'South Park,' circa 2021. Everett Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment "I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals," bemoaned South Park co-creator Matt Stone in 2005. The line was cited ad nauseum in the early 2000s to seemingly prove South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as more right-leaning. Of course, one must not gloss over the first part of Stone's statement, either. Parker and Stone have always been equal opportunity offenders, going after whatever they find most ridiculous in the days leading up to airtime. Inspired by Monty Python and driven by a desire to never take themselves too seriously, the two Colorado-born troublemakers have put American culture on blast for nearly thirty years. Related Stories TV 'South Park' Spoofs Tech-Bro Culture, ChatGPT and Immigration Crisis TV 'South Park' Heads to a Militarized D.C. in Next Episode, Then Will Skip Yet Another Week Since its 1997 premiere, South Park and its creators have been notoriously difficult to pin down politically. They went after liberal celebrities in early seasons, mocked extremism in the post 9/11 world, poked at Michael Moore, limousine liberals, and jingoistic conservatives in Team America (2004), criticized political overreactions on both sides after the 2008 election, made fun of cartoonish media personalities like Glenn Beck, attacked the politically correct Left while simultaneously going after MAGA attitudes, and they've always made fun of Christians. In short, it's complicated. The Hollywood Reporter's original review of South Park in 1997. The show's first seasons were focused on salacious humor. Alien anal probes, stupid celebrities, Cartman's mom being a slut, and defending the show-within-the-show Terrence and Philip. T&P was what the Christian moral crusaders assumed South Park was - oversimplified vulgarity. Groups like Action for Children's Television lobbied against the show and the Christian Family Network referred to the show as "a steady stream of violence." An early review from The Hollywood Reporter also dismissed South Park as "dismissible juvenilia." Politically, the show's first seasons were relatively tame. The Clinton years saw numerous jabs at the President as a sexual philanderer, but nothing that would warrant a response from the White House. These early years emphasized goofiness, offensiveness, and mocking arrogant celebrities who pushed their platforms at award shows. South Park also used gay stereotypes to attack homophobia with Big Gay Al, making fun of hippies when Cartman goes to San Francisco, caricaturing blind faith in big business with the Underpants Gnomes. The first seasons were about pushing boundaries anywhere Parker and Stone found humor. South Park also went relatively easy on George W. Bush (though Parker and Stone lampooned him in a separate series called That's My Bush). One must remember that in the post 9/11 years, compared to today, there was arguably a bit more cultural unity. A brand of socially liberal conservatism was growing; it was much easier to speak to people with differing views. South Park's 100th episode had characters debating the War in Iraq, only to realize they could go to war and complain about it because the United States is "an entire country founded on saying one thing and doing another." A more direct target of Parker and Stone were Christians ("Red Hot Catholic Love") along with a large lens on organized religion. Jesus had a public access show in town. Religious figures - Muhammad, Buddha, Moses, Joseph Smith, Krishna, Laozi, and (in an Aquaman parody) Sea Man - worked together as the Super Best Friends. Mormons were often lampooned as being as kind as they were stupid. Santa Claus, Jesus Christ in season one of South Park in 1997. Still, the early 2000s saw conservative commentators maintaining the show was in their camp. Andrew Sullivan claimed "South Park Republicans" as a new brand of politically oriented youth in 2003, and City Journal's Brian Anderson penned a book titled South Park Conservatives in 2005. The show clarified its presidential preferences in a 2004 episode titled "Douche and Turd" that lampoons PETA "eco-terrorists" who lecture kids about a school mascot. The school is forced to vote on a new mascot, which sets up a great election parody that argues any vote is always between a "giant douche" or a "turd sandwich." 2006 episodes "Smug Alert" and "ManBearPig" mock hippies in San Francisco and climate fearmongering from Al Gore - a topic they would backtrack on years later. The entire premise of South Park has always been the town's kids trying to make sense of the adult's overreactions. The children's viewpoint is a perfect conduit for asking honest questions, like "isn't this a bit extreme?" In 2006, Trey Parker told Reason that "Michael Moore being