South Park. Ron Paul. Here is a link to the episode. They tacitly endorse Paul and Johnson. The train scene is 'any problem' that can be seen coming, but due to something stupid and meaningless, they die (or simply refuse to face the problem). The cat consistently saying something unintelligible with outrageous conclusions reached by all those that try to speak with it can be seen to represent consistency and a language barrier. The sound of the cats jumble is similar to the once stated in the episode translation of "O long Johnson." Everything that is 'the cat' is Paul. It originated online with young people. The media write Paul off as an internet meme. The consistency and replacement of Ron Paul at the end debate with the cat can be seen saying Paul doesn't follow memes or fads and instead says the same thing over and over even though people will interpret it any way they want. The reference of the language barrier is the "war" with the "cats." The imagined cat army and inevitable war represent Iran and Ahmadinejad. Again, anything the cat says can and will be used against it as evidence for war. The whole episode is pregnant with metaphor. I submit that they are telling Ron Paul to "Go long with Gary Johnson" and telling people to stop being retards with memes (even though they are funny). The clips of Ron Paul were strategically placed and leveled so as to hear specific things. Even when Paul is not on the stage at the end, his voice can be heard saying, "I thought maybe you were prejudiced against ... and a doctor that practiced medicine in the military."
Matt and Trey told Ron Paul to run as a third party candidate with Gary Johnson. That is my take. From the description of the video on the official site: "Mankind's evolution begins to accelerate at a rapid and disturbing pace. Concurrently, another species on the planet is exhibiting the same drastic development. Eventually the two species will battle to the death and Faith Hilling may be humanity's only hope." I know I am right, at least with the Iran metaphor.
The only thing I got out was it said Ron Paul doesn't pander.
yeah i get what youre saying. but the problem is, they ruined the fuckin episode. seriously, the story was pretty bland,it didnt have a meaningful hook, it was disjointed. they coulda endorsed him somehow, but NOT by making another turd that i mostly skipped overbecause of how SHIT it was. No comic relief to counteract all the brutality shown, no explanation how the kids got to the stage. The meme history class was totally disjointed from the story, it was just a lousy job overall.
I watched a special on how they make the show. It's quite brutal. The time they have to put it together is so short. It's not like most animated shows that take months to make, they pop it out in a week. Of course, while it takes months to make a show that doesn't mean they make one show over several months, just that it takes months from start to finish. South Park, on the other hand, goes from idea to finished product in about a week. By the time they get to the end Stone and Parker are zombies.
"no explanation how the kids got to the stage."
It is ....a.........
CARTOON!!!
I thought Kenny died!!!!?!??! 0_o
BUT HE WAS IN THE EPISODE!!! >_<
If I had a cake and ate it, it can be concluded that I do not have it anymore. HHH
"The whole episode is pregnant with metaphor."
I'd say your interpretation is pregnant with eisegesis. South Park always tries to display the human condition through parody. And they are equal opportunity parodists where any critique of human follies, faults and foibles are to be applied by every individual to themselves.
The show was clearly about mimesis. Humans are mimetic. Language would never exist without mimesis. See Rene Girard for a convincing argument that all human desire is mimetic. This is something I think Mises should have addressed more directly. To read the a priori axioms at the beginning of Human Action would lead one to think that individuals actually posses their own unique desires, that we are all free-thinkers like Paul.
Of course we all believe that as individuals we posses our own unique desires "everybody else is lost in mimesis, but not me." That's what's great about South Park. It makes us question our own follies, faults and foibles (memes) after we are done laughing at the absurdity of the other's.
"I'd say your interpretation is pregnant with eisegesis."
Haha, duh. That doesn't, however, negate much of what I stated. Some assumptions are made to make my theory a theory. It is not as if I did not provide reasoning. And the inital assumption for my theory would come from Matt and Trey's stated Libertarian position and that this season, so far, has covered Ron Paul talking points in every episode. TSA, "Ima need ta check up yo aszhole." -> Cash for Gold -> Faith Hilling. It is not a stretch to say that they would imply things in these episodes. What is a five dollar word for "multiplying your perception through medium"?
"Ars"? Ita, illud non Graecum sed latina est... Arsne interpretaris?
Beyond that, if you watch the episode, the last scene shows, locked in a cage, the cat with an animated Constitution. It is only there for a second in the close up with the cat and Gingrich.
Looked for but couldn't find the constitution.
Ron Paul and the Cat have several possibilities. In the opening debate Ron Paul was the "background noise" a sort of unintelligible gibberish sound as a backdrop for the Faith Hilling caper. In the last scene he is replaced with the cat. Both may have spoken profound ideas but no one understood it. The last scene could also have been the depiction of Ron Paul being ignored or uninvited by the media.
There are many possible levels of metaphor that all story could be interpreted by, but generally there is a basic unifying theme that runs throughout. In this case it is mimesis. In this episode Butters' blind conformity, his always doing what he is told, even to the point of being the only one to put a gun into his mouth, may be the exception of a non-mimetic theme. The theme of the mimetic origin of language is explicit with the cat and ambassador of mankind. The unintelligible gibberish of political rhetoric must also be seen in this light.
You guys are overanalyzing this.
It was a very, very long lead up to a "Ron Paul isn't on this stage because Ron Paul doesn't pander" punchline at the end.
Running third party is nothing more than a waste of time and money.
Over analyze? No way.
The finale was Cartman's rejection of the new meme in favor of the older traditional meme. He makes the analogy in his emotive speech:
"I won't do it! I won't do it! Do you hear me? I'm better than this. To hell with you Mister Kitty! You're a bad kitty. Bad! bad Kitty! It's time somebody stood-up and did the right thing."
That is an analogy to Ron Paul's message; the rejection of expansive government (the new meme) and his unyielding stand for classic liberalism (the old meme).
To pander is to mimic. The whole point of representative democracy is to pander to the desires of the populace, i.e. the representative is supposed to mimic the constituency that elected him - which desire, as South Park often depicts, is socially mediated (Tween Wave?). To say that Ron Paul does not pander is ... is ... I don't know. But somehow his words mimic the desires of a large group of people (OWS, Tea Party and Misesians). Or does this group mimic Ron Paul?
Well, his current campaign arguably is the same.
The only problem I see with a 3rd party campaign is the stain it might bring to Rand's future goals.
"Well, his current campaign arguably is the same."
Agreed.
Who care's about Rand? He is not his father. I could care less if Paul sinks the GOP for good. They need to learn a lesson anyway.
Wheylous: Running third party is nothing more than a waste of time and money. Well, his current campaign arguably is the same.
Paul's been pursuing a strategy of delegate-capture. His chances may be higher than we currently realize, especially if the nomination process goes to a brokered nomination.
When Lincoln was nominated, he was considered the least likely of four candidates to be made the nominee. Seward was considered by far the favorite, but lots of people didn't think Seward could win, that he'd alienated some important states, etc. Lincoln set himself up as everyone's second choice, which paid out in the end. Paul might pull off a similar coup. Never know.
I doubt it, but that would be awfully exciting.