Episode 712: South Park, Ridicule, and the Cultural Construction of Religious Rivalry

Using a recent episode of the adult cartoon South Park, this essay explores the function of ridicule in the cultural construction of religious rivalry. Principally, this essay argues that ridicule is not a product of derision, but of the social relationships that make derision meaningful. Functionally, ridicule serves two purposes: (1) stabilization, that is, it preempts or reduces deviance within both the aggressor group and the aggressor audience; and (2) hierarchization, that is, it reflects and reinforces a dynamic of status ascription within a given domain of social interaction.