ABSTRACT
According to the kids of South Park, it takes 22.3 years for a traumatic event to become funny (“Jared Has Aides,” 6 March 2002). Nevertheless, the show and other animated shows also clearly demonstrate that traumatic events can become humorous far sooner than two decades. Indeed, South Park’s topical satire and short production time have allowed it to spoof national tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina and the terrorist attacks of September 11 soon after the events took place. When examining the shaping and reshaping of American history and collective memory by artists, however, many trauma theorists tend to examine cultural texts that portray traumatic events in a tragic and somber tone, such as memorials, museums, and “serious” literature. That is not to say that some texts that refl ect traumatic memory are completely without humor, but their main purpose is not to generate the laughter of their audiences.
