•  
  •  
 

Abstract

In light of evolving questions of the role and efficacy of political humor in addressing the exigency of a second Donald Trump presidency, this study analyzes two extended satirical story arcs critical of Trump and MAGA from award-winning adult animated comedy South Park. The study utilizes three of Kenneth Burke’s rhetorical frames of acceptance and rejection (comedy, tragedy, and burlesque) to contrast South Park’s two most substantive satirical statements on Trump and MAGA: Season 19 and 20’s comparatively humane and introspective satire on Trump’s 2015-16 candidacy and Season 27-28’s dehumanizing mockery of Trump’s ongoing second presidency (2025-). The analysis suggests South Park’s 2025’s application of Burke’s burlesque frame of rejection resonated culturally whereas 2015-16’s application of Burke’s comic frame of acceptance, traditionally preferred by Burke and Burkean scholars, failed to adequately address Trump’s political ascendance due to extending to Trump and MAGA what rhetorician Mike Milford deems “cheap grace”: comic forgiveness that seeks deeper understanding of a misguided opponent but is powerless to hold said opponent accountable for transgressions, permitting the transgressor to avoid accountability and deny the Burkean imperative of comic introspection.

Journal Title

Iowa Journal of Communication

Volume

58

Issue

1

First Page

128

Last Page

156

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Download

Comments?

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.