Where Do We Go From Here: Pushing the Boundaries of Popular Art

During my drive home for the Thanksgiving holiday, I took the time to finally listen to the cast recording of The Book of Mormon I’ve had on my iPod for some time. I wasn’t going in completely blind, I’ve been a loyal South Park viewer for years, and I had already heard “Turn It Off” during the early buzz about the show.

So I went in expecting a very funny show that poked fun at everything in its path and included an absolutely no holds barred attitude towards language. Given that, I was actually still amazed by how entertaining the show was, and how far it was willing to push the limits of good taste. My favorite moment came during the show’s fourth tune, “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” which made me laugh so hard that I nearly wrecked my car and left me amazed that I haven’t heard more complaints and protests about the language used in the show.

I remember growing up during the olden days of the early 90s when people were horrified by the language used on The Simpsons and Married with Children. The shows from that time are tame when compared to what is on television today, and one can only assume that the producers of a musical that used profanity as freely as Trey Parker would have been run out of town by an angry mob of housewives carrying torches.

I’m not trying to criticize the language used in The Book of Mormon, because I personally find it hilarious. What I am impressed by is how far we have come in the last two decades in terms of the language and themes that can be used by popular art forms which are now celebrated rather than condemned. This does raise the question of how much further we can push the boundaries of public taste. Will it be possible to offend audiences twenty years from now, or will we have pushed the boundaries so far literally anything goes? Perhaps only time will tell.

–Tyler

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