South Park Whale Wars (2009)

I must say that sometimes I'm humored by South Park and sometimes I am not. I don't watch it consistently, so this delayed post is because of that.  The TV show South Park has made political commentaries about the Japanese. This time it was about The Cove and how Japan gets away with whaling and killing dolphins unlike the entire rest of the world. I think that it is important to reflect upon this episode because it says a lot about both Japan and the US.

I think that this is relevant because South Park did use very timely facts about how Japan is the ONLY country in the world that still does whaling and (still?) club(s?) dolphins to death at The Cove.  I know South Park took it to the extreme and showed the Japanese whaling other countries aquariums and whatnot, but it only emphasizes the power that one country can have in control and influence of another. Now South Park has done that with many other countries, including the US, not just Japan, but in this context of marine biology and species interaction, Japan has a large influence over sea mammals because of how they kill whales and dolphins. Note there is no reason for Japan to up their numbers of killed whales every year because nobody wants to eat whale. The market for whale meat is actually in the decline because whale meat is very oily and smelly. Post-WW2, there was a large market because many people did not have access to chicken, beef, and pork as much, but now there is no honest reason. But because it is tradition, Japan continues.

I know that to make this a truly valid argument I need to include sources, but I think that in this case it would be better for people to go do some research of their own about Japanese whaling and dolphin killing. I think that it is important to look to Horatian comedy and Juvenalian comedy to see how Americans view matters like Japanese whaling because it also reflects Americans.

So at the same time that South Park shows that the Japanese still do these things and it is relevant to the rest of the world and marine ecosystems, it shows that the Americans-- the citizens of South Park don't truly take the time to understand or learn why the Japanese are doing what they do. Instead they just chalk it up to irrationality and leave it at that. But one of the main characters invests time and researches why the Japanese do what they do and explains it to the rest. All other Americans don't seek an answer or make up their own or rely on others to do the work for them despite being concerned about the issue.

This reflects the American-Japanese relationship because they both influence each other but they just chalk it up to differences and that the other side wouldn't understand for the most part. This miscommunication or lack of communication is part of the source of their problems, refusing to deal with it only exacerbates things until time and concern is taken by active members.

Not sure I truly wrote that coherently for others to understand, but I hope you get the gist of what I was trying to say. Feel free to watch the episode, read up on some history, and leave me some comments.

Thank you and have a good night~