Raiders of fandom’s lost clue?

I have to say, as a long-time admirer of South Park, I’ve been bitterly disappointed with the new season so far. There’s been no bite to it, and worse yet, no point. I don’t require every episode to be issue-oriented, but so far this year we’ve gotten a spoof of Cloverfield with a dash of spoof of Guantanamo Bay, and a bizarre indictment of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull set to the tune of every notable Hollywood rape scene that Matt and Trey could think of. In both cases, what’s being spoofed was months past its sell-by date. But beyond that, what irks me is that were are in the midst of historical events that are positively bursting with moments rife for ridicule. Come on, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are on the prowl, each seemingly trying to one-up the other for campaign trail howlers that leave their respective party handlers burying their faces in their hands. South Park is losing relevance – fast. But it’s also just possible that Matt and Trey have lost track of what people watch their show for when the abysmal “Imaginationland Trilogy” has won them an Emmy, after so many far worthier installments were passed over.

Jumping tracks a bit, my wife and I watched the aforementioned Indiana Jones flick tonight, and I just do not see why some people (including, apparently, Matt and Trey) were so upset by it. Predictable as hell, sure, but I don’t see where it somehow soiled Indy’s holy legacy of supremely intellectual artsy filmmaking…oh, wait, yeah, there is no such legacy. They were always popcorn flicks. So was this one. So far as I can tell the complaint seems to be that there are sci-fi elements brought into the story, but come the hell on…Raiders had glowing supernatural crap emanating from the freakin’ Ark of the Covenant, melting Nazis’ faces off. What’s the problem? Is there some contractual delineation of suspension of disbelief that we just can’t cross without getting the unions involved? Or is it just a healthy dose of received-wisdom knee-jerk hate left over from the Star Wars prequels? It was a fun enough movie, and set things up in a way that I really wouldn’t mind seeing a fifth installment if Harrison Ford was up for it.

Of course, that is, if Matt and Trey don’t mind.