Climate Change as Generational Conflict in The Simpsons (1989-) and South Park (1997-)

Abstract

Two of the longest-running and most popular American animated sitcoms, The Simpsons by Matt Groening, and South Park by Trey Parker, and Matt Stone portray climate change with the help of satire and irony. Both shows effectively work towards establishing climate change as a fact of life. To achieve this, the creators of The Simpsons and South Park portray different attitudes towards climate change through their differently aged characters, most effectively the characters of Homer and Lisa Simpson, as well as Stanley and Marvin Marsh, as generational conflict. In the different episodes of both shows, the characters embody opposing viewpoints on climate change, and as their conflict is renegotiated from episode to episode, the show represents increasing levels of climate change awareness.