[SpaceManNabs]

> in a movie, that wouldn’t feel real no matter how good the special effects are, it’s too out there

This entire thing just reminds me of Day After Tomorrow (2004). Although the movie had a lot of bad science, way too many people called the premise and social outcomes of the movie ridiculous. Hell, the South Park criticism of it alone significantly pushed this current batch of climate deniers.

[codyb]

I thought it was telling when South Park basically walked back the whole "The vote's between Shit Sandwich and a Turd" or whatever and said "Vote for Hillary".

It was as if they hadn't realized the amount that people draw from their work.

It was _pretty explicit_, the turnaround. Or at least it felt that way to me.

[reaperducer]

It was as if they hadn't realized the amount that people draw from their work.

I think that thinking people massively underestimate the influence that cartoons have on common people.

It seems like 90% of the people who argue against religion on the internet got everything they know about religion from cartoons like South Park. Or everything they know about Texas from King of the Hill.

There was a newspaper article a few years ago about how some massive percentage of Britons thought The Simpsons was an accurate depiction of Americans, and didn't understand that it was a lampoon.

[nebula8804]

The Simpsons humor is funny because it is based in reality...thats how humor works.

Every character and trope is a humorous representation of something in America. Are you American? Because I am and i've met someone like every character in the Simpsons in real life.

[MichaelCollins]

Comedy shows/etc sway the opinions of the general public, but shield themselves from criticism by saying "It's just comedy bro, chill out". Quite a conundrum, but what can you do about it? Newspaper editorials do the same thing, using "it's just an opinion" as a rhetorical shield. Virtually any media does something like this in one form or another.

[hoseja]

They never did that... are you talking about the subsequent ridicule of President Garrison?

They did however walk back on the manbearpig.

[codyb]

They had Mr. Garrison say this

``` On November 8th, you must vote against me and show the world that you didn’t think the new Star Wars was all that good. When you’re in that voting booth, remember that every vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote that shows the world we agree that The Force Awakens was more like a Happy Days reunion special than a movie. The choice is yours, America. Please make the right one. ```

which felt pretty explicit to me.

[yongjik]

Saying that The Day After Tomorrow had a lot of bad science is a bit of an understatement, isn't it? It's like saying Hershey's chocolate bar has a lot of chocolate in it.

[pbronez]

Have you tried Hershey's bars? Hard to call that stuff chocolate...

[MichaelCollins]

That's the joke.

[marcosdumay]

The premise and outcome of some large scale disaster you imagined being ridiculous does not means that any scenario of large scale disaster is ridiculous.

[walthamstow]

I had the same thought when reading about the 4inch hailstones that fell in Catalonia yesterday

[pvaldes]

And like what happened in that film, a baby was killed yesterday by hailstones, sadly.

[ericmay]

heh that episode of South Park is seared into my brain

> Two days before the day after tomorrow

> Bah gawd... that's today

[andrei_says_]

Which episode is this?

[HelloMcFly]

Two days before the day after tomorrow