Boomer Humor Comes of Age: A Case Study in Challenging Prejudice

Abstract

This study examines the use of humor as a mechanism for challenging prejudice. The authors posit that South Park's “boomer humor” is a pedagogical tool befitting college students of a multiliteracy age. The show's willingness to confront ethnic and social stereotypes provides educators new opportunities in challenging contemporary inequities. As a pedagogical mechanism, South Park's boomer humor functions as a guide rather than a directive, helping students in the evaluation and construction of their own antiracist identities. Survey results illustrate the potential of humor as an effective springboard in generating student discussions of prejudice, self, and other, making such dialogue more comfortable. Students also indicate that they are concerned with issues of intolerance, and using imaginative approaches to diversity would encourage them to become more involved in challenging racism.

Notes

¹Accepted and reviewed under the co-editorship of Patrick Slattery and Jim Henderson.