The ability to parse through bullshit from politicians can be difficult, and it is not made easier by the news networks. The news has become notorious for being untrustworthy according to all sides of the political spectrum, with each point of view criticizing different networks for different reasons. This has led to an industry of satire calling out the news’ handling of stories, which includes popular programs like South Park and The Daily Show. Analyzing South Park’s and Jon Stewart’s satire shows how the news media utilizes bullshit to benefit a certain narrative and not the viewer. To begin, one episode of South Park that deals extensively in bullshit from the news is “Quest for Ratings”, which shows the boys trying to earn high ratings …show more content…
Throughout the show, Stewart emphasizes that hosts Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson were hurting the American people while benefiting other politicians and corporations (CITE). To begin with, Stewart called out how the show was more like a theatre act than a debate show, hilariously calling out Carlson’s flashy bowtie while also stating how the format puts viewpoints at extremes for ratings (CITE). This simplification towards Right versus Left is also why Stewart believes how this particular show fails the American people, since opportunities to engage in and digest complex discourse is reduced to the simplest possible form (CITE). Furthermore, Stewart continually calls the hosts “partisan hacks” as he explains how they, as well as other pundits and correspondents, do not make honest arguments for their stances or seriously question candidates since they believe, “…the end justifies the means” (CITE). This interview allowed Jon Stewart to take commonly held grievances straight to the media and critique how the bullshit the news states can be detrimental to the political landscape. After considering what Jon Stewart had to say, along with the social commentary from South Park, it becomes much easier to find examples of bullshit in the