of explaining why they dont like it.

[@avocado4883]

The new norm was so bad, that alot of people thought it was actually an alt-left cartoon made in response to Mr. Birchum, it actually went full circle

[@RhiKlowho]

Mr Birchmen messages were written so poorly that there is a group of people watching the show with the interpretation that Birchum is a closeted gay man.

[@blurrydawgo5403]

"Oh my God! They killed comedy!" "YOU BASTARDS!"

[@tripps3631]

I'm so tired of the modern obsession with satirical and sarcastic nonsense. I miss when there was genuine thought and emotion in media.

[@SodaFrizz666]

This is why I love indie projects or older works of fiction (Sly Cooper, Bully, Celeste, Butterfly Soup).. They have themes, amazing music and art direction.. it has heart. It is its own unique experience, so unique you wish you could do it again. It had genuine intentions and usually came from someone somewhere just wanting to create a little idea in their head. That is why, with modern media like this, it falls flat. These people didn't want to create *a story*, today its more like they ask themselves, "How can I make my work all about me?"

[@TEKITOcreations]

The thing a lot of anti-woke folk don't realize is that when people say they don't want politics in their entertainment, that includes anti-woke politics.

[@matityaloran9157]

Yeah. The Daily Wire doesn’t really understand that

[@alejandrovelez6358]

Yup. Apparently both sides are in the wrong. It’s an extremism vs. extremism battle. I briefly heard some dumb controversy that Bluey, *(a preschool kids show for the whole family which I enjoy especially with one of my nephews)* is considered w0ke when that’s not really case, that’s when I saw SaberSpark’s video where there’s show that exists that is a very right-wing conservative Bluey Rip-off. Like… WHY?!?!😭💀

[@matityaloran9157]

@@alejandrovelez6358 Per Jeremy Boreing, (the head of the Daily Wire), Chip Chilla isn’t a Conservative version of Bluey because “there’s already a Conservative Bluey. It’s called Bluey” and the reason they made their own is so that their right-wing audience can have an alternative to giving money to a company with the political stances that Disney has. His colleagues Michael Knowles and Brett Cooper both criticized a political controversy over the portrayal of fathers in both Bluey and Chipchilla. The only one of them who denounced Bluey as “woke” is Matt Walsh but that contradicts what Boering (and Boering’s partner Ben Shapiro) said about Bluey. Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Birchum isn’t a good show and The Daily Wire doesn’t really understand the difference between not wanting fiction to be woke and wanting it to be anti-woke.

[@animezilla4486]

​@@matityaloran9157that's because those people believe they're the good guys so the rules don't apply to them

[@animezilla4486]

Well apparently the anti-woke people are in for a rude awakening

[@zillauniverse7208]

What makes South Park still work till this day is that it makes fun of “everyone” instead of a political side that the creators don’t like.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

That and the show doesn't make every episode about politics. Everyone hangs on the politics of South Park but forget things like the zip lining episode which was an excuse to get The Discovery Channel guy to narrate the episode and why zip lining sucks.

[@tacticianAlexandra]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid Yeah some people, I think have been a bit poison by the statement, everything is political. Sometimes taking a dog for a walk, is just taking a dog for a walk. Any deeper meaning someone adds to it, is just them seeing what they want to see over reality.

[@arcanejack]

Furthermore, the asshole protagonist actually gets called out on their shitty behaviour and suffers the consequences of their actions. In other words, Cartman is meant to be laughed at, not laughed with.

[@iluvchess14736]

​@@SuperCosmicMutantSquidyeah at the end of the day it's still boys being shits

[@thefuturist8864]

Good point. Stone & Parker often make fun of political/cultural tribalism and how thoughtlessly people get involved with it. A good example was their more recent ‘Panderverse’ special where they ridiculed both woke and anti-woke tribalism, and also the Caitlyn Jenner episode from S19 where the kids come to realise that while it’s ridiculous to call Jenner a hero, it’s equally ridiculous to turn against those who do (or Jenner him/herself).

[@Doc-Glock]

This entire circle of "adult" cartoons like Velma, Mr. Birchum, and The New Norm where the main focus is to get an Epic Own on some group that the producers dislike are not only very unfunny, they're incredibly embarrassing to observe. They should all serve as lessons in what NOT to do when producing a show...or any piece of media, really.

[@joejoejoe0121]

I'm very grateful the algorithm turned me onto your content. I appreciate your critique so much. The politicizing/demonizing approach of these works under the guise of satire has been something I struggled to put my finger on for a while. This video greatly helped put things into perspective for me. Thank you so much.

[@AL-ws5yi]

South Park understands satire. Unfortunately, these other shows don’t.

[@thecaptain6520]

*used to They're just as dumb and preachy as any of these shows

[@Cubeytheawesome]

The term “woke” has done massive damage to society.

[@Nokyyyyy]

Velma managed to redeem Scrappy doo by making him the villain and kill Velma

[@fernandodecarlosmalcher7977]

the worst part of this shows that they won't take criticism, they would say crap like "you didn't liked it because you're racist/a snowflake" also sorry to hear you had a tough week, hopefully you'll get better

[@BingBong7778]

The anti-woke crowd often gets so busy trying to “offend “ the side they don’t like that, they forget that shows have to be so what entertaining.

[@animezilla4486]

That's because deep down they don't care about being funny they just care about sticking into the enemy that's why I'm getting sick and tired of culture wars screw all this leftist versus right crap

[@THATBrokeAroSpecWallet]

It's not even offensive at that point, just hilariously dumb or mediocre enough to forget

[@Bossinette623]

@@THATBrokeAroSpecWalletfr, they’re making it too easy to parody

[@WingedFish66]

Aside from the obvious intentional division-widening "us vs them" mentality these shows propagate, the one term that jumps out to me is rage bait. They all go so extreme in whichever direction because that's what will get the headlines and YT reaction/essay videos. When Velma came out it was EVERYWHERE on the internet about how awful it is, and it's clearly proven to be a winning formula because look at what shows have come out since then that copy the same extreme narratives on either end of the spectrum

[@vagrant2863]

The only way to make these shows more annoying would be to combine them. At that point it would just be listening to two groups hate each other with no humor.

[@Jonderlei]

Its like the shows made by people who spite the fans but instead of spiting the fans its more just to spite the group they dont like but still feels similar. Still just made to spite people instead of making something ya love and are passionate about

[@matityaloran9157]

MJ Tanner made a video on the subject titled “Spite is ruining media”

[@Jonderlei]

@@matityaloran9157 Yeah I was thinking about that one a bit while watching this one.

[@isaacmartinez6904]

I usually love old movies that knows how to use satire. Dr StrangeLove is a perfect satire movie.

[@TheNoobYouHATE]

Dr StrangeLove is one of the best movies ever made. Even the Soviets loved it!

[@GPlasticBeach]

What most modern media doesn't understand about satire is that with satire the humor always comes first. There's no point in critiquing something in a comedic sense if you can't do it in a funny way. It makes the point you want to make more digestible to the audience and keeps things entertaining.

[@nekoking8330]

“Satire is meant to ridicule power. If you are laughing at people who are hurting, it’s not satire, it’s bullying.” Terry Pratchett

[@Seattletyy93]

I bet you hate Dave Chappelle and can't understand why everyone else around you is laughing 😂

[@FRTKU]

​@@Seattletyy93-🤓☝️

[@BrandonScott-mi5pz]

WOKE HOT 🔥 GARBAGE.

[@falsehero2001]

George Carlin would disagree.

[@psycholuigiman]

This is really stupid. Let me count the ways. 1.) Satire isn't about ridicule. It's just about saying something about something. Sometimes it's ridicule. Sometims its praise. 2.) Laughing at somebody who is hurting on purpose is not bullying or satire. It's slapstick. 3.) The notion of "power" is vague and nebulous. Some people think power means having somebody the same color as you in office. Other say it means making it extra illegal to deface a symbol that represents your people. 4.) Terry Pratchett was an author who wrote profound and very serious literature. He didn't know jack about what was funny and he has as much authority to determine what is satire or safe to laugh at as you or i. That is to say, none.

[@ariwhitepaw3738]

Fanfiction of Mr. Birchum and Mr. Karponzi is more well-written than the show itself

[@onlyfacts4999]

Good satire is subtle, not preachy

[@thecaptain6520]

Let's not kid ourselves. Satire is never subtle and always preachy.

[@sonicfanboy3375]

When was South Park edgy?

[@jeremyusreevu237]

I've been watching YTPs of The New Norm, and they're honestly funnier than the show itself. Which tbf, isn't hard to do, given how The New Norm is genuinely one of the most unfunny things I've ever seen in my life, but still. They're really well made YTPs.

[@jeycb7524]

I am not very invested in politics and all, but these modern adult shows are very bad and not funny anymore. Comedies are not that comedic anymore 🤦‍♀️

[@ottobaron6392]

In the old Mad Magazine, they mocked everyone, they even referred to themselves as "the usual gang of idiots". They even insulted their readers. A big part of the problem is too many who want to create satire, don't want to see the faults in their own side.

[@Cubeytheawesome]

They even did that further in that show they had on Cartoon Network in the early 2010s.

[@Dragonkid1801]

South Park works because everyone's a target. No one is free from getting jokes at their expense

[@estebangutierrez160]

Even Mama June and Honey Boo Boo were targets, no one is safe from South Park.

[@psycholuigiman]

True, but they still have to actually tell funny jokes. Like when Trump unexpectedly won the 2016 election and all the ideas they had prepared were no longer applicable, the main joke they could come up with for one episode was Mr. Garrison stalking people and asking about his approval ratings. Was a pretty unfunny episode that really seemed like it was made in a rush.

[@nachomanrandy]

@@psycholuigiman you sound butthurt

[@psycholuigiman]

@@nachomanrandy And you sound too young to be here.

[@nachomanrandy]

@@psycholuigiman what, are you a groomer or something

[@tatoni3602]

I was just mesmerised by the avatar changed. Seeing you angry about “their parents consent or knowledge” actually made me crease.

[@stevensteviepryde5888]

Seeing a clip from a funny movie like Idiocracy transition to New Norm's weird creepy looking AI cartoon love letter to Musk gave me severe mental whiplash

[@MeeplandHeights]

I think the issue is a lot of these comedy shows are written by people so far removed from society they cant write anything relatable or even have relatable ideologies. Back in the day comedians represented (and quite often were) the common folk. Now it's out of touch celebrities writing from their perspective of the world and their weird beliefs that combine modern politics and their out of touch lives.

[@Zarreth]

I have a mini essay on my desktop called "The Velma Effect" and a year after writing it and letting it sit there, it's really became more relevant.

[@Zarreth]

@@I_have_Claws basically the effect of extremist dialogue taking over entertainment. To the point of nobody knows if it's parody or serious anymore.

[@Zarreth]

@@I_have_Claws zegler dug her grave and it isn't more apparent than when they paired her with the little mermaid actress for a political struggle session that was just obvious damage control when she acted like a total hypocrite. Meanwhile her opposite was a total example of class.

[@I_have_Claws]

@@Zarreth I do *personally* think the backlash against her was extreme with so many Anti-SJW channels just using her face and just demonizing her. Which I completely understand the backlash against her, but the reaction further down was totally unhinged. Like people even calling her “a waste of breath” like jeez.

[@Zarreth]

@@I_have_Claws again tho, she said some really dumb and insulting things with so much vitriol that the backlash really was deserved. Personally, I don't even think there's such a thing as an anti sjw channel. People just give their takes on the loony things sjws do. Tanner herself commented on the loony stuff she said multiple times and she's nowhere near what people would consider "anti sjw". Everyone who would be considered one talk about way more than sjws. Sjws tho just have a habit of being meme worthy and ridiculous because it's pretty much part of the general criticism of them. It's because they're like Don Quixote, fighting problems that don't really exist or at least aren't truly problems but are just their rabid critique. They're easy targets because they generally annoy most people. Like Just Stop Oil protesters. Nobody likes them and they annoy everyone in their rabid cause.

[@shandeur6918]

"If you have to tell everyone it's satire, it's bad satire."

[@one-upfilmz6649]

South Park, American Dad, King Of The Hill are the type of shows that are done right. Meanwhile these shows are an absolute failure. This is why modern political shows and conservatives shows in general are falling flat. Anti-woke shows is what is wrong with today's modern conservative media.

[@AnimationFanboy2k4]

YOOOOO.... Seriously, WHY YOU'RE EVERYWHERE?!

[@Scornfull]

And Woke shows are what is wrong with today's leftwing media, both are terrible lol

[@one-upfilmz6649]

@@Scornfull Honestly why not just make normal tv shows? NOTHING that has anything political in it including anti-woke media.

[@Scornfull]

@@one-upfilmz6649 I think politics has a place for certain shows but it needs to be done well or it will completely ruin any merit the show would have had without it

[@one-upfilmz6649]

@@Scornfull Yea, if it makes fun of a certain politics just like South Park does it I am on board. But if it's just something out of spite and just to forcefully make fun of a group they don't like or hate or make a subject of something they don't understand that is a guarantee failure

[@Legomicroman]

tbh. people tend to use politics as an excuse to be an asshole. that's why i hate partisan media, because it puts politics WAAAAAY above people.

[@The90sDoggo]

I agree with most of what you said! these shows just desperately want to be South Park, but fail to understand what made that show so good!

[@inactivehorse9753]

Yeah, one of the biggest reasons why South Park actually works so well when making jokes or statements it's because they poke fun of both sides and anyone and everyone, no one is safe from being made fun of by South Park.

[@The90sDoggo]

@@inactivehorse9753 Yes! and these shows also forget that South Park is not always trying to be so political like they think, sometimes it just tries to have dumb fun for the sake of it!

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

The thing that made South Park so popular when it started was people reminded that these were elementary kids going on these insane, vulgar antics. It started out just making fun of UFOS, country towns and other weird shit but people obsess about their political episodes and think they 'get it'.

[@The90sDoggo]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid Oh yeah exactly! they want all the attention that the political episodes of South Park get, but they forget that South Park learned to be funny without any of that first!

[@thecaptain6520]

They desperately want to be *modern South Park FTFY

[@pessimisticprofessorfarnsw3241]

The best part of panderverse imo that nobody really mentions is that cartman apologized to Kathleen for going so hard against her, she was kind of forced to double down. They were actuallly kind of buddy buddy by the end of it and it was a really cool mending bridges thing from southpark of all people. Something satire shows get wrong a lot is that the people that disagree with you aren't doing it to spite you, there's an infinite number of variables that led you to one ideology and them to another.

[@nachomanrandy]

yes, is amazing how nobody mentions that.

[@DeltaDanner]

It was funny seeing the people being made fun of completely miss the points. Liberals thought it was about conservatives crying “woke” at everything. Conservatives thought it was about liberals ruining things with wokeness. In reality, it’s about these idiots ruining entertainment by being divisive.

[@DaBigDerp]

Wake up babe, new mjtanner video just dropped

[@aquapendulum]

The most effective parody of woke culture is just good writing. Write characters with depth, write worldbuilding with depth, write logical plot. Anti-woke satire is just cringe.

[@filmfocusmind]

As someone who has been in writing classes, satirists are hard to deal with. One time I gave constructive criticism on a piece only for the author to respond, “Well it’s SATIRE” as if my critique was based on me not understanding that the piece was satire. I had a teacher get mad at me because I didn’t like a work that was satire and acted like there must be something wrong with me since I didn’t like it.

[@claytonrios1]

Whether woke or anti woke, these folk need to cut it out!

[@MovieEnforcer]

Also South Park makes fun of both sides and they’re not one sided with their character and they don’t get preachy with.

[@SirFailsalot91]

I'd take a full season of "Heil Honey, I'm Home" over any of these """"adult comedies"""" any day - not because I think a sitcom starring Adolf Hitler and Ava Braun would actually be funny, but rather because it'd be 0.001% more tolerable than whatever "Velma" or "The New Norm" are trying to be; at least there was some attempt to be funny instead of trying go dunk on people that the writers hate all the time.

[@Spyder-Marth]

I recently found this channel and I love it! I like your voice. It is so nice to listen to these videos because of your delivery. It's matter-of-factual but calming. I like it.

[@hibikiholmes2867]

I'm just sad that thousands of hours of talent, skill and effort were wasted on animating these "adult" cartoons. Think of all the good animated shows that didn't live see past a season, and then we get "The Old People Being Angry and Gross Show" for 5 more.

[@nachomanrandy]

that only applies for velma, wich honestley has some gorgeously animated scenes, like Velma panics attacks. Birchun and Norm seems like something from go animate, or worse.

[@alexanderdragonheart2036]

Instead of Satire I believe these things should be lumped into a new category “Vent” because that’s what’s happening in these shows. I wonder if there are “Satire” shows from before these three that fit that quota. Or from other genres for that matter ?

[@psychedillo1998]

This is why Smiling Friends is the best adult cartoon to come out in recent memory. It’s written, voice acted, animated, directed and produced by Zach Hadel and Adam Cusack: animators, VAs, writers. Not activists or social commentators. Same with South Park. It’s what Trey Parker and Matt Stone do. They don’t have another gig on some other platform, South Park is their full time job.

[@dominiqurzua-alvarez7721]

I thought his name was Michael Cusack?

[@fatworm4804]

Based on the images of "The New Norm" that I could see here, it almost looks like (an incredibly poor) modern imitation of "All in the Family". The house and furniture placement mimics the set of the show and Norm even looks like Archie Bunker.

[@johnny718bravo]

They didn't even try. Terrible "jokes"? AI? Laugh track?! Hard Pass.

[@firepuppies4086]

And that level of Elon meat riding...

[@HonsHon]

I think people are missing the point even in this comments section. It is fine to have political points of view in media. It is even fine for an episode or show to be mostly political. But, it fails when that is all the show has. The show needs to have a good premise/plot in order for it to work. Make something entertaining before you start putting political beliefs. And, if it is a show about fucking Scooby Doo, that is obviously not the right place for political jokes. They could have done something more interesting like an origin story about how the gang got together and focused on monsters instead of dumb pointless self inserts and insulting the audience.

[@NoshikiYT]

Yeah

[@reaps912]

I'm reminded of how Archie Bunker became the most popular character on All in the Family, even though he was supposed to be a satire of 'bigoted' Americans - to the point where he _got his own spinoff show_ that ran for four years

[@ndbringer96]

Every time I hear these awful characters speak, I imagine Luffy punching them like their Celestial Dragons.

[@pichugirl6]

whats funny is how South Park didn't began as a satire but as time went on it would slowly turn into doing satire stuff that folks can't help but laugh at what they might do next, depending on which season/episodes we talk about. With South Park, they do as much research and are able to make certain parodies/satire work because they write an actual story comedy, regardless if it offends people it's making fun of. The hard part about shows like Velma, The New Norm, or Mr. Birchum, when I look at these shows, even if it's meant to be it's own joke about what is currently happening RIGHT NOW, the huge issue I see is once say this phase we are dealing with is over, how will this show hold up when looking back at it. Velma barely does a mystery and just focus too much on Velma being a PoS character who can't even tie a knot in a relationship without it being all about her and her issues with society that doesn't agree with her. Birchum creates a strawman that somehow the strawman is more like a brickhouse because he has more character than the main character, which Birchum might as well be American Dad 2.0 in my eyes. And finally the new Norm pretends to be like a animated sit-com because of the laugh track except it keeps laughing at everything instead of letting the actual audience pick up what punchlines they're trying to deliver.

[@ProfessorHeavy1]

7:50 What I actually love about the Kathleen Kennedy parody is that despite there being truth in it, Cartman taking up the role is supposed to symbolize how the depiction is an exaggeration of public view, rather than an actual representation. The joke technically targets both sides.

[@unitkilla5967]

The issue is, was this stated by Stone and Parker or is that just your assumption of it? The way it was done felt like they just assumed she was well intending at first but got corrupted by the pander stone, before she got replaced by the Cartman Kennedy. The ending with her realising what she should be doing definitely did not paint her in the most positive light at all.

[@ProfessorHeavy1]

I confess: it is a personal interpretation. They kinda seem to go both ways with it, with awareness about how Kathleen Kennedy isn't some innocent figure, but also mocking the basic interpretation of "put a chick in it, make her lame and gay". While it does represent the END result of "wokeness" from Disney, it is not *as close to* the CURRENT state of things as people make it out to be. The show just represents her as a relatively normal person when she's not Cartman. Targeting both sides by representing two extremes (or a singular exaggerated extreme) is the show's branding with topical stuff for the most part. They mocked Family Guy for just being manatees in a pool with balls. While it represented their views on the show, it doesn't go so far as to say that the jokes are truly arbitrarily generated.

[@JackPool-lq8ux]

I think the Left needs to be made fun of more, but Daily Wire isn't the way to do it. Neither is "The Boys" since the writers think they do.

[@seastriker4437]

I miss the days of King of the Hill.

[@rubydearest]

As a leftist king of the hill was subtle but on the nose humor is actually annoying to watch😭 "haha stick it to the far left/far right"

[@gamemaster2819]

​@@rubydearest King of the Hill both trusts the audience to understand their conclusions and is unafraid to acknowledge when the right (who created the show) are wrong. But these modern shows, left or right created, are just so black and white in terms of morality. All we're getting is preaching what your side already believes and making the other side angry and convincing them to not listen to you

[@SamtheBravesFan]

Exactly. Daily Wire can't do it, at least right now, because they don't have writers that can do it. A comedy show is only as good as the strength of the material and whether the actors can make the material funny.

[@psycholuigiman]

@@gamemaster2819 I'm not even sure it's accurate to say the creators of King of the Hill were part of the right-wing. Honestly, it seems more like it was just a bunch of folks with some slight political leanings, but none of them were fanatical enough to be called "the right" or "the left'. That eagerness and willingness to label oneself as part of the right or part of the left, to me, is the real issue. Don't really know how we ended up here. I'd love to blame the far lefties, but maybe it wasn't them. In any case, we live in a world where a lot of the showrunners are super politicized simps for their own team. It's been a constant scramble to form and maintain a bubble to shield oneself while also taking every chance to jab at and blame the opposition for everyting wrong in any given culture.

[@Lechgang]

What is especially noteworthy is that the people who politically would 'agree' with these shows don't give them any attention, and in turn the main people who talk about them are on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Most of the people who talk about Velma are conservatives who want something to rant about. And a lot of the discourse around Mr Birchum and The New Norm is started by left-leaning people who purposely made them both as gay as possible to upset the conservative creators.

[@nachomanrandy]

yeah, but making them gay was hella lot funnier and more akin to satire than ranting about velma non stop.

[@unitkilla5967]

@@nachomanrandy Weird you are defending Velma lol.

[@xadalau9758]

I remmember someone saying they knew the acolyte was trash, but liked how it was supposedly 'spitting' the people they dislike. Why would anyone want to create a piece of media just to do that? It is so petty and pitifull to be honest.

[@unitkilla5967]

@@xadalau9758 You nailed it. Leftists have done this for a while, and it's just done nothing but damage the industry. Right Wingers are now getting in on it, and surprise surprise it's just as awful.

[@DjPrimeVideos]

These shows are so poorly written that its no wonder people believe they were written with the intent of riling up the other side. Remember people believed that Velma was actually made by people on the right and now everything has come full circle with Mr Birchum and The New Norm where it literally feels that way. Also it sicks no one mentioned it but Santa Inc should also be mentioned in this group as well sonce it also follows the same type of structure

[@quentinbringthenumetalchil5125]

I forgot about Santa, Inc.

[@TheIrreverentUncleAl]

@@quentinbringthenumetalchil5125 Consider yourself lucky you did so.

[@yeeyeeyeeye]

What's so funny is that they're both so insincere about what they want to accomplish, that they've gotten ironic attention from the very people that they despise; Velma got most if its attention from the right, with people making it as right as possible to piss off the creators, and both Mr. Birchum and The New Norm have a "fanbase" of left-leaning people who intentionally make the show as gay as possible to piss off the creators. Just making something to piss off whichever demographic ypu don't like isn't going to make a show work on its own, you still need to actually have it be GOOD.

[@TwilightWolf032]

For crying out loud, just make a good show without involving politics!

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Ditto.

[@animezilla4486]

Amen

[@Cubeytheawesome]

I can’t believe anyone can take American politics seriously after that debate and Skibidi Biden (thanks Stephen Colbert)

[@nachomanrandy]

art is political, sorry not sorry.

[@TwilightWolf032]

@@nachomanrandy Art CAN be political as much as it can just NOT be!

[@DISTurbedwaffle918]

Satire is meant to be funny first, and convey a message second. If your satire puts a message before its humor, it will never be funny in an unironic sense. Gen X and Millennial writers and producers will never understand that.

[@matityaloran9157]

5:07, he’s pretty clearly supposed to be based on Vaush but at that point I question why they didn’t use the real Vaush’s antics as the basis for their jokes

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

I never would have guessed because Vaush doesn't look like that, so specifically. He also doesn't act like Vaush.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@SuperCosmicMutantSquid He looks to me like he’s supposed to be a caricature of Vaush and the name “Eliot Karponzi” seems reminiscent of Ian Kochinski

[@Ergeniz]

@@matityaloran9157 I'm not sure its supposed to be Vaush specifically. Its a caricature of what they think the typical progressive/'leftist'/SJW/LGBTQ+/whatever is. Admittedly a lot of the people that identify like that do have similar fashion (kind of like the rainbow colored feminist stereotype which has truth behind it). Its kind of low hanging fruit really.

[@matityaloran9157]

@@Ergeniz Could be though I’m not the first person to think he was based on Vaush

[@naiveveg8447]

Can't make a vaush horsing around joke.

[@Heliocentricity]

i love how marzipan from homestar runner still feels likeable and isn't exactly some strawperson made with discriminative intent or anything like that sure, she may be a walking (well, who knows exactly if she walks or not) personification of the granola girl trope, but she's still a charming character who can still be liked

[@yarushumasan9786]

"Hey, I want to make a show that satirizes a political group. How do you suggest I go about that?" "Hmm... Did you plan on approaching it from your angle while showing the conditions that cause people to go into certain groups, thereby making it understandable for everyone involved while balancing it out with comedy that still pokes fun at its worst aspects in a reasonable amount?" "...That sounds like a good idea. I'll do that." "What? No, *don't* do that."

[@UncensoredScion]

what both are doing is trying to cultivate hate, to make you want to hate the other side. Both are doing it and you should be asking WHY both are doing this, who the people who are really behind it all are and what reason they'd have to want you to see the other person as a caricature of a person rather than an actual person. Most won't though, most will argue surface-level things and try to say they're above all of the others on both sides, when they themselves are also a caricature of a person - because a truly middle of the road person wouldn't need to talk about either and would actually live and let live for all of it.

[@Code7Unltd]

Of course, to *really understand it,* you have to go all the way back to how Wall Street dismantled the Occupiers.

[@UncensoredScion]

@@Code7Unltd Occupy Wall Street, that takes me back. There's going to be people who scoff at you for bringing it up but they don't realise the whole bit with Ketchup (and no one should give context for that, let them learn on their own lol)

[@noahalcantar2431]

I'm starting to dislike both sides now

[@murky1608]

I feel like if you spliced these shows together YTP style you MIGHT have something worth watching with how the characters could be clashing.

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

Mr. Birchum vs Velma and it everyone is rooting for SOMEONE to get their ass kicked, doesn't matter who because they both suck Meanwhile Fred and Mr. Karpocki actually have meaningful conversations where they consider each other's viewpoints and come to mutual understandings.

[@kindaepicngl1671]

​@@nightmarefanatic1819that gives me its always sunny vibes, i dig that

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

Some of these shows feel like something Rick would have on TV while past out drunk on the couch

[@SodaFrizz666]

These "adult" shows feel more like the creators thinking that... adult comedy translates to being mean, or "thing I dislike". And then the most entitled, unaware people are writing the shows. So the humor becomes "I hate things & also I'm in the right." Like everything mentioned here is more made for a certain group to love and worship, then the side the cartoon hates will hate their cartoon.. then the targeted demographic ends up disliking it too anyway. Vs South Park, where they do satire on a relevant topic in media, rather than charging everything with hate & expecting everyone to agree that it's funny.

[@saltra9940]

That moment when you write the main character forcing kids to do unpaid manual labour and expect people to root against the guy who decided to stand up to him for it...

[@Thomperfan]

You know a show that handles politics WAY better than Velma, Mr. Birchum, and The New Norm do? Parks and Recreation. And that's because of a lot of things: -Unlike MK Velma, Birchum, and Norm, Leslie isn't portrayed as a flawless main character. She's a fantastic human being with a heart of gold, but she has bad habits, particularly being very stubborn and impulsive about certain things, and when she's in the wrong, the show acknowledges her wrongdoing and frames it as such. -The rest of the main cast have big, explosive and differing personalities and world views that code every action they take and every interaction they have. Ron's a libertarian who hates his job, Tom is a image/fame-obsessed trend-chaser, Chris is a health & fitness freak, Andy is a 10-year-old in a grown man's body, April is a chaotic force of nihilism and indifference, Ben is a pure nerd, Ann is basically the mom of the group, Donna is P&R's answer to Samantha Jones, and Jerry's just a really nice guy who doesn't hold grudges despite how much the world and his friends knock him down. -Because our 10 main characters are so different from each other, that allows them to have their beliefs challenged constantly, but despite this, they never let their differences stop them from being friends and a team. -The show never goes into any deep political statements, which makes it feel less like we're being told what to believe in and instead like we're seeing someone with a vision for the future try to make that vision a reality. -Close-minded people who are jerks to others are NOT treated as good guys whatsoever. -And most importantly, Parks and Recreation's main theme/message was that if we want to make the world a better place, we need to come together in spite of our differences. Because we're all living on the same planet, we might as well stop fighting and start working together. The other three shows I listed seems to preach the idea that things are supposed to be a certain way and anyone who disagrees with that way is wrong and should be ridiculed. That's why the main characters constantly get away with being awful, why all the characters revolve around them and have little to nothing to help them stand out, why they constantly spit out pseudo-political takes and insults, why the show features almost no nuance, and specializes in only black and white thinking, because that's what it was created for. To tell people that everything was a lot better because of X and Y, and people who disagree with you are wrong and you should never try to understand them, compromise with them, or be friends with them. They're your enemies and they always will be. Parks and Rec teaches acceptance, cooperation, humility, and optimism. Velma, Mr. Birchum and The New Norm teach hostility, superiority, exclusion, and close-mindedness. And I don't know about you, but I definitely prefer the former.

[@estebangutierrez160]

Another problem about these shows is that there are no life lessons. The only life lesson these shows are saying is, "that other side is wrong, and our side is right."

[@quintessence_sailor]

Yeah I'm generally conservative, I even watch the Daily Wire people sometimes. But the first glimpse I had of Mr. Birchum I knew it would be terrible and that I needed to avoid seeing it at all costs. Politically minded people always think they're funny and they never are. The comparison to Velma is so spot on.

[@calebpribyl5152]

You get like a lot of comedians arguing and complaining about things like this! And then you have me who just tries to capture a childhood 2000s experience! I remember when I was a kid I would always play the simpsons arcade game (by Konami) Sadly that machine is gone away! However I got into another Konami arcade game I appreciate called “parodius!” That game genuinely makes me thirsty for a Coca Cola sprite or a monster (that’s a coke drink right?) And hungry for pizza!

[@roachofdoom1234]

Time to start making people who call things satire actually have to defend the quality of the satire rather than letting them use the word as a shield for what they’re really doing which is arguing against strawmen or lying

[@Jimbo676-dc4fq]

“Anti woke? What is it with this sleeping propaganda now a days?”

[@madlaboratorian8696]

Maybe the Babylon Bee should write a cartoon.

[@nachomanrandy]

it woud be the same as birchum and norm

[@TheIrreverentUncleAl]

@@nachomanrandy But maybe it'd actually be funny!

[@zeogold]

Speaking of South Park I've been hearing people say that Trey and Matt went soft on Kathleen Kennedy compared to the other people and things that they take shots at.

[@nachomanrandy]

didn't you watch the episode? They said blaming kathleen for everything is as lazy as pandering. Wich is true.

[@zeogold]

@@nachomanrandy Which led to Trey and Matt being called soft and cowards. I think that South Park hit the nail on the head in that special.

[@nachomanrandy]

@@zeogold yeah, because people just want to bitch on kennedy a la cartman did in that episode. That last moment in the show when both extended their hands to each other after explaining their grivances was the point of the special, but all those youtubers omitted it.

[@MontenegroPlus]

Cash-grab comedy seems to think you need to have a protagonist to look up to 😮‍💨, and a recurring adversary to constantly humilliate.😩

[@JimmyBoah]

I love how this channel has no bias when it comes to picking apart stupid tv shows.

[@harrygardner7257]

Should park should make fun of these type of shows and the both sides.

[@Code7Unltd]

Knowing how recent South Parks are just segmented movies, I'm unsure how that would work, or if spiteful TV would still be a problem when the 'series' drops.

[@gryphonofmight]

How do you not have more subscribers?

[@SilvioJ]

It seems these shows are obsessed with making content only the creators themselves watch and enjoy.

[@mackb909]

"Ripping off 'South Park' or "Family Guy'..." I've always considered FG a rip-off of "The Simpsons," but self-consciously meaner and more cynical (Stewie) without being cleverer or more original or more profound. But that's just MHO.

[@juliusbossman7280]

You could play these shows in a psychologist class and teach the students about self loathing and superiority complex.

[@Skibster-w9l]

4:56 you know what’s kind of funny though. Characters like these would be slightly better if they were made an antagonist. While the straw man type character were made the protagonist who had to deal with them. Then they could be enjoyable characters because we’re not supposed to root for them and they actually get some form of karma. It mainly depends on how it’s written and handled though.

[@ginidontthinkso4282]

Horseshoe theory in cartoon form

[@eightcoins4401]

I mean it kinda makes sense, the most vocal people regarding their political views on both sides are all terminally online people fully out of touch with society

[@Shimamon27]

I usually make anti-woke animations... I can't find a single good thing about "New Norm". They just didn't really think this through... No one likes it by the looks of it. Even Velma has a few fans, the animation there itself is still rather decent, and yeah, characters there, despite being obnoxious and unlikable, do have some odd character growth... And actually yes, the show tried so hard to be "progressive" that it ended up being extremely anti-woke, and it's kinda entertaining to see how it falls flat on it's attempt at it. It would have been an average show at best if only it didn't abuse the Scooby Doo IP. Humor and satire are not easy to nail... The last thing you need to be, is detached from what people see and experience. Issue is, the makers of these shows are so sure of themselves, that they don't understand their self-inserts just don't deliver what they thought it would... They honestly believe other people around them see it in a similar way to themselves, or react similarly to those situations... They use the opposite characters as punching bags to make themselves laugh at it. And the result speaks for itself really. Probably my own animations might suffer a bit due to a similar condition, however, that's not for me to judge 😅

[@XC11301991]

I really hope we get some good content soon, too much of this garbage has been coming out. Been rewatching some KotH eps.

[@Andres33AU]

Lol the canned laughter on Norm reminds me of Scooby Doo, where they added a laugh track for the sake of getting people to laugh. Great video, these shows look like they missed the point on both satire, and humour.

[@chrimsonphantom]

I found a actual family guy clone which was made by a former family guy writer. It's a lot better than the shows you presented, and I think the humor improved because of the shows you listed. Its called border town, it lasted one season. Yet I would rather have three season of border towns than another special of Velma.

[@ZombieSandwiches]

Hope you're doing well, love the video

[@Nickel_The_Wise]

I haven't gotten into much at all recently except Fallout and Kaiju no. 8, but with this New Norm, I'm hoping people are pointing out the similarities to All in the Family. It's practically the same living room set perspective, and very much the same bigoted jerk that claws out crabbily at everything with Archie Bunker. The real important difference, though, is that Archie Bunker made for a better lead because he didn't just react and parrot every slander and 'these kids t'day' messaging that was thick in the mart of public usage, you saw that he was more than that, and he can grow out of things, and sometimes caught the audience by surprise with his insight on the one thing we could all agree on: the world hurts and we're in pain. Maybe that's what we're missing here is a commonality; I wanna know why a character acts the way they do, not just how and at what. I've watched a difference in polarity indicated on a switchboard before, it's called a blinkin' light. I don't wanna watch blinkin' lights, I wanna watch TV.

[@SuperCosmicMutantSquid]

Bro, this is an insult to All in the Family. It amazes me that people say they praise the show but never seem to get what it was trying to do or forget that a lot of the moments were less commentary on politics but also a look at how families deal with personal crisis and other close things.

[@Drewbe821]

Apologies for your week being so rough. Thank you for your continued content.👍

[@menaatefadly]

1:16 i love we are starting to call twitter X cuz that implies its no longer twitter, its Worse

[@diosnelfrica590]

American Animation for adults are just bad. The lack of actual dramatic cartoons or cartoons that treat their audience as adults is just disrespectful. Everything except for a few cartoons is a comedy.