South Park Elementary School Musical and the voice of Gen-X

South Park's masterfully entertaining, typically insightful take on the High School Musical series was purely a Generation X reaction. The movies' appeal to the younger generation baffles me as much as it does Stone and Parker. I enjoy musicals and the movies made from them, such as Little Shop of Horrors, Grease, Mama Mia, and Fiddler on the Roof, so when I first heard of High School Musical, I thought it'd be worth checking out. I watched 5 minutes of the 1st movie on TV and I couldn't take any more. It was awful, unwatchable. Yet, apparently, the series has been immensely popular among teenagers.

When time comes the latest trends seem alien, it's time to realize our generation is being pushed off pop culture's centerstage. Cartman spoke for Generation X: "Well, I'm out guys. If this is what's cool now, I think I'm done. I no longer have any connection to this world. I'm gonna go home and kill myself. Goodbye, friends."

The November 12, 2008 episode, Elementary School Musical, reaffirmed Matt Stone and Trey Parker as the preeminent social commentators, satirists, and voice of their generation, and their undiminished creativity continues to render expectations irrelevant. Rogert Ebert wrote nearly 10 years ago in his review of the South Park movie: "After making "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut,'' its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, had better move on. They've taken "South Park'' as far as it can go, and beyond." As it turns out, Parker and Stone were just getting warmed up.

Eric