The 'Culture Wars', yes … but whose culture?

Let’s forget the admonition that our culture is “dumbing down”. In addition to the proliferation described above, let us rejoice in Neighbours, Kath and Kim, The Simpsons and South Park. The latter is far more than the strident voices and unpolished animation that its surface appears to show. In a new book by Brian C. Anderson, South Park Conservatives, we are reminded, as is the case in Australia, that American cultural life and the arts has suffered from a smug Left, politically correct, piety-restricting debate. Whether it is feminism, affirmative action, or even pedophilia, any opposition to the orthodoxy was considered “a form of bigotry and extremism”.

Universities here in Australia have been stifled by speech codes, and spelled out the rules of enlightened conduct. This has certainly seeped into our state-subsidised film and book cultures, even to our state galleries and museums. What South Park does with savage satire is explode these constraints and add a vital dimension to public discussion of issues. There is a perversely reassuring ring to the busy, market-driven, anarchic free-for-all which is our popular culture.

The beauty of it is that no one can control it. This is a bottom-up revolution, not top-down. It is profoundly democratic because it empowers the individual. The elite “cultural commissars” will have less control and their grip on government subsidies will weaken. It is this choice, this staggering diversity, where anything and anyone can say and do what they like which is the most reassuring aspect of this revolution. It is truly spontaneous and truly democratic.

Let’s bring on Waltzing Matilda for our national anthem.