CONSERVATIVE political commentator Andrew Breitbart famously said “politics is downstream of culture”. He meant that any attempt to change the politics of a country must begin with changing the culture. While he said this in the context of fostering right-wing politics in America, we can also apply it to the position of Israel and the Gaza genocide in US politics.

What are the forces that drive cultural change in America and thus — if we believe Breitbart — can also transform politics? There’s Hollywood of course — films are both a mirror to society and a catalyst for societal change — along with other modes of mass entertainment, such as TV shows.

In the context of the Gaza genocide and how Israel is viewed by Americans through the lens of culture and its presumed effect on politics, much has changed in the past two years. Start with South Park, an animated series that has been running for close to 30 years on American TV and is known for its satire and “fearless social commentary”.

South Park finally took on the Gaza genocide with Sheila Broflovski, the Jewish mother of one of the characters being confronted by her gentile friends about her views on the genocide and whether she feels that, as a Jew, she should do something about it. Sheila is enraged:........

© Dawn