Overdue outrage
What with Good Friday and all, I missed the real religious tragedy of the last week: the gutless gutting of South Park.
Call it a sign of our times. Comedy Central this week refused to air an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on “South Park.” However, the network did consent to showing, in the same episode, President Bush and Jesus flinging poop at each other.
Whether Muslim rioters or Scientology superstars, Comedy Central buckles under pressure. Will they dare censor Jon Stewart?
Tags: Howard_Stern
April 18th, 2006 at 7:31 am
At Comedy Central, only Jews and Christians are fair game. Get used to it. The media has been tiptoeing around not offending islamics for years, why change now? Don’t want CAIR coming after you, do you?
April 18th, 2006 at 7:34 am
In context, it seems as if the entire show was built around the gag of the image being censored, even to the point of one of the characters describing Muhammed as “looking normal,” something that would not have been necessary had the previous scene not been “censored.” I think this was entirely scripted.
It’s all moot anyway. Muhammed was inserted into the show’s opening credits in the second show of this season and has been there since. So, psych!
April 18th, 2006 at 7:40 am
Tim- Parker and Stone had been told a few weeks before the season began that they would not be allowed to show Muhammed this season, despite that the fact that he has shown up in the hilarious “Super Best Friends” episode a few years back to absolutely no protest whatsoever. They then went on to construct the two-parter as their protest to CC.
April 18th, 2006 at 7:55 am
Ah. Makes sense. So it was planned in advance, but they still killed free speech! Those bastards!
So the opening credits now serve the dual purpose of a beautiful sophomoric stunt by Parker and Stone as well as hanging the network on a technicality anyway.
April 18th, 2006 at 8:27 am
I don’t think this is about political correctness, guys. I’m totally with you all on free speech. But Comedy Central is afraid that they or South Park could be targeted by Jihadists. I think it’s time that we stop being afraid, or we’re going to lose ALL of our freedoms. If this South Park episode was also making fun of the other two religions, then Islamic extremists don’t have an argument to use, unlike the Danish case where there were limits to free speech in Danish law, making them look like hypocrites. Our laws don’t have those limits, and as long as every religion is fair game, then I say it should air. If most in the Middle East saw something that gave it to all three religions at once, then they would laugh, too. It was only when they felt singled out by a country not too keen on the arrival of Muslim immigrants were there calls for a boycott as well as violence. I think this was a missed opportunity for the whole world to just laugh at ourselves for taking all of this religious dogma crap so seriously. Anyway, just my 2 cents.
April 18th, 2006 at 9:43 am
The only problem, beachmom, is that you can’t just cram all three religions into an episode just to make sure that everyone gets equal ribbing. But, if you look at the entire run of South Park, you’ll see that both Jews (Jew Scouts, Jew Gold, Cartman’s various rants and antics) and Christians (Bleeding Virgin Mary statue, the Pope as a giant alien spider, Jesus as talkshow host, etc.) have been targets for years. Even Scientology going as far back as the “Blainetology” episode from a few years ago has been rediculed more so than Islam. The only real time Islam has been brought up on the show was the “Super Best Friends” episode which showed Muhammed as part of a superhero team with other religious figures and the “Osama Bin Laden Is A Farty Pants” episode.
April 18th, 2006 at 11:24 am
[...] Jeff is outraged that Comedy Central isn’t an equal opportunity offender because they wouldn’t allow South Park to portray the Prophet Mohhamed. What’s our fascination for bringing Islam into the mix of our reverence for blasphomy? I mean, c’mon, Mel Gibson’s vision of a battered Christ was even more disturbing than the trailers for United 93. Where does our impulse to force specific, Western standards of free speech onto global traditions come from? [...]
April 18th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
[...]Umm, Western standards of free spech belong on South Park because, last I heard, it was an American TV show produced by some guys from Colorado. I don’t care if Muslim countries have different standards for THEIR tv shows. But I’m tired of letting them have an implicit veto on what WE do.
April 18th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Jeff
Because of all that brouhaha I caught the double episode in reruns Sunday night. If one had not known in advance that Comedy Central had forbidden the depiction of the Prophet, it would have been impossible to have construed the comedy as having been censored. Indeed the Prophet’s depiction was what the episodes were about. In this instance he was shown as a black rectangle (an echo of the rock at Mecca).
The story was about how it is possible for activists to cause the cancelation of an entire show by using the thin end of a wedge, protesting a single episode. The vulnerable show in question was The Family Guy. It was saved by manatees. You would have to see it to get it.
There was no evidence of gutlessness seen by this viewer. South Park proved it was much cleverer than any self-censoring bans its studio’s suits could impose on it. But then, we knew that already.
Before you call it “gutless gutting” I would encourage you to see it. You will not be outraged. You’ll laugh.
Regards
April 18th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Networks are in business to make money, not to stand for high moral principles or freedom of speech. Offending a group of viewers potentially cuts into their audience size and therefore has economic implications.
Networks are not in the information or entertainment business, they are in the advertising business. Get used to it. If you want uncensored content you will have to go elsewhere.
April 18th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
There was a rumor floating around a couple of years ago that Comedy Central axed Colin Quinn’s Tough Crowd show because Jon Stewart didn’t like it. So to mollify their big narcissistic star, they killed it.
If that’s true - and I don’t know whether it is or not - the Southpark treatment isn’t surprising. It’s a gutless network, and not a bright one at that.
Incidentally, terrorists suck and we should kill them all.
April 18th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
It was fear of muslim fanatics,pure and simple. And yes, South Park “will continue to produce and provide the best comedy available and we will continue to push it right to the edge, using and defending the First Amendment in the most responsible way we know how.” That means avoiding offending any muslims. I guess the guys value their heads and they no Christians or Jews aren’t about to behead them or go nuts and torch a building.
{Dear Viewer,
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the “South Park†episodes entitled “Cartoon Wars.†We appreciate your concerns about censorship and the destructive influence of outside groups on the media, entertainment industry and particularly Comedy Central.
To reiterate, as satirists, we believe that it is our First Amendment right to poke fun at any and all people, groups, organizations and religions and we will continue to defend that right. Our goal is to make people laugh and perhaps, if we’re lucky, even make them think in the process.
Comedy Central’s belief in the First Amendment has not wavered, despite our decision not to air an image of Muhammad. Our decision was made not to mute the voices of Trey and Matt or because we value one religion over any other. This decision was based solely on concern for public safety in light of recent world events.
With the power of freedom of speech and expression also comes the obligation to use that power in a responsible way. Much as we wish it weren’t the case, times have changed and, as witnessed by the intense and deadly reaction to the publication of the Danish cartoons, decisions cannot be made in a vacuum without considering what impact they may have on innocent individuals around the globe.
It was with this in mind we decided not to air the image of Muhammad, a decision similar to that made by virtually every single media outlet across the country earlier this year when they each determined that it was not prudent or in the interest of safety to reproduce the controversial Danish cartoons. Injuries occurred and lives were lost in the riots set off by the original publication of these cartoons. The American media made a decision then, as we did now, not to put the safety and well being of the public at risk, here or abroad.
As a viewer of “South Park,†you know that over the course of ten seasons and almost 150 episodes the series has addressed all types of sensitive, hot-button issues, religious and political, and has done so with Comedy Central’s full support in every instance, including this one. “Cartoon Wars†contained a very important message, one that Trey and Matt felt strongly about, as did we at the network, which is why we gave them carte blanche in every facet but one: we would not broadcast a portrayal of Muhammad.
In that regard, did we censor the show? Yes, we did. But if you hold Comedy Central’s 15-year track record up against any other network out there, you’ll find that we afford our talent the most creative freedom and provide a nurturing atmosphere that challenges them to be bold and daring and places them in a position to constantly break barriers and push the envelope. The result has been some of the most provocative television ever produced.
We would like nothing more than to be able to look back at this in a few years and think that perhaps we overreacted. Unfortunately, to have made a different decision and to look back and see that we completely underestimated the damage that resulted was a risk we were not willing to take.
Our pledge to you, our loyal viewers, is that Comedy Central will continue to produce and provide the best comedy available and we will continue to push it right to the edge, using and defending the First Amendment in the most responsible way we know how.
Sincerely,
Comedy Central Viewer Services}
April 18th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
It’s hard to read that letter from CC and not come away with the idea that somebody at Viacom has an inflated sense of that sad little basic cable network’s importance.
April 18th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
I thought Tom Cruise was behind all of this. Comedy Central owned by the company that is promoting his movie MI3. If not for Tommy Boy, Comedy Central wouldn’t have caved. Perhaps because of this, we have seen the last of not only Tom, but of CC buckling to pressure. When you turn the calendar to next season, all will be right again.
April 19th, 2006 at 1:46 am
RE; letter from Comedy Central Viewer Services
What unadulterated bs. Comedy Central Viewer Services simply confirmed what terrorists around the globe have long suspected. Rattle a few swords and throw a few bombs and we can get anything we want.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:38 pm
Regarding the correspondence from the so-called Comedy Central Viewers Services…
Kat interprets it as “fear of Muslim fanatics pure and simple.”
Richard Bennett sees “an inflated sense of that sad little basic cable network’s importance.”
William Papke sees “unadulterated B.S.”
Maybe…
…but maybe we should see hints in the letter itself that it is making fun of self-important, mealy-mouthed, weasel-worded corporate shills.
The clue, I think, is at the start of the second paragraph: “to reiterate, as satirists…” The letter seems intended as a spoof. Take this pompous sentiment, for example: “we afford our talent the most creative freedom and provide a nurturing atmosphere that challenges them to be bold and daring and places them in a position to constantly break barriers and push the envelope.” Surely this is written by someone satirizing corporate PRspeak.
As I mentioned before, the South Park episodes did indeed represent the Prophet Mohammed, as a black rectangle, despite Comedy Central’s proclamations of self-censorship. And let’s not forget that the climax of the second episode — the poop throwing scenes featuring the President and Jesus Christ — was, in the story, the topic of a cartoon made by Ayman al-Zawahiri made to protest the contents The Family Guy. The point being that the vocabulary of cartoons is so infantile that even al-Qaeda could imagine nothing more horrible than schoolyard lavatory humor.
The entire dance of censorship-reaction-corporate self-justification looks like a satirical publicity stunt…not fear, not self-importance, not unadulterated B.S. and not gutlessness.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
um…thats what the episode was about…it was not a statement at all, just a cyclical running joke throughout the two-parter. really, its not that big of a deal.