And it's still pushing the envelope, because almost everyone else backs away from the topics they make fun of and it still offends people who take themselves too seriously and makes the rest laugh
The people I've met love its satire
I was being hyperbolic with "dumb", saying "its just good cause they didnt know any better" is old man beheaviour if you ask me, and "the audience just doesnt get the topic" is smug behraviour
Is it always a good thing to go towards something that everyone else is trying to escape? You don't dive into a dumpster fire when even the rats are running from the trash heap.
And people take it seriously because "just having a laugh" isn't an excuse in itself. In fact, that shows the darker side of the
South Park audience: that attitude of "shut up, minorities, and let me laugh at minorities" looms over every argument in their favor. It's pretending that everyone else is a prude when in reality they actually know — not think, but know — that SP's comedy is objectively badly made vapid punch-down humor with shallow depth underneath it.
"The people I've met" is a poor citation I could easily counter with the opposite claim.
Avatar made over $1 billion despite being a shallow rehash of previous films (as well as being called out as racist by Slavoj Žižek); popularity does not measure artistic value.
"Being hyperbolic" the way you did it is dishonest. What you did is strawmanning, which, like I said, makes you look like you can't defend your opinion. You're also using a "no you" argument, which is not appropriate for mature discussion.
Kids don't know things. Grade schoolers don't study macroeconomics or other topics from the show. High schoolers rarely do, and even college freshmen tend to be ignorant. I don't get how you don't understand that. Kids were their target audience from the start, and that was proven early on; that's why they were forced to stop selling t-shirts to little kids. They didn't target an audience who would challenge their ability to talk on the topics because they weren't going to succeed with them.
I'll say it but I would've watched more of South Park if it wasn't for its gratuitous use of toilet based humour and shenanigans.
Sorry but, when I watch a show on my computer, human waste material is probably the last thing I would like to see (especially when I'm having a meal in front).
On the other hand I liked some other jokes or references even if they forced a bit too much on gore.
South Park eventually became a parody of itself at some point.
The repetitive structure and jokes made it pretty close to self-parody from early on. Tons of episodes are basically this:
Stan: Wow, snowy day, huh?
Kyle: Yeah.
Cartman: Shut up, ⛥⛥⛥!
Stan: Hey, is that a person doing something that doesn't conform?
Kyle: Yeah, he's opening a local business that competes with our corporate overlords! Let's go check it out!
Cartman: I'm going to go do anti-semite stuff.
Stan: Hi strawman we're about to criticise! What are you doing?
Strawman: I'm trying to be all different and stuff with my local coffee shop that employs local people! Hippie-dippie, yo! Also, there's a guy with Turrets here.
Turrets Guy: §§§§ COMING OUT OF MY ※※※! §§§§ COMING OUT OF MY ※※※!§§§§ COMING OUT OF MY ※※※!
Kyle: Wow, Turrets Guy, anyone who says you are an unfunny joke must hate Turrets people!
Stan: Oh God, why would you want to run a hippie communist shop! Here, drink some Starbucks!
Strawman: Wow, the generic flavor of Starbucks is better than all independent coffee shops in the world! I'm going to close my shop, sign up for a lower paying non-union fast food job, and tell all my friends that Augusto Pinochet did nothing wrong!
Kyle: That's the right attitude!
Turrets Guy: §§§§ COMING OUT OF MY ※※※!
Stan: I learned something today. Independence from and resistance to corporate supremacy is the road to becoming a leech on society. Furthermore, if we allow those currently in power to do what they want without any opposition, we will surely reach the capitalist utopia fortold in diatribes found in newsletters from groups that have all your best interests in mind.
Strawman: Spoken like a true 4th grader.
Cartman: I'm back to say ⛥⛥⛥ again.
Turrets Guy: §§§§ COMING OUT OF MY ※※※!