About the Book:

Blame Canada! is a smart, readable book by Toni Johnson-Woods that will appeal to the South Park's many fans, placing the show in a tradition of fearless and often foul-mouthed satire dating back as far as Rabelais.

Now running for more than tenth seasons, South Park has still not "jumped the shark". Satirically edgier than The Simpsons, South Park responds immediately to cultural controversies: four days after Saddam Hussein's capture, an episode lampooned it, and the show has no fear in tackling subjects as divisive and outlandish as Terry Schiavo, The Passion of the Christ, Tom Cruise's alleged homosexuality, and Michael Jackson, while co-opting disparate elements such as Kill Bill and Janet Jackson's nipple into one episode. South Park's mixture of iconoclasm, cultural referents, and intertextuality makes it the perfect lens through which to examine contemporary popular culture in America — and television's role in the creation of that culture.

What people say:

"South Park's biggest badge of honour is that, ten seasons in, it remains lightning fast in its response to current events (four days for Saddam Hussein's capture). This book of essays shows it to be a surprisingly significant lens on US culture." — Empire

About the Author:

Toni Johnson-Woods is President of the Pop Culture Association of Australia (PopCANNZ) and Senior Lecturer in the English, Media Studies and Art History School at the University of Queensland.