South Park

The Show
The show South Park is arguably the most controversial show on television, having sparked debate for its crude humor, foul language, and questionable subject matter. Conceived in 1992 by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show aired in 1997 and is still running strong. Each episode focuses on the lives of four fourth-grade students--Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny--in a small town in Colorado named South Park. The episodes largely feature debates in modern society, such as, ironically, inappropriate shows on television, and usually culminate in some sort of epiphany or ethical realization.

Animation Style
South Park utilizes a very iconic style of animation. It's style is often compared to Charles Schultz's comic stip Peanuts. Although both Schultz's stip and South Park utilize an iconic style, they're similar styles accomplish different tasks. Peanuts' style allows the viewer to see the world from a child's perspective. Its simplicity makes the characters more relatable and easier to sympathize with. In contrast, South Park uses the viewer's expections and preconceived notions about a simple animated style in order to shock its viewer. The viewer expects a family friendly storyline and is instead given a sharp, satirical commentary upon authority and society. In addition, the child perspective is effective because it allows Parker and Stone to criticize the problems of authority in our society.

Production Process
In the beginning, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually used cutout animation. However, they began using a computer program to rearrange the thousands of colored shapes that make up their characters and backgrounds. This allows for rapid production, and thus South Park is known for its quick responses to public issues.