Comedy Central's South Park is an animated comedy sitcom that uses surreal humor to mock a wide range of topics, many of which are controversial in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Schulzke's (2012) article "Contentious Language: South Park and the Transformation of Meaning" examines the South Park episode "The F Word" and its attempt to challenge linguistic conventions. The episode "The F Word" revolves around the derogatory term fag and the connotation and denotation behind the word. In the episode, a gang of overly obnoxious and selfish bikers constantly disrupt events in town as they desperately seek attention. The show's four main characters along with other young students explicitly harass bikers by labeling them as fags. When young students paint "fags run away" on a billboard, conflict arises as homosexuals interpret it as an attack on them. The rest of the episode focuses on thinking about how the meaning of a word is determined. Much controversy has emerged over this episode. While some activist groups such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) believe that South Park's "The F-word" episode is more of a detriment to LGBTQ people because it popularizes the word, others, including Schulzke, believe that episodes like “The F-word” -word” can serve to change the meaning of fag. Schulzke attempts to convey that satirical shows like South Park with large audiences can promote linguistic change to transform the meaning of some derogatory words. I agree with Schulzke's argument because South Park's explicit satire and dark humor can bring controversial social and linguistic issues into the spotlight to be analyzed and potentially changed. Schulzke begins his argument by insisting that South Park was established as a platform to bring awareness to the general public about certain groups and social norms through a unique approach of satire and surreal humor. I agree with his argument and believe that South Park's ability to use a more unique comedic appeal to satirize social issues rather than releasing an educational article or documentary is what allows them to gain a large audience. In fact, Schulzke's article mentions that approximately 2.8 million people watched the episode "The F-Word." Organizations like GLAAD believe that the intentional effort to disassociate the word fag from the gay community has been futile and has popularized the word, which "remains a hateful slur that is often part of harassment." South Park receives harsh criticism from social groups like GLAAD and others. organizations, but I believe explicit language receives a lot of attention across different media platforms, allowing social groups to shine a spotlight and inform the community on troubled issues. Indeed, many issues are analyzed for their effects and debated on many platforms which can lead to potential reforms. Furthermore, I also agree with Schulzke's belief that "South Park consistently promotes the elimination of categories that can be used as a basis for discrimination, while continuing to oppose the elimination of differences." Viewers who watched anything more than the episode "The F Word" will understand that the South Park writers take a more liberal approach and never specifically attack or ridicule groups prone to discrimination, but rather support them and expose the core groups Despite what.