Judge Ye Not

Are all Texans republican Christians? Are all teenagers metalhead perverts? Are all liberals elitist hippies? In the real world, the answer across the board is “no.” But in the world of satire, stereotypes are essential. We shout a resounding “yes” to any and all stereotypes in this world. Remember, everything is wrong in the world of satire. No character is correct, everything is as it shouldn’t be. Therefore, a stereotype that would be considered offensive in reality is actually the norm in satire.

In our real-life relationships, there’s always an exception that destroys the possibility for mass generalization. But this doesn’t play into comedy very well. Comedy is about extremes—all or nothing. If during a skit or comedy routine a heckler said, “well actually, I take exception to that remark,” he would be rightfully derided by both the people on stage and those around the audience who are mature enough to take a joke.

The beauty of satire is its sneaky blend of realism with extremism. Mike Judge’s cartoons are deceptively simple. Unlike most cartoons which feature bugged-out eyes and talking animals, Judge’s works are practically live action. The effect is a resonance with reality. When we see the stereotypes in King of the Hill, they’re very familiar. Yet, as cartoons, we’re not immediately offended by the over-generalizations, because cartoons are ridiculous in essence.

When you watch a Mike Judge show or movie, notice whenever you think to yourself, “yes, that’s so true!” Chances are, you proclaimed at a stereotype. If you think it’s true, you may have just been a victim of Judge’s satirical prowess.

A stereotype is not a good thing. If someone succumbs to living a stereotypical life, this basically means they’ve settled for predictability. Take the character of Hank Hill, for example. He is a stereotypical Texan. He loves football, namely the Dallas Cowboys. He is conservative, and religious. He is homophobic, and shows minimal affection to his friends and family. He is blue-collar, and he drinks beer. This sounds like a very boring human, and if it weren’t a stereotype, it really would be a dull type of person without any independent characteristics.

But as long as satire is a criticism of vice or folly, we can see why a protagonist like Hank must exhibit all the stereotypes of a Texan. A stereotype is not correct. There may be some truth in a stereotype, otherwise it would never exist. However, a stereotype should never be accepted as the norm, and certainly never glorified. With Hank, we do both. In KOTH, he is the stereotypical Texan, and is thus regarded as a hero.

Ultimately, stereotypes are fun when they’re being made fun of. If you heard someone in public say “all Jews are cheap,” you’d be offended. Yet a character like George Costanza brandished that stereotype proudly in Seinfeld. And we laughed at his Hebrew cheapness every time.

We should view stereotypes in satire as fictional. If we believed them as real life examples, we would be caught in the snare of our own folly. But satire is a mirror. Like a psychological shadow, it reveals those things that are in us but would damage our happiness if we let them invade our real lives. If we accept stereotypes as true, we close our minds very quickly.

Think about those things you relate with in Mike Judge productions, but don’t think about whether or not you agree or disagree with them. Since everything is wrong in satire, you shouldn’t agree with anything you see on the surface. But if you do relate to something, that means you’re on the road to learning something about yourself and your own follies.