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2182136 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/south-park-off-the-hook/South+Park...off+the+hook%3F2010-04-23+04%3A54%3A44Sam+Richards to South Park…off the hook?
The South Park incident just goes to show the horrifying nature a radicalism (of anything). Despite how controversial South Park is, I think we all agree that no one deserves these kinds of threats over a cartoon television show that makes fun of EVERYONE. To be honest, I am surprised this doesn’t happen more often, as these radical followers don’t seem to have much leeway. The ironic thing in all of this is that it happened in America where freedom of speech is utilized everyday, often in much the same way the South Park producers use it on their show. This is America, this is how we operate and some people will inherently dislike that. My answer? Ignorance is bliss. Don’t come here. Don’t watch comedy central.
When I found out that people had taken offense to this episode, my initial reaction wasn’t very considerate of the people of the Muslim religion. I thought it was ridiculous that people could see the episode of South Park, and react in rage and threaten to kill the creators. South Park is a cartoon and it is not real life. When I was in elementary school my best friend and I had this joke about our invisible friend Muhammad. I had no idea that there was so much controversy over allowing this character to have a physical form. If I did, I probably would have poked more fun at it because I wouldn’t have (and still really don’t) understood the drama that comes along with a visual of a god. It’s not like it’s an accurate depiction of the god, nobody actually has an accurate depiction of his or her god.
Once I stepped out of my own shoes and tried to see this in the eyes of a Muslim who took offense, I began to see where this anger could come from. Many people have religious beliefs, much different than my lack of any, and these people hold true to these beliefs and live by these laws that their god has set forth for them. Holding onto something as strongly as many religious people do leads me to realize how this poking fun at their god could be offensive. It’s hard for me to put it into a perspective I can understand, though. I am not religious and I don’t have a god, let alone one that cannot be visualized. However, the anger these people must be feeling doesn’t justify threats to kill those who are simply making it into a joke. And it is also not as if this was the only religion they poked fun at, South Park is sure to leave nobody out of their jokes. What could make somebody who is religious and following the rules of their god, which include unconditional love and forgiveness, want to kill another person? People who feel that they are killing ‘for’ their god seem insane to me. How could a god that loves and accepts you be so willing to force you into murder? To me, this doesn’t seem to make any sense, especially if we are all welcome to become followers of this same god.
Sometimes I feel that religion accidentally leads to acts of violence and hate more than it should. People should practice what they preach. If people who strongly believe in a god or religion that teaches forgiveness and unconditional love, they should be able to forgive those and love those who believe in different things than they do. They should also not hate and want to kill those that offend them.
I saw this issue on the news just the other night and was glad to see someone blog about it. Like many people have already said, South Park is a comedy show, it pokes fun at everyone and everything. This was not a serious news report to be taken seriously, its a cartoon making a funny joke. There have been many episodes that poke fun at Jesus. Did they not see that? If it were a serious talk show bashing on Muhammad I would understand why there might be some outraged people. But, again it was not. It is south park, and I am almost positive there have been spoofs on like the Simpson's about Islam and i do not think there was any threats in their direction? Yes religion is a serious topic and not one to joke about in a serious setting like a church, mosque or synagogue, BUT comedy central is none of those places. It is a place, as its name implies, a place for comedy. If you are looking for people to take issues like religion seriously you should not watch the channel. And it is not like Islam was the first time they ever made fun of anyone. It is a given that all issues that are in the media or not are fair game to make fun of. The people threatening the creators of the show need to realize how egocentric they are being. Focusing only on the fact that their religion was brought into a comedy sketch. It is like they had selective hearing, only picking out a certain episodes to focus in on. For example, the episode that made fun of the Jonas Brothers. The episode made a lot of fun of those three boys and everything they stand for, yet you did not see them sending out threats. I could probably go on for days with examples of all the people that South Park has picked out and made a considerable amount of fun of. I do not think there is really anything else to say other then, get over it , it was a joke, do not take it personally , just laugh. I am a christian and when they make fun of Jesus I know it is a joke and to not take it seriously. There is a time and a place for religion to be taken seriously and not to be joked about. If Muhammad had been made fun of in a context that was not suppposed to be funny then an uprising would be expected and more understood. And that is all I have to say about this topic today about South Park and religion.
South Park is a great show. However, any arguments about it that occur in the real world are just ridiculous. It's a cartoon and all of the characters are made by paper cutouts. I saw the episode that she's talking about and it's all about how they don't make fun of Muhammad. They blackout his character the entire episode. I really don't get why this is such a big deal. On top of that, in that episode they made fun of jesus and about a hundred celebrities. There are definitely better things to argue about than a south park episode.
I am a casual fan of South Park and I have to say I think the show is hilarious. Yes, they do really push some buttons to certain groups of people, but what they do in my eyes is usually just harmless. People get too serious and upset over things when they should realize that this show is just too poke fun at things and for humor. First of all why do these Muslims care about what a show like South Park or for any show for that matter say about their religion. If they truly believe in their own religion, why worry about what other people say. It’s almost like they are trying to blow this up into a big deal to get their own selves some attention. I think anybody who worries about what other people say usually don’t really believe that what they are doing is truly right. These Muslim’s just need to take a chill pill and relax. If everyone that this show has gone after and made fun of decided to come out and threaten them, then almost everyone in the entire world would be after them. They have poked fun at Jesus, Satan, Christians, Jews, fat people, skinny people, hicks, and even just America in general. You can just about name anything and I’m sure South Park has done some type of episode about them. When they made fun of Kanye West, he actually came out and said they he had to laugh about it because of the way he portrayed him. I know for sure that they made fun of him way more then they went after the muslims in the recent episode. So, what I’m trying to say is why are they so worried about what other people think? America is a country where freedom of speech is one of our special rights as people. These South Park episodes as well as Family Guy, The Simpsons all have the right to say exactly they way they fell. If you do not like, then maybe you should not be living in America, or better yet, just don’t watch or listen to what they have to say. That would take care of all problems. People just look for reasons to stir up controversy and these muslim people are no different. I don’t understand why they are so serious about there religion and how other people look at it. If that’s what they believe in then they should only be worried about that. To sum this up, South Park has the right to say what they want on their show due to the fact we live in a country that allows this to take place. I’m pretty sure South Park won’t change, so these people who are mad about it should just move on.
I just don't understand why a group would go as far as like threatening people because of a damn TV show. Like South Park makes fun of EVERYTHING. I can't even count how many times that show has made fun of Jewish people and definitely Jesus and Christian people. No one actually takes it seriously or gets angry enough about it to threaten.. like honestly, they are words. I just am completely astounded by this. Plus, why did the creators of South Park listen and bleep out the words and references to Muhammad? I mean yeah it might be scary to get threatened, but who gives a shit. It should be a free world when it comes to opinions and words. It's just so frustrating.
Well first it is important to point out that the episode of South Park in question does not actually make fun of Muhammad. It makes fun of the fact that every other religious figure is fair game, but Muhammad is not. This was referenced in an earlier episode as well, which was supposed to parallel the bombing that occurred in the Netherlands after a cartoon was meant to depict the prophet Muhammad. So what makes the episode so edgy is that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are actually attacking the means by which they are being threatened. So I just thought it was important to point out that they are not attacking Muhammad himself, but instead they are attacking how touchy the extremists are who are willing to kill because of a joke in a cartoon.
Having said this, they have openly made fun of other religious figureheads and in fact, in the episode at hand, they show Buddha snorting lines of cocaine, and make a reference that Jesus is addicted to online pornography. While I am sure that many people were potentially offended by this, and many more would have been offended if they were aware of the episode, but none of these groups have threatened Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Considering our discussion earlier in the week, I would be curious to hear what Sam has to say about this fact. It is a very interesting point that figureheads of other religions can be made fun of, while Muhammad has become off limits.
I personally think that it is ridiculous that we cannot mock Muhammad, but we can make fun of others. I guess most people would argue that it is really inappropriate to make fun of any of them, but one cannot deny that it is at least more taboo to talk about Muhammad than other religious leaders. Especially when it is at risk of a bombing. I actually feel a little proud that Matt Stone and Trey Parker didn’t back down, and went through with the episode. I do often believe that people shouldn’t always act in ways that are controversial, but I don’t think people should ever back down because of a threat.
So in conclusion, I think that Trey Parker and Matt Stone did the right thing by sticking to their guns. I also believe that exposing extremists to these things may be important, especially in the context of an episode of South Park, which makes fun of everyone. Humor is a beautiful thing. It teaches others how to laugh at oneself, and when one can do that, then one won’t lash out at others anymore. I think shows like South Park may actually save lives.
I personally love South Park. My favorite episodes are generally the ones that make fun of things that occur in the world today. I’m a Muslim who watched the episodes “200” and “201” and I thought it was great! The purpose of the episode was to not only poke fun at the Muslim religion, but to also bring back some memories from previous South Park episodes.
Here’s a brief story of what happened in the South Park episode (Spoiler Alert). The 4th grade kids of South Park Elementary go to a chocolate factory for a tour and find Tom Cruise packing chocolate by the conveyor belt. Tom Cruise was then offended when one of the kids said he was a “fudge-packer.” Tom Cruise and several other celebrities planned to sue South Park for being ridiculed. In order to avoid the lawsuit, Tom Cruise asked South Park to bring Muhammad to him. South Park is now caught in a dilemma between a huge lawsuit and getting bombed by Muslim radicals. Afraid of revealing Muhammad, South Park chose to keep him in a Bear suit, hidden inside a U-Haul truck. Throughout the show you see a large black box labeled “CENSORED” to not reveal Muhammad at all.
It’s a shame to see that some Muslims will go as far as violence to defend the religion. The Muslim extremists are being a little too sensitive about the episode. They seem to feel that they’re the only ones being attacked. They should know that every religious figure is ridiculed at one point in South Park history like Jesus, Moses, and Krishna. The censorship was frustrating to watch. The last minute of the show was completely bleeped. And it wasn’t even about Muhammad! I didn’t see what the big deal was poking fun at Muhammad. South Park is one of the biggest satirical shows in the U.S and it WILL make satirical jokes about anything in the world. There was an episode where South Park made fun of Scientology. Unfortunately, one of the voices for the show left because he was offended by the episode. I don’t think anyone should get riled up over an episode like the recent two. I’m sure Stone and Parker (producers of South Park) tried their best to avoid crossing the line. I really hope nothing bad will happen to Stone and Parker. I read in an article, that their death isn’t a threat, but a prediction. They were sent a message with a gruesome image of the Dutch Filmmaker who was stabbed to death in 2004 for criticizing the Muslim religion. Some people just don’t joke around. A radical could do just about anything if he or she is offended.
I think it is ridiculous for this Muslim group to respond in such a manner to this episode of South Park. It is a controversial comedy that thrives on poking fun at everyone and anything, I don't feel that they should be censored purely because of this response, once you censor episodes like this it will never stop. A simple comedy should never warrant death threats, it is a show made for the public entertainment, no one is getting physically hurt. It seems that just because extremist Muslim's react in this manner, everyone must be so careful to avoid causing offense, whereas everyone else is fair game, simply because they can accept/deal with the joking.
I could understand if the Muslim people were mad at South Park for doing this if the writers of the show had not targeted every other religion or major public figure during their two hundred episodes, but they have targeted everybody. The writers of South Park use what is going on in today’s world to help make their show relevant and point out some of the wrongs that are going on. I can be offending to those that they are making fun of, but let’s face it, most of the time people are thinking about these issues and talking about already, the writer’s of South Park just have a bigger audience than the rest of us to talk to. In the end, it is only a cartoon and people are just looking to get a cheap laugh out it. I cannot believe these Muslims are making death threats to the writers of this show. In the episode, they did not even show Muhammad. They only talked about him. I am pretty sure that the Muslims do not want an image of Muhammad on TV and that did not happen. But even after the episode aired, the Muslims still complained and said they felt disrespected since they still inferred that Muhammad was in a bear costume and speaking. This is just ridiculous. In America, we have the right to free speech. That right is what protects the writers from getting in trouble when they make fun of the President, Jesus, Buddha, any other religious figure, any celebrity, and any politician. The Muslim group that had made these threats is actually located in New York City. They are here in America, enjoying all of our rights and freedoms and yet, still complaining and threatening us when we exercise those rights. I do not think this is right. So many groups have been targeted by this show and yet the writers have not been threatened throughout all of these years. These threats frightened the producers of Comedy Central so much that they actually altered the show after receiving it from the producers of South Park. They bleeped out Muhammad’s name any time it was said, any dialog that was thought to come from Muhammad, and even the speech at the end of the episode. The writers of South Park said that the speech at the end was about intimidation and fear and did not even mention Muhammad, yet the Comedy Central producers wanted to stay safe and bleeped out the entire speech to make sure the Muslims would not be offended. Being able to take a joke is part of growing up and these Muslims obviously still have a lot of growing up to do.
I may sound like an idiot, but I think that this is completely ridiculous. Now like a comment before mine, I can see how people in Muslim culture may be offended, but I mean, look at the show and what it’s made for. It was created solely to make fun of things. I mean it’s a story that surrounds fourth graders and it seems to me like they make it to show that these things they make fun of can be understood by fourth graders better than older people. Like, it’s a joke. These feelings are supposed to arise. Like I said, sensitivity is ridiculous when dealing with South Park. Sit back and laugh and realize that making fun of people isn’t all that bad, especially when it’s a blatant joke.
I really think that everyone needs to take shows such as South Park, Family Guy, etc. need to take the episodes with a grain of salt. They have to realize that the sole purpose of these types shows are to shock and entertain through insulting all types of religions, cultures, races, etc. If you have ever watched South Park then you would know that they leave nobody out and insult as many different types of people as possible. I don't think that any one group should take so much offense to something on a stupid cartoon especially enough to make actual physical threats to the creators of the show. Based on freedom of speech we are able to say or write whatever we want and this is bound to offend some people however i feel that the reason for this show is simply to entertain and not truly hurt or degrade anyone. South Park is making fun of nearly every stereotype you can imagine and it seems that most people find it funny even if they are making fun of you. As a Christian I could take great offense to them using Jesus in their episodes, however, i know that its just a show and i still find it funny. And if you really are offended then i would suggest just not watching the show, it would never negatively affect your life if you just don't pay attention to it. I feel that any groups getting mad and speaking out about South Park will only feed them more and make them push the envelope further, i mean thats really all their trying to do, shock people. There have been a lot people who have spoken out about the show, such as red heads making youtube videos about being upset about them making fun of 'gingers', but in the end it just backfires because they end up using the videos as new material for the show anyway, so the best way to 'get back' at South Park if you really wanted to would just be to stop watching the show. As far as the most recent issues with the show using Muhammad its pretty surprising to me just how angry this is making people. Its obvious that some Muslims will be offended, just as many Christians or Jewish people would be offended when the show makes fun of their beliefs, however the physical threats are pretty serious especially saying that they will end up like the one playwright who was murdered for misrepresenting Muhammad. Those are pretty serious threats and I think its really not that big of a deal to want to issue such types of threats i mean its not like the show is singling out Muslims or anything like that its just one episode.
This is a very interesting question. I was watching the second part of the episode and one of my friends told me that they are censoring the parts with Muhammad. He also told me the censorship is due to threats South Park producers have received from a Muslim group that felt disrespected. I was shocked by that explanation. South Park is a show with a reputation of making smears and jokes about everything and anything possible. I have seen many episodes of South Park that makes fun of religions and God. Jesus was part of this controversial episode and I didn’t hear anyone complaining or threatening anybody. I know a lot of young Americans take religion softly and do not feel the need to be upset if someone makes fun of their religion while in some countries, religion is your life and everything you do is based on the rules and guidelines set for you. If we take the Koran as an example, Muslims look at the holy book as the ultimate guide for their life. People eat, work, fast, bank by the Koran. Investors go as far as not getting any interest in their loans as it is forbidden by the sharia law. Muslim countries that follow the Sharia law take religion seriously and have the mentality that nothing is above their beliefs. It is out of their imagination that people will even consider making fun of a prophet that they respect and mimic every day. In the other hand, Americans especially our generation inherited their beliefs from their parents and don’t really practice it outside of their parents house. Freedom of speech is always going to be a factor as well since many will defend their constitutional rights. As we know, it’s very common for people to make fun of the President or anybody in power while in some countries, it is unthinkable. So the controversial episode comes down to the respect Muslims have for the prophet and the offense they feel when they see a comedian from the western world mocking their faith. In my perspective, if the US wants to improve their relations with Arab counties as a strategy against terrorism, episodes like this one cannot be aired. I also see a double standard as far South Park making fun of Jesus and other religions but taking an episode about Muhammad off air. Although religion is private in this country, many people consider it to be the vital piece in their life.
South Park is funny. They make fun of everyone. If you feel that you were made fun of unfairly or your religion was made fun of unfairly then tough luck. Suck it up and stop being a little baby. It is not like South Park hates those people it is just that there is funny aspects of celebrity figures and other famous people and groups that is funny. I’m sorry if you can’t take a joke. Those Muslim groups are radicals anyway. Kind of like radical Christians who oppose gay marriage and gay anything, the groups are few and far between. They make a lot of noise because of their radical viewpoints when most of the people who believe that Muhammad was a prophet and belong to the Muslim faith do not feel that same way. Most probably laugh at it just like the rest of us. Ever since that newspaper printed the cartoon of Muhammad and the one group threatened them, the group’s actions just make it more popular to make a cartoon about Muhammad. To solve this problem one must go back to grade school. Where one learned that when someone makes fun of you, you laugh at yourself and not hit back because hitting back makes everyone remember. If you laugh at yourself then the insult is quickly forgotten because the bullies do not get a rise that they want. Using the same school children mentality those Muslim groups should just ignore it, post something civil, and go one with their lives. This would cause the whole Muhammad cartoon and voice beeping absurdity to be forgotten. Also the South Park episode was very funny. The whole beeping thing was quite entertaining albeit a little annoying at times especially for the solid minute of it at the end. The episode even blacked out the image of Muhammad until the last few minutes. The whole episode was funny bringing together the insults of everyone including the Denver Broncos, Barbara Streisand, and others. It was hilarious and just because one group of extremists believe that the only way to do something is there very ineffective and stupid way then shame to them and their idiocy. Hopefully those groups will all die in a fire and stop spreading radical views that hurt people. It is not just the radical Muslims, it is also the radical Christians. Like that racist group Sam showed us last week about the racists white children being raised by their racist white mother. Why do these people just go into seclusion and live in their own world where they can’t bother the rest of us. Until we can ship them to the moon where we will never see them again they should just shut up and stop being little pansy bitches.
Muslims do not want the prophet Muhammad depicted visually for fear that the image of Muhammad would be more idolized than the message behind the figure. It is ironic that Revolution Muslim would threaten violence upon the creators of South Park for depicting Muhammad because then they are putting the image (or lackthereof) above the message of Muhammad. With their 200th and 201st episodes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone wittily took a look back at all of the previous celebrities, politicians, and religious figures that they’ve poked fun of over the past thirteen years. What struck them the most out of everything they have made fun of is the one thing they haven’t been able to make fun of over all those years. Those two episodes directly ask the question: why? Why is Muhammad above ridicule even if the ridicule has nothing to do with him? Why are the creators of South Park allowed to have Jesus be one of the main supporting characters on the show and yet hearing Muhammad’s voice is strictly forbidden? It’s one thing not to want an image of Muhammad to become idolized, but the length that these radical Muslims are willing to go to in order to prevent any image from being shown overrides all the things that Muhammad stands for.
The way South Park aggressively brought this issue back to the forefront was bold and admirable. It also could be potentially dangerous. While I feel it is a necessary issue to bring back to light, I do not think it is worth any possible attack against the creators or anyone else for that matter. Still, I have to applaud Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the message that they are trying to convey with their two episodes. I also got a kick out of how they showed Buddha snorting cocaine multiple times in the episode. What should be seen as very offensive is completely overshadowed by the fact that Muhammad cannot be shown in the episode.
Overall, I find the backlash from Revolution Muslim to be completely baffling and I completely understand Comedy Central censoring the “201” episode as much as they did. It is one thing to make a statement, but I am sure the executives at Comedy Central would rather not fear for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s safety. Sure, it might be a bit of a cop out, but I also found it very troubling that their lives were threatened over such a farce. I mean, really, is this the type of world that we live in? I think Anderson Cooper said it best on CNN, "You might not like 'South Park' the cartoon. You might think it's offensive, but the notion that some radical Islamic group in America would make a threat, even a veiled one, against two men's lives because of it is chilling."
I think South Park is hilarious. South Park is a cartoon. When you start getting bent out of shape because of a cartoon that is humorous because it treads a thin controversial line, you need to get a life. It airs on COMEDY CENTRAL! South Park isn’t trying to harm anyone. It is supposed to make us laugh. If you don’t find it funny, then don’t watch the show. How hard is it? This is America. You are free to make your own decisions. No one is Clockwork Oranging your ass and making forcing you to watch. Get over it!
I have seen the 200th episode of South Park where they start to make fun of Mohammad. Its kind of funny how they say that he is immune to being made fun of and is face is never shown on the TV. But its also interesting how every other religion can be made fun of freely on that show except Muslims known for their terrorist activities due to the few extremist organizations that cause problems and destruction for everyone else. I think that because we live in today's society that when one thing become taboo, someone must speak up about it and expose it or else it will remain taboo and the fact that you can never show his face might start to die down. It reminds me about when Sam talked about taboo and "bleeding" for women, it just takes one person to start knocking down walls and the rest will follow.
I have been a big fan of the show South Park for many years, so I am very happy to see a question pertaining to it on this blog. I was watching the episode about Mohammed when it first aired several Wednesday nights ago and the first thing I thought about was the Danish Cartoonist who received death threats after depicting Mohammed in a series of 12 cartoons. The Dane has been attacked several times by radical Islamists after the cartoons publications in 2005. I knew that this episode would cause a backlash from some factions of the Muslim community.
I can honestly understand why people of the Islamic faith would be upset by a depiction of Mohammed, even though I cannot understand the extreme actions into which their anger manifests. But I really cannot understand how South Parks actions this time around causing controversy. In the episode several weeks ago, Mohammed is always disguised. The shows intent is not to make fun of Mohammed, rather it is an attempt to make fun of the reactions that issues surrounding Mohammed have caused in the past several years. The death threats levied against Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker only go to validate the point they were making.
South Park has always made it a point to spare no one; they have poked fun at or satirized virtually anything you can think about. In fact, this wasn’t even the first south park episode to poke fun at the reaction incited by the depiction of Mohammed. The show produced an episode in 2006 in which the townspeople literally bury their heads in the sand to show Muslims that they mean no disrespect after family guy depicted Mohammed in an episode. I think that this brings up another good point relating to something we’ve discussed in class. People are always scared of being viewed as offensive and there is an almost compulsive adherence to political correctness by society. After this latest south park episode (the first in a two part series) incited multiple threats, the producers at Comedy Central bleeped even the mention of Mohammed’s name from the airing of the second episode. While I can understand that this was done by the studio to protect the show's creators, I also believe it was unnecessary and that we cannot allow the threats of Muslim extremists to dictate our actions. Censorship rarely leads to anything good.
It is kind of ridiculous. It is South Park. They have made fun of everything and everyone. Let’s look at this from the American angle. We can do whatever we want and a small group of terrorists should stop us from living and having our freedom of speech. If everyone got angry at South Park then it would have been cancelled forever ago. Yes you are not supposed to make fun of Mohammad. But are you allowed to make fun of the pope? Are you allowed to make fun of Moses? No but people do anyway. South Park had an episode last season where they made of the Japanese because the Japanese thought the whales and dolphins were responsible for the bombings in world war two. How can you take someone seriously when they make a joke about sea creatures bombing Japan? And you do not see the Japanese people up in arms because of this. They are not threatening America with war. In my mind South Park is way too influential. Everyone makes fun of Michael Bay now because of South Park. Everyone makes fun of red-headed people because of South Park. South Park may take everything else lightly but too many people take South Park serious. It might not even be on purpose. People are brainwashed by South Park and they do not even know it. South Park should be blamed for affecting citizens through the media just as much if not more than other media such as fox news or c-span for all I care. One person said they would be offended if they made fun of Jesus instead of Mohammad. South Park makes fun of Jesus at least once a season if not more. Do not make comments like that when you have nothing to back it up. Let’s not forget. The joke was that Mohammad was in a bear suit, but do you know who was actually in the bear suit? Santa Claus! Yes Santa Claus. I guess it’s not offensive to have Santa Claus pretending to be Mohammad. I am a South Park fan but other fans are also taking this a little too lightly. It goes back to Sam saying you need to understand. You do not have to agree with these radical Muslims but just try to see it from their side and why they are so offended and why they are making threats. And for the record I am for freedom and speech and I do not agree with South Park taking down the episode from their website. It is entertainment it is television. These radical Muslims will not be satisfied with America ever anyway so how about we do whatever we want and just live life.
I feel that the South Park controversy has grown to insane proportions. The show is clearly a half hour of insane antics and limit pushing. I believe that anyone who has watched the show at one point or another has taken something the wrong way. I definitely do not watch the show in search of seriousness. I would be wasting my time. I understand the outrage, but I feel that people who watch the show understand the scrutiny that the creators put certain subjects through. They have never been ones to make it known that they are preaching a certain doctrine that has to be followed. There are no secret messages that they want to spread. It is a cartoon, nothing more than that. They mean no harm. I think that if you do not want to be offended, then change the channel. They made remotes for a reason. If you have a complaint, then you can voice it. However, I feel that death threats are a little too much. Its not like Sarah Palin threatened Tina Fey’s life when she was being mocked on Saturday Night Live. I feel that death or violence is no response for whatever it is that has upset the Muslim community. We must also look at the people who have made the threats. Are they extremists? Are they in the United States? I have not researched the situation, but I feel we are missing a lot of information about who has made these threats and accusations. If we knew the whole truth then maybe we could come up with some conclusions. In the meantime, I am looking at the overall state of the situation. Parker and Stone have the freedom to do what they want. It is probably the context that makes this a discrepancy. A Muslim probably has no idea what South Park is. They probably have no idea that the show is mean for humor and sheer shock factor. I could understand that they probably feel they are being attacked. This would make more sense to us if this were a news show like 60 Minutes or Dateline. We see it as a cartoon and harmless since we already know what the show is about. It may be highly disrespectful, but we must look at the context. There is never any seriousness about the show. They have mocked every religion and celebrity on the planet. No one is safe from the show. The best way to avoid it is to just not watch. We all have the choice and we should be aware of that. There will always be something that will offend others until we are all cognizant of other cultures besides our own.
Any one who watches South Park or any show that is somewhat like South Park know that they try and push buttons, and get people raddled. The show is full of derogatory phrases, stereotypes and mockery of all cultures. The authors of the show purposely make fun of all cultures and things that are happening in the media. They want to bring attention to situations and to the politics that are happening in today’s time.
I feel that the people that who made the controversy over the South Park episode were ignorant to what South Park is and how the show makes fun of every religion. When I was younger my mother always said that she disliked South Park but she never actually sat down and watched a full complete episode of the show. After viewing a show her opinion of the show changed a bit, yeah she doesn’t watch the show but she did say that they put satire on political problems and bring situations to light in a comedic manner. So Maybe the people who through the show was offensive just didn’t understand that the show is just for fun but is political and the writers do this for a reason.
Also their has been controversy over this show for so many years, because of how it talks and brings to light taboo conversations and practices of many religions, races, cultures. The show attacks everyone in every realm so if you disagree with what the show is saying then don’t watch it.
Also the show is protected by the first amendment, they can say what they want and create their own opinions. Also, a lot of the stuff that they say on the show is true they just portray it in a different way, through vulgar children that speak everything that comes to their minds. The thing that I find most interesting about the fact that these people got upset about South Park is the fact that there are so many news channels that do the same thing but in a different way. How the media brings light to certain situations and creates a bias opinion about all the same political matters.
One main thing that interests me is the fact that this one episode can make such in impact on public opinion. South Park has so much controversy surrounding it and how it reaches such a large crowd and actually gets people to think about political situations in a different way. It also brings otherwise non-existent conversations to light and makes people examine the situation. The show is great in how it does that for all cultures, and powerful in the same way. It’s just sad that people make such issues about the show before they actually watch it or understand what the writers are trying to achieve.
In response to the South Park comment, I am an avid South Park fan. I have been watching South Park for basically my whole life. The writers of the show depict current events and make abstract situations in order to make the show more entertaining. The closest shows I can describe South Park as is the Simpsons. Instead of the whole family being the main characters, picture Bart, the son, being the main character. The comedy central hit, South Park, is about four third grade students in a Colorado Elementary School. Of course, to make the show funny, the elementary students curse obnoxiously. Essentially they don’t act like third graders at all; they act more like middle school students because of their intelligence levels. With that quick overview of the show, now comes the main discussion of their material.
When I say the word material, it means props or ideas that the writers use to make the shows. We already established that South Park is a show which makes fun of current events in a humorous way. For example, just recently the show made fun of Facebook users and their addiction to the website. Also, a few years ago when Steve Erwin died, South Park had him the next episode that aired. It’s a show that makes fun of everything in the world. There is no stopping on what they make fun of. In response to the people who are upset the Mohammad was criticized, they have to realize it’s just a cartoon. South Park already made fun of Jesus many times during the franchise. They called him fake and made up. So the point I’m trying to make is that there is no segregation of topics that the writers use to make their shows. Religion, sex, deaths, and celebrities are all far game on South Park. There are sometimes where South Park can be offensive for me because they are making fun of issues I feel strongly about.
However you have to understand that the show is meant to be funny. Forms of entertainment take all forms. For example you have movies, sports, drama, reality, and comedy. South Park is a form of comedy that is successful for over a decade. There aren’t many shows currently on TV that lasts more than ten years. The Simpsons has the record for the longest lasting TV series in history. South Park is like the Simpsons. The format is a cartoon and the main characters are abstract. During some episodes there would be appearances by celebrities and most the time the celebrity would be made fun of. South Park is a show that does just that. Muhammad is a god like figure in the Muslim community; therefore, can be argued that he is a celebrity.
South Park is a show that will parody any issue going on in the world no matter how much it might piss people off. They have been doing it since the beginning of the show and they have covered pretty much every base when it comes to offending people. Since the earliest episodes of the show South Park has had a Jesus character in it that they constantly parody and their seems to be no trouble with that. As an avid South Park fan I have seen some of the most offensive things that they have done on the show and the recent Muhammad controversy does not come anywhere close to the offensive nature of so many other jokes on the show. I think it is ridiculous that every other religion in the world shows their profit and allow people to make fun of it and the Muslim faith has this special circumstance where they are immune. Just because the few extremists threaten people with violence does not mean that South Park should not be allowed to show Muhammad. Also South Park did not actually show Muhammad but just what was supposed to be Muhammad in a bear costume. I do not understand why it is such a big deal for a cartoon television show to depict Muhammad in a bear costume. It should be a harmless joke, but instead people have to take it too far and threaten violence for something so trivial. In the same episode they had Buddha snorting cocaine and you do not hear any backlash about that. We live in America where free speech is a cornerstone of our society, so I do not think Matt Stone and Trey Parker should have to back down for anyone over any issue. If the rest of the issues in the world are free game than Muhammad should be free game too. Also I do not even see how the way South Park depicted him was offensive. They had him in a bear costume and he probably said two words. The whole episode was about bringing everyone back in the show that has ever been pissed off at South Park and piss them off again. Tom Cruise threatened to sue them years ago over an episode that they called him gay in. They brought him back in the recent Muhammad and slammed him with gay comments again. I am not comparing Muhammad to Tom cruise, I’m just saying that no matter what people threaten to do to them, Matt Stone and Trey Parker will continue to push the envelope because they believe they should be able to say and do whatever they want on their television show. I hope they don’t let this controversy deter them for bring up other issues in the future.
It ‘s interesting that things like this happen because South Park, along with many other shows like Family Guy and Everybody Hates Chris, poke fun at stereotypes. Most of it is done for humorous purposes, entertainment based. Does that give them a right to offend people? Not really. But it has kind of become the norm to accept these programs and not think too much into them. I am not saying that it’s ok to flaunt these stereotypes and convert our ways of thinking to them, but it is not something that I would waste my time getting upset about. Racist and sexist slurs are constantly being used to produce a few laughs, most times they are laughs of the very peoples they are referring too (for example, the comedians that make fun of their own race or others very closely related). There is a thin line between funny and offensive, and often times that thin line can be blurry as well. Are South Park or any of the other parallel shows going to stop doing what they are doing because someone is offended? No, probably not. I am not sure what exact episode the student is referring to, but unless it is for personal safety issues I doubt the show will be taken off the air (especially on channels like Adult Swim or anything of that nature). What most people would say to that is probably “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch it.”
South Park is a satirical TV show. Everything brought up in the episodes are meant to joke about current issues that we are facing. They pretty much say what most people are thinking in a way that we can laugh about how stupid we are at times. People need to stop taking things so seriously. Everyone likes to laugh at a joke until the joke is on them. People need to loosen up and stop taking things so seriously. Like its on TV its meant to entertain people and if you don't find it entertaining change the channel and watch something that makes you feel better about yourself. There is no reason for anyone to be getting all upset over a TV show. I swear people take things so seriously nowadays. Lets all get over ourselves and live life to the fullest. So what if things on South Park upset you, get over it . Don't let it dictate how you go about your business. You can look at it as another hater that you have to prove wrong. At the end of the day as long as you can rest your head to know that you are living your life and not for anyone, than you have nothing to worry about or be upset about.
I think that south sark is one of the best shows on television right now. It stirs a lot of controversy which is a good thing, as people become more aware of what is happening in their own country. It is one show that is not afraid to make fun of things. Most of those jokes are based on stereotypes and should not be taken seriously, I can undertsand if some people feel offended with certain episodes that target a certain genre of people. As long as the show does not encourage violence or encourage criminals, its fine by me
The creators of South Park really like to push people’s buttons and see how far they can go without (illegally) crossing the line. I have to admit that it is an entertaining show, because it points out the flaws in humans and kind of shows us that there are so many angry people out there. I don’t know much about the Islamic religion but I believe that Muslims consider it blasphemy to show any physical representation of Muhammad, so whether it’s good or bad? I’m not saying that Muslims are uptight or anything, but a big deal is being made over a cartoon show.
I just feel like in America its just so hard to say what you want anymore. I feel like its just impossible for things that could be said before to be said today. People are a lot more sensitive to what is going on now and because of that no one is really aloud to say anything or make fun of anything just for fun. I think that when things are that sensitive in order to keep things from getting worse, people should not try and fight what is going on anymore. I think it just becomes hard to distinguish that point
South Park is a real funny show. They attempt to go about humor in so many different ways, I am starting to see that the main direction they go is political indirect humor. For instance the South Park writers try and push the limit on sensitive topics. They attempt to make their viewers laugh while still talking about an issue and teaching a lesson or morale or just having the viewers think wow thats interesting, yet funny. I saw the South Park episode that depicted the god Allah as something, I am not sure what He was. I can understand why muslims were mad at the shows writers. However, the show gets all religions not just Islam. They make fun of christianity and Jesus alot. Almost every episode. Christians for the most dont want to harm the writers if people feel they are offended then they simply stop watching it. I used to be very religious and after watching one South Park episode, I swore not to watch this show again. They skit that insulted me was degrading "my god" so I was like "F" this show its bull shit. I probably went about 10 months or so with out watching the show. After a while i realized the show has the right to make fun of what ever they want. Its up to me to either pout and be offended are laugh understand that other people dont think or have my beliefs. And thats ok. The thing thats wrong with the world today is that everyone feels like their beliefs and ideas and princples are above everyone else. Its the "I am right and you are wrong" concept. Thats what these Islams have that want to kill the writers of the show. They however, have it to an extremely expondential degree. Its sad because us humans thinking this way is the fundamental reason of why the world is in such as bad of a shape it is for so many people. We as humans dont accept what other peoples way, and if we do accept it then its done resistently. I think South Parks writers are good. I feel that they should be able to express making fun of any thing they want. I someone feels that they are getting offended then they can simply stop watching the show. America is FAR from perfect but the one thing that this country has going for it is that we have free speech. ( well not really but more than most other countries and its regulated very well). So I think those extremist need to attempt to understand everyone does not believe how/in what you believe in. And its ok for them to share there believes even its a direct opposite of what you believe.
South Park is designed to push peoples buttons and they once again did this. The people who threatened to kill the makers of the show need to realize that its a show. It's not real and its designed for humor. I didn't really find this episode to be that amusing because I knew how the extreme Muslims would react to someone making fun of their God. I do think that the extremists don't like being mocked along with any religion because they must feel like they are made to be less important to other religions. I really hope that the creators will be a little more careful though because some really think that this is wrong to be made fun of.
To start off we all know that south park and its creators push the envelope every episode when it comes to the material they use. They aren’t the only show to do this though and they are joined by the likes of the family guy, the Cleveland show, the Simpsons… and many others. The thing about south par though is that in every episode they are ALWAYS making fun of a certain individual and never let up. Now I’m not of Muslim decent or believe in their religion so I don’t know what their rules and values are, but if I had to guess they are the same as anyone else’s and they take their God and values very seriously. What they do on the show I do not always agree with but it is a very funny and long standing show so they obviously are not offending to many people otherwise it would be off the air. The episode in question however has the prophet Mohamed in a bear costume or something and is being disrespected in some fashion. Is this the right way to go about things considering how the Americans relationship right now with Islamic religion is, eh not really but at the same time Jesus is a main character on the show and they always poke fun at him. In my eyes, obviously, I see nothing wrong with this just a show doing what they always do, but I can see how some people would definitely take offense to these remarks. The thing here though is that this is not just a random group, it’s a group of radicals that have previsouly killed someone for the same action so this needs to be dealt with in a more serious manner. I believe they did the right thing by changing the ending of the show to prevent harm to them, whether the threat was real or not, and they should probably steer clear of offending these same people again. The big issue here though is the never ending issues that radicals have over all people not just the creators of South Park. It is definitely a shame that we have to censor what we want to say or do because we could be killed. I mean I certainly wont be making any remarks any time soon that will put my life in danger, at least I hope I don’t, but these creators were trying to give a lighter mood to a serious situation and it is a shame that they were out in a situation like this. They never meant to cause permanent damage to anyone’s ego or values but I guess in the end you have to take into consideration not everyone is going to find what you find funny, funny. In this case they pissed off a group of people who kill when this occurs that’s all. I definitely think it was the right move to edit the end of the episode and they should probably steer clear of this topic in the future.
Religion is always a sketchy subject to satirize. Recently, Seth MacFarlane was on Larry King talking about this same issue. What he said was that when you're a writer of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's genre, poking fun of religion is a matter of weighing out pros and cons; is this joke so funny and so worth it to make when you know that people are going to be completely offended, and maybe even regard your joke as blasphemous? Members of Revolution Muslim, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are all United States citizens which gives them both the rights to threaten those who mock the faith that they believe in so passionately, and broadcast their 'offensive' cartoon on cable television. Whether or not violence will be inflicted upon the two writers is to be seen.
I think that it is ridiculous that there are so many groups who take offense to TV shows especially ones like South Park. This show makes fun of everything you can possibly think of and any scandal that comes up in the media. For Muslims to take so much offense to one episode because it makes fun of their culture and they don’t get riled up when our culture makes comments just seems hypocritical to me. There are so many people that probably do take offense and make comments about what is said on this show and others but it isn’t talked about as much because they aren’t such a smaller group of people.
I feel like this is another example of racism but in an alternative way. If someone who was catholic had mad a big deal about an episode then it would not have been such a public showing in the media and people probably wouldn’t have cared as much. I think it is also in a way showing how people in smaller religions who feel as if they are being attacked make things seem like that all the time even if that wasn’t the original intention. I am not saying that what was said on South Park isn’t wrong and that it isn’t slander but it shouldn’t always be made to be such a huge deal.
I realize that there as been a lot of emphasis and criticism of Muslims especially since 9/11 and the events that have happened since then and they are probably on their guard. I have no idea how it would feel to be lumped in with a group of people for that reason but I do know how it feels to be lumped in with a group of people. There are always stereotypes that come with different cultures and religions and even here on campus there are stereotypes that go with groups. I am in a sorority and there are some very obvious assumptions made about us such that we are sluts and only care about alcohol and are ditsy. Also, even within sororities specifically there are tiers and people are lumped in with their tier and are surprised when someone is prettier than they should be according to their tier.
Overall, I think that it must be very hard for Muslims to take on so many hits just for following a religion that has a lot of radical people in it that are terrorists. However, I don’t think that this means that they should always be so on the offensive about things especially about a show like south park that makes fun of anything that can breath for the most part.
I feel like those protesting South Park and other “politically incorrect” forms of media fail to realize several things about the freedom of speech. The first thing they forget is that freedom of speech cannot be selective. In a nation where these groups have the luxury to be able to protest without getting shot, they have the nerve to declare that other people can’t say anything deemed offensive to themselves. When freedom of speech is involved, one of the most important things to remember that it includes controversial opinions, even ones that express hatred or discrimination. We see images of Ku Klux Klan rallies and cross burnings, the Westboro Baptist Church protesting at the funerals of dead soldiers, and other forms of hatred at its worst. But while we may hate it, it is a right as an American citizen to be able to hold that right with no threat from the government. Naturally, we in turn have the right to disagree with them, and we have the complete ability to do so. Perhaps that’s something we forget sometimes. We have every right to say what we think, we just need to do that more. Otherwise, the ideals the United States stands for are at risk.
I was able to watch the new episode of South Park, and throughout the episode there were a series of censors on the screen where Mohammed should have been. The episode also bleeped out the word “Mohammed” and even completely censored a monologue at the end of the show. At first, I thought this was a well played meta joke that the South Park creators planned. But today I saw a statement on their website, noting that “Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle's customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn't mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too.” Looking for confirmation, I found several sources (including one from the New York Times website) that confirmed that Comedy Central had indeed heavily censored the episode prior to it airing. I was fairly taken aback to this decision. At first I reasoned that this was maybe a part of a marketing scheme to hype up the show, but I feel like that would be a fairly low thing to do. But I suppose this whole ordeal isn’t the right thing to do either. I’m fairly certain that this course of events is far worse. South Park lampoons everybody (even in the recent episode it portrayed Buddha ripping lines of cocaine and Jesus watching internet porn), but now at the sign of a threat everybody clamps shut and doesn’t support their own rights. Sometimes we need to fight for our basic constitutional rights to exist, otherwise they hold no merit.
South park is always out of line. They really hold nothing back, and there is no way you should take offense to what they say. They trash everyone, and I mean everyone. I am Jewish, and when they say something extremely offensive to Jews, I start to get upset, then I remember that they do it for an effect. They do it for people that have incredibly and disgustingly crude humor. Even shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons do not take it to a level that South park does. I try not ot watch the show, because I know it is written by a bunch of people that get high together and try to write things that people will find funny.
I think that south park is completely “off the hook”. I have never liked this show. It is completely offensive and ridiculous. All of my friends love to watch this show so I figured I would just give it a chance. However, by the end of the episode I was completely outraged and bothered. They made rude and offensive comments towards women, different races and religions. I think that this show should not even be allowed to be aired. I understand that some people may think it is funny, but they should really think about the people they are offending when they make those comments.
Let me start off this blog post by saying that I am a huge South Park fan. It is a hilarious show and has always been one of the best cartoons and programs on television. However, it's not just hilarious but it is brilliant. Nearly every episode has a message and every episode is a satire. It is not created just to have foul mouth jokes and inappropriate language. But rather, it pokes fun on current events and the craziness that is today's 21st century society and America. Having said that, this past week's two part episode about Muhammad and the muslims was great. It was in my opinion one of the best episodes in South Park history. Again, having said that, people need to lighten up and learn how to take jokes. That is what South Park is. It is a satirical joke with a message. South Park's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't making fun of Muslims, the islamic religion or Muhammad. They are just using the episode for a greater message and to be funny. Today's society with the radical Christians and Muslims, whoever it may be, need to take a chill pill and relax. People need to learn how to take jokes and lighten up a little bit at times. Laughter makes this world such a better place and South Park's creators helps a better mood. Yeah, the show may cross the line at times. I could name 20 episodes off the top of my head that people would consider too racy and crossing the line. But you know what, who the hell cares. It is funny. It is a comedy. Whether it is censorship and stuff like this or whatever, people need to just relax, smile and have a good time. In my opinion, this is just a small representation of people caring too much. The FCC, the christian conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, everyone. People are too damn serious. Life is short and we should have fun and laugh. I know this doesn't necessarily answer the question directly but I'm using this blog post to just tell people to live and laugh. People always say carpe diem and sieze the day and life life to the fullest. Well, the best way to live life to the fullest is to smile and laugh and have some fun. South Park has fun and it makes me smile and laugh. So Trey Parker and Matt Stone, keep making fun of Muhammad and whoever the hell you want to because I want to laugh some more. People will complain, it's a fact. People complain about everything. Sarcasm and satire make life fun. Being uptight just makes everyone unhappy and I don't want to be unhappy. I want to laugh ans South Park is all about laughing.
I’ll watch South Park occasionally, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I know they put out episodes that offend various groups and that they attempt to push the envelope. However, I’ve taken issue with them every since their episode “The F Word”.
This episode that’s causing so much controversy is one that features a depiction of the prophet Mohammed. In Islam it’s frowned upon to create visual images of Mohammed because they want to deter idolatry of said image. The rule basically wants to stop people from worshipping the image as opposed to actually worshipping the idea and person beyond the image. That’s why I’m a little eh over people saying “They showed Jesus, Buddha, etc!” Well, those religions don’t have a problem with depictions of their prophet, etc. Of course I’m not excusing the few crazies who want to kill over a depiction. There are many more liberal Muslims who don’t have an issue with depictions of Mohammed, but as the case with the South Park guys shows, there are people who take issue with images being shown. It’s the same with every religion I suppose. There are liberal and rational people in each religion, but the few crazies are the ones who are given media attention and as a result, people associate the crazies with every single person in the religion.
The South Park episode aired recently and the image of Mohammed was blocked out because Comedy Central decided to censor it. They did it without the South Park guy’s permission and I suppose it was due to the death threats the producers were facing. I’m not a fan of censorship and as people have repeated over and over, South Park makes fun of every group. I think it’s ridiculous to censor an image just to please one group. You can’t make a death threat because you’re offended by something. I understand that South Park is offensive at times and blatantly pushes the creator’s beliefs, but you’re only giving yourself a bad image by threatening to kill over something you disagree with.
An episode they had that really offended me was their episode about the f word and how it’s basically alright to use it because the meaning is changing. I’m changing the topic a bit but it relates to my previous opinion on the Mohammed episode. I quite like what someone said on another blog regarding this episode. “The privileged group does not get to make a statement for the oppressed group.” There are people who will argue that the Mohammed episode is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but half the time they’re the ones who use South Park as their go to political show. Kinda sad.
Regardless, many people will watch South Park and believe everything is says is incredibly clever, but a few episodes are nothing more than a way for the creators to push their beliefs. Someone(outside of this blog) mentioned a few episodes such as “Cartman’s Silly Hate Crime 2000” where they attacked hate crime laws despite the facts that prove certain groups ARE targeted and hate crime laws are designed to protect them. It makes me sick when people try to say its special privileges. Or the episode about Mr. Garrison which basically poked fun at transgendered issues. The show isn’t really that brilliant (in my opinion) but it does have its funny moments that shine a light on important issues.
Also, some of the comments here scream “ethnocentrism”. The comment that bashed Islam as bogus because of its background. I’m pretty certain the people that bash Islam have no background or any information on it save for a quick glance at Wikipedia or the minutes they can spare to watch Fox News. The fact that someone says Islam is bogus while ignoring the fact that Christianity claims Jesus was born to a virgin and came back from the dead screams of hypocrisy and nothing more than ethnocentrism. People need to get over themselves and realize that making death threats won’t solve anything, but neither will acting as if your point of view is the only correct one.
I think this is a ridiculous story. The fact that South Park makes fun of people is such an old story, everybody has stopped caring what they say. At this point, the makers of South Park should not be subject to any more criticism. They should be allowed to say whatever they want about anybody, it’s a little thing we call freedom of speech.
Over the years, South Park has made fun of many different types of people. They have said things such as “Fucking Jew” and “People who are annoying…Niggers!” I mean these are some pretty ridiculous things to say on a cable television show, but South Park has been doing this for over 10 years. The general public should understand what this show is and how they are going to write the show. You don’t hear about the Jewish community complaining anymore about the derogatory comments they make about Jews. And you don’t hear about black people threatening the producer of South Park do you?
So why does the Muslim community feel like they have the right to threaten South Park for making fun of Muhammad? Is Muhammad such a sacred figure that they feel the need to protect him more than Jewish people need to protect themselves? I don’t get this at all. The Muslim community needs to suck it up and not get really mad about situations like this. People watch South Park because they like the show and they think it is hilarious. That’s why the show is still on the air. The producers of this show get paid to do make people laugh, and they are very good at what they do.
There is no way that South Park should even concern themselves with apologizing to anybody for this incident. They have worked out of worse situations than this one, and there is no reason this should be any different. I mean what are the Muslims going to do to the producers, murder them. There is no way these people are going to be killed over a cartoon episode. What has this world that we live in come to when people are being threatened over a cartoon show?
What I find interesting is that also on the episode, South Park made fun of all of the other major religions in some way. Why hasn’t the Christian community come out and threatened the producers for making fun of Jesus? Why does the Muslim community have to be so radical and intense in everything that they do. Maybe it would be okay if they said they were upset with the way Muhammad was depicted in the episode in a professional way. But they threatened the producers physically? That’s ridiculous.
I think this issue about the mocking of the prophet Muhammad is being blown out of proportion. The show South Park is notorious for making fun of everything, from actors to religion, and for people to take it this seriously is ridiculous. Comedy Central censoring the episode is also ridiculous, because they make fun of christianity and judaism too but they aren't censored. To censor this episode because it is making fun of Islam is offensive, what makes their religion any better than other peoples. I can understand people being upset with the show and how they are mocking their religion, but those people do not need to watch the show. The show makes fun of a lot of sensitive issues and none of them are censored, but as soon as Muhammad comes into it they censor the show. That is one of the big things I disagree with, if you make fun of all those things, then turn around and censor one that implies that the censored subject is more important than all the others, which is absolute bullshit. If they are going to censor insults to the Islam religion, than the channel should censor all the religious insults put into the show. The fact that they are treating Islam more important than any other religion is insulting all the people that belong to the other religions. I also think that the people that made this issue a big deal should relax, because they are blowing the subject way out of proportion.
The whole thing about the creators of the show being warned about mocking the religion of Islam is also ridiculous. I don't care what they say about the comments and how it should be taken as a threat. When someone suggests the possibility of you being murdered, because you made fun of something in a show that makes fun of everything, then I would consider that a threat. I am not saying that all Islam is ridiculous, but I am saying that the radical sects of Islam that threaten the creators of a cartoon because they made fun of their religious leader are acting exactly as most non-islamic people see them as. If they want to be taken seriously then they need to stop making death threats as a way to stick up for their religion. The fact that they made “threats” to the creators with a graphic picture of van gogh, makes me personally wish that the creators keep making the show the way they are. I understand that it is only the radical groups of Islam that start these issues, but it makes me angry that everytime Islam is made fun of it is blown out of proportion. This is a more minor case of the cartoon making fun of Muhammad in Europe that started riots and that man also received death threats. That a relatively minor thing makes this big of a deal is not right. This issue proves that relations between Islam and the western world are still a sensitive area.
I am a young man who grew up watching the hilarious famous TV series which is known as South Park. I was laughing at their jokes way before I could even understand what some of it meant. Even up to this day I find it really appealing and hilarious, which is the main purpose of the show. This show falls under the same category as other wildly popular adult and mature audience intended cartons such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Kin g of the Hill, with South Park most definitely being the most highly offensive to any particular audience.
South Park has been an extremely controversial show for years. My brother and his friends used to always want to watch it when they were in like 7th and 8th grade (now they are 22), and my parents would never let him because they thought it was so inappropriate. South Park is extremely inappropriate, but it is what makes it humorous. They usually relate the topics to events that are going on in the world today and what people can relate to. The thing that South Park does, it targets ALL forms of races, religions, people, and groups. It never singles out and targets one and only one group. It ranges with the various episodes. It is unnecessary for people to take offense to this show because it is not meant to be offensive, just funny and making almost a parody off of certain people. Its a group of supposed third graders, that curse, know more about sex than most, but are still children at heart.
The topic South Park chose to do was use Mohammed as their next "victim" as some people might want to say. It is simply making fun of muslims and discussing their religion. It is making the show funny and for people to enjoy. Laugh at yourselves and know that it is not supposed to be directed towards any individual. People can be very closed minded. If they honestly have such a problem with the show, they should not watch it at all. South Park has been on for years and there should not be so many issues over one topic, when there has been far more controversial topics in the past.
South Park is such a popular show and people are overreacting and taking this to extreme measures. Other shows have done just as worse. So many stand up comedians use stereotypes, race, religions, and groups to make their skits funny and to make fun of people. Other shows such as Family Guy and the Simpsons also do this. Why is it such a big deal now? Why is this episode more offensive than others? The writers of the show are the creative minds behind the show and have the right to say what they feel necessary. It does not mean that it all necessarily true.
As I talked about my brother not being able to watch the show as a kid, my dad now loves the show. He is strict and kind of uptight. He became open minded and loves the show. He waits for a new episode each week and you can hear him laughing for across the house. It is entertaining. People need to give the show a chance and stop taking everything so literally. Its absurd and obnoxious when people take things that are so unimportant and blow them out of proportion.
I watched the south park episode and I thought it was hilarious. The writers were poking fun at the fact that they had previously had an issue with Muslim groups and the desecration of the prophet Mohammed. I did think the show was witty, funny and a fitting response. However the episode, like many other South Park episodes can also be seen as offensive and brash. In reality they did poke fun at the prophet. But they poked fun at many other religious figures as well, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna etc. I am not saying that it is right or that I approve of the mocking of holy and religious figures, I am merely pointing out that the Muslim religion was not singled out to be ridiculed. In some ways the Muslims do have every right to be upset and enraged. It must hurt to see a figure that you hold in great reverence brought down to a censorship bar and made fun of. At one point in the episode in front of the figure of Jesus Christ, one of the characters says “Jesus f**king Christ”. I was not necessarily offended by the comment but I did feel a slight pang of discomfort and unsettlement. So I can definitely see how someone could find offence in the content of the episode. I think the reason I was not overly offended is because I know not to take South Park seriously. I understand that the show I meant to offended people and take on real or sometimes not so real issues in a comic light. I also firmly believe that everyone will get what is coming to them. If the creators and writers of South Park find it okay to do these things then there will be repercussions for their actions. One day they will have to come to terms with the fact that they have disrespected a lot of people and that they have also committed blasphemous remarks against many religions and spirituality. Or perhaps these people are completely content with their spirituality and religions and they use these parodies in order to make a point and even possible affect change. It is entirely possible that their main purpose is not to offend. Whatever the case I do not think that any groups should have anything negative to say about South Park. Although most of their representations are parodies and hyperboles it has never seemed to me that they grossly misrepresent any characters. In this specific episode and in the other ones I have seen that include the prophet Mohammed nothing in that has really misrepresented him. In the end this is a free country and people are allowed to say whatever they want no matter who disagrees with you
South Park is amazing because it says what everyone in society is thinking but is too afraid to say because its taboo. Don’t exclude anyone. They make fun of every group of people, including themselves. south Park makes social commentary in a subtle way, in that they are able to present the issues facing society without making a judgement. Similarly to Dave Chappele presents racism as an absurd thing, South Park presents society as an absurd thing, but doesn’t preach. In the Tiger Woods episode, they point out how absurd it is that rich, successful men should be monogamous. I feel that South Park features children. The children always get it. But the arents never do. The kids are the only people smart enough to et wats going on. It points out how ignorant adults can often be and how closed minded they can be. For example, the handicapped kid named timmy starts a band and cince hes retarded the music is “terrible.” The parents get mad because the music sucks, but the kids cheer just to support him and have a goo time. bottom line, the parents never get it…but the kids usually do. Despite the controversy and absurdity, there is often a lesson or morale tat comes with South Park. The lessons aren’t precahy in vibe, but they suggest new idea that should eb considered. they just want you to think outside the box, just like Sam Richards wants us to. It serves as a release from stress because its humor, but it also shows uncensored commentary that nooone else says. South Park is the most entertaining source of life lessons i’ve ever seen. Civilised societies have been in place for so long, but we still do give the knowledge to the next genertion. My parents have taught me alot, granted, but I feel like they hold back. We learn shit in school about math and english and whatnot and noone teaches us how to live in the real world. South Park actually does this. It tells us hen were being douches, and when were right. I may be exaggerating, but I really think we need to educate people on simply how to think. Because alot of us simply don’t think. south Park gives you access to things ou don’t always thnk about. South PArk probably isn’t the best source of life lessons, but they are the only people that really through their opinions out there. It can be too offensive for older and younger people. Nevertheless, at the end of the show they always learn something and more often then not their right. Not only is it funny, but its genius. Its such a scarce resource. Matt stone and Trey Parker are not just comedic geinuses but life geniuses.
As I am sure we all know, South Park is an extremely controversial show and has been that way for quite some time. In my opinion, and from what I know about the show (since I have never watched it super religiously), South Park is that type of show that is out to parody or comment on what is currently going on the world. Whether it is a topic of religion, politics, celebrities, or whatever, South Park seems to have a commentary on it. They are known for pushing the envelope and for pushing people’s buttons, but that’s what they’re good at. Even though I do not follow the series myself, one thing I have noticed over the years is that everyone and everything is a topic for parody on the show. That is something I have always admired the show for; everyone is on the same playing field and that one particular group never seems to be a heavy target.
The controversy with the Muhammad episode and South Park parodying the Muslim religion annoys me slightly. It annoys me even more because of the other event recently in the news about that kid who named his teddy bear Muhammad and his teacher lost her job over it. To me, that is freaking ridiculous. Come on now, really? Muhammad is not that uncommon of a name, so I am not entirely sure how these people really thought that a little kid would defame the Muslim religion. Anyway, back to the South Park thing – this bothers me because South Park was only doing what it does best: parodying and commenting on what is going on around us. It was not like the writers of the show were specifically going after that one group of people; they just happened to be the next “victims,” so to speak.
However, why this controversy annoyed me got me thinking about something really interesting, so I am going to shift gears here for a second. It seems like we cannot fathom why Muslims would get so offended by this. I wonder if this is one big ethnocentrism issue, from both perspectives. If you really think about it, I do not see how both sides can view this situation from the other person’s side. As for us, since we know that South Park is not completely serious on all they comment on, and they produce stuff for the purpose of commentating and parodying, we find what is on the air quite amusing and funny most of the time. However, people in the Muslim culture do not realize that South Park is a satire, so they believe that what we are saying is serious, so they get offended. On the other side of that now, Muslims are very serious about their religion. Islam is not just a religion for these people; it is also their lifestyle, so in turn, religion plays a more serious role in their lives. In the US, Christianity is not a lifestyle in general, so there is a separation of lifestyle and religion. Because of this, I do not think we can completely understand why a show like South Park would be offensive to the Muslim community, so we get annoyed when they do get offended.
I do not know if there is a correct or incorrect way to look at this issue, and I do not know if one side is more “right” or “wrong” than the other. But what I do know is that while this may annoy most, in the end, I think it boils down to one big ethnocentrism issue.
What I find so ridiculous about this controversy is that a few years ago South Park depicted Mohammad in an episode as part of a group of religious superheroes and no one noticed. Then this Dutch cartoon came out and all of sudden rules changed. The Dutch cartoons were definitely in bad taste and I could understand why a Muslim person would be offended, but after that controversy any depiction of the prophet was considered blasphemous and controversial. Even if South Park was specifically mocking Mohammad it should be expected because the creators set out to push buttons, but it is ridiculous that all they wanted to do is depict him in a cartoon and that is too much. The response of some Muslim groups has not helped Islam or Muslim people or helped deter Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Threats of violence from supposed Muslim group leaders only helps to misrepresent the true ideals of Islam. And as usual, the American media only adds fuel to the fire by making the episode a big deal.
First off I do not watch South Park but I do know how often they make fun of other types of people. That is just what they do. I do not think it is really in good taste especially when they make fun of people’s beliefs. But I show that by not watching their show, I do not threaten to kill them. I know that religion is a very touchy subject and maybe that was taking it a b it to far. But killing or even threatening to kill people because of it is not the way to solve it. I think if they wanted to do something about it they could take them to court about it.
I believe that being respectful of people’s religion is important. If people want to believe in what they believe in then they should be able to without having people make fun of them or push their buttons. I don’t think that everyone else has the same values as me though. I wish that South Park and their creators would be a tad bit more respectful of what people believe in and what people’s morals are.
I know that in the past I have had issues because of the South Park show. They introduced the term “ginger” which refers to a red hair person with lots of freckles and pale skin. I have had many people make fun of me for it. It doesn’t bother me because what I look like is nothing compared to what I believe. If South Park made a show saying that what I believe was dumb then I would be really upset if people started to make fun of me because they saw it on South Park.
I think what the creators of the South Park show need to realize is that everything they put out into the world can have an influence on people no matter what. People believe what they see on TV. Or if they find it funny then they could repeat the terms they heard on TV to their friends and that is how these things get started. What the creators don’t understand is that they have a huge influence on the adolescents of the United States. If the people, students, or teens see that the show is making fun of people because they are Arabic, Jewish, Red Headed, from the South, From the North, Black, or Islamic then they will start to think that it is okay for them to make fun of these people publicly.
I still believe that threatening to kill the creators is extreme but it is their right to voice their opinion about what they believe. I hope they would be able to talk about this issue in a more peaceful manner.
This is a really good question and to be honest I really do not see a problem with the episode it is just television and I really doubt they meant anything by it. You always see television shows like family guy and the Simpson’s doing things like this so I think we just need to forget about it and just remember that it is just animated television.
I think that the writers and producers are always just trying to create controversy. I feel as if you do not like what the show does then just do not watch it. I can easily name a lot of movies that create major controversy that actually had an effect on real life. One that I know of is a movie called Natural Born Killers. This is considered a movie that has been the result of many people killing others because they were so obsessed with it. One example that I am sure everyone knows of is the Columbine shooting. The two students were supposedly obsessed with this movie. What we need to do is start looking at things like this because people look up to movie stars not cartoons. Movies have an effect on much more things in life than cartoons. Kids see something in movies and try to mimic their favorite actor or actress and they want to be just like them. I really doubt anyone wants to be like cartman.
Sure this show is a bit much at times but it is made for humor and for people to enjoy watching. It is never directed towards anything of considered to be a bad influence. This is a show that does whatever it wants. It attacks celebrities, athletes, and political figures and we all pretty much laugh and talk about it the next day but once it talks about Muslims everything gets blown out of proportion. If the show was too much for people then we need to attack the network and not the show itself because it is the network that puts the show on the air. I mean I am just shocked that people are offended about this episode. We all had to have seen this coming from the writers. They have been doing this stuff for years and we have never really said much. We should just say wow it is just another offensive south park episode that may have crossed the line, oh well lets just move on. I really do not understand what the problem is I think that it is just a cartoon and we just need to stop talking about the episode and forget about it. south park will continue to do this and really nothing is going to stop them from doing it because people love the show.
The South Park incident just goes to show the horrifying nature a radicalism (of anything). Despite how controversial South Park is, I think we all agree that no one deserves these kinds of threats over a cartoon television show that makes fun of EVERYONE. To be honest, I am surprised this doesn’t happen more often, as these radical followers don’t seem to have much leeway. The ironic thing in all of this is that it happened in America where freedom of speech is utilized everyday, often in much the same way the South Park producers use it on their show. This is America, this is how we operate and some people will inherently dislike that. My answer? Ignorance is bliss. Don’t come here. Don’t watch comedy central.
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When I found out that people had taken offense to this episode, my initial reaction wasn’t very considerate of the people of the Muslim religion. I thought it was ridiculous that people could see the episode of South Park, and react in rage and threaten to kill the creators. South Park is a cartoon and it is not real life. When I was in elementary school my best friend and I had this joke about our invisible friend Muhammad. I had no idea that there was so much controversy over allowing this character to have a physical form. If I did, I probably would have poked more fun at it because I wouldn’t have (and still really don’t) understood the drama that comes along with a visual of a god. It’s not like it’s an accurate depiction of the god, nobody actually has an accurate depiction of his or her god.
Once I stepped out of my own shoes and tried to see this in the eyes of a Muslim who took offense, I began to see where this anger could come from. Many people have religious beliefs, much different than my lack of any, and these people hold true to these beliefs and live by these laws that their god has set forth for them. Holding onto something as strongly as many religious people do leads me to realize how this poking fun at their god could be offensive. It’s hard for me to put it into a perspective I can understand, though. I am not religious and I don’t have a god, let alone one that cannot be visualized. However, the anger these people must be feeling doesn’t justify threats to kill those who are simply making it into a joke. And it is also not as if this was the only religion they poked fun at, South Park is sure to leave nobody out of their jokes. What could make somebody who is religious and following the rules of their god, which include unconditional love and forgiveness, want to kill another person? People who feel that they are killing ‘for’ their god seem insane to me. How could a god that loves and accepts you be so willing to force you into murder? To me, this doesn’t seem to make any sense, especially if we are all welcome to become followers of this same god.
Sometimes I feel that religion accidentally leads to acts of violence and hate more than it should. People should practice what they preach. If people who strongly believe in a god or religion that teaches forgiveness and unconditional love, they should be able to forgive those and love those who believe in different things than they do. They should also not hate and want to kill those that offend them.
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I saw this issue on the news just the other night and was glad to see someone blog about it. Like many people have already said, South Park is a comedy show, it pokes fun at everyone and everything. This was not a serious news report to be taken seriously, its a cartoon making a funny joke. There have been many episodes that poke fun at Jesus. Did they not see that? If it were a serious talk show bashing on Muhammad I would understand why there might be some outraged people. But, again it was not. It is south park, and I am almost positive there have been spoofs on like the Simpson's about Islam and i do not think there was any threats in their direction? Yes religion is a serious topic and not one to joke about in a serious setting like a church, mosque or synagogue, BUT comedy central is none of those places. It is a place, as its name implies, a place for comedy. If you are looking for people to take issues like religion seriously you should not watch the channel. And it is not like Islam was the first time they ever made fun of anyone. It is a given that all issues that are in the media or not are fair game to make fun of. The people threatening the creators of the show need to realize how egocentric they are being. Focusing only on the fact that their religion was brought into a comedy sketch. It is like they had selective hearing, only picking out a certain episodes to focus in on. For example, the episode that made fun of the Jonas Brothers. The episode made a lot of fun of those three boys and everything they stand for, yet you did not see them sending out threats. I could probably go on for days with examples of all the people that South Park has picked out and made a considerable amount of fun of. I do not think there is really anything else to say other then, get over it , it was a joke, do not take it personally , just laugh. I am a christian and when they make fun of Jesus I know it is a joke and to not take it seriously. There is a time and a place for religion to be taken seriously and not to be joked about. If Muhammad had been made fun of in a context that was not suppposed to be funny then an uprising would be expected and more understood. And that is all I have to say about this topic today about South Park and religion.
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South Park is a great show. However, any arguments about it that occur in the real world are just ridiculous. It's a cartoon and all of the characters are made by paper cutouts. I saw the episode that she's talking about and it's all about how they don't make fun of Muhammad. They blackout his character the entire episode. I really don't get why this is such a big deal. On top of that, in that episode they made fun of jesus and about a hundred celebrities. There are definitely better things to argue about than a south park episode.
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I am a casual fan of South Park and I have to say I think the show is hilarious. Yes, they do really push some buttons to certain groups of people, but what they do in my eyes is usually just harmless. People get too serious and upset over things when they should realize that this show is just too poke fun at things and for humor. First of all why do these Muslims care about what a show like South Park or for any show for that matter say about their religion. If they truly believe in their own religion, why worry about what other people say. It’s almost like they are trying to blow this up into a big deal to get their own selves some attention. I think anybody who worries about what other people say usually don’t really believe that what they are doing is truly right. These Muslim’s just need to take a chill pill and relax. If everyone that this show has gone after and made fun of decided to come out and threaten them, then almost everyone in the entire world would be after them. They have poked fun at Jesus, Satan, Christians, Jews, fat people, skinny people, hicks, and even just America in general. You can just about name anything and I’m sure South Park has done some type of episode about them. When they made fun of Kanye West, he actually came out and said they he had to laugh about it because of the way he portrayed him. I know for sure that they made fun of him way more then they went after the muslims in the recent episode. So, what I’m trying to say is why are they so worried about what other people think? America is a country where freedom of speech is one of our special rights as people. These South Park episodes as well as Family Guy, The Simpsons all have the right to say exactly they way they fell. If you do not like, then maybe you should not be living in America, or better yet, just don’t watch or listen to what they have to say. That would take care of all problems. People just look for reasons to stir up controversy and these muslim people are no different. I don’t understand why they are so serious about there religion and how other people look at it. If that’s what they believe in then they should only be worried about that. To sum this up, South Park has the right to say what they want on their show due to the fact we live in a country that allows this to take place. I’m pretty sure South Park won’t change, so these people who are mad about it should just move on.
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I just don't understand why a group would go as far as like threatening people because of a damn TV show. Like South Park makes fun of EVERYTHING. I can't even count how many times that show has made fun of Jewish people and definitely Jesus and Christian people. No one actually takes it seriously or gets angry enough about it to threaten.. like honestly, they are words. I just am completely astounded by this. Plus, why did the creators of South Park listen and bleep out the words and references to Muhammad? I mean yeah it might be scary to get threatened, but who gives a shit. It should be a free world when it comes to opinions and words. It's just so frustrating.
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Well first it is important to point out that the episode of South Park in question does not actually make fun of Muhammad. It makes fun of the fact that every other religious figure is fair game, but Muhammad is not. This was referenced in an earlier episode as well, which was supposed to parallel the bombing that occurred in the Netherlands after a cartoon was meant to depict the prophet Muhammad. So what makes the episode so edgy is that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are actually attacking the means by which they are being threatened. So I just thought it was important to point out that they are not attacking Muhammad himself, but instead they are attacking how touchy the extremists are who are willing to kill because of a joke in a cartoon.
Having said this, they have openly made fun of other religious figureheads and in fact, in the episode at hand, they show Buddha snorting lines of cocaine, and make a reference that Jesus is addicted to online pornography. While I am sure that many people were potentially offended by this, and many more would have been offended if they were aware of the episode, but none of these groups have threatened Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Considering our discussion earlier in the week, I would be curious to hear what Sam has to say about this fact. It is a very interesting point that figureheads of other religions can be made fun of, while Muhammad has become off limits.
I personally think that it is ridiculous that we cannot mock Muhammad, but we can make fun of others. I guess most people would argue that it is really inappropriate to make fun of any of them, but one cannot deny that it is at least more taboo to talk about Muhammad than other religious leaders. Especially when it is at risk of a bombing. I actually feel a little proud that Matt Stone and Trey Parker didn’t back down, and went through with the episode. I do often believe that people shouldn’t always act in ways that are controversial, but I don’t think people should ever back down because of a threat.
So in conclusion, I think that Trey Parker and Matt Stone did the right thing by sticking to their guns. I also believe that exposing extremists to these things may be important, especially in the context of an episode of South Park, which makes fun of everyone. Humor is a beautiful thing. It teaches others how to laugh at oneself, and when one can do that, then one won’t lash out at others anymore. I think shows like South Park may actually save lives.
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I personally love South Park. My favorite episodes are generally the ones that make fun of things that occur in the world today. I’m a Muslim who watched the episodes “200” and “201” and I thought it was great! The purpose of the episode was to not only poke fun at the Muslim religion, but to also bring back some memories from previous South Park episodes.
Here’s a brief story of what happened in the South Park episode (Spoiler Alert). The 4th grade kids of South Park Elementary go to a chocolate factory for a tour and find Tom Cruise packing chocolate by the conveyor belt. Tom Cruise was then offended when one of the kids said he was a “fudge-packer.” Tom Cruise and several other celebrities planned to sue South Park for being ridiculed. In order to avoid the lawsuit, Tom Cruise asked South Park to bring Muhammad to him. South Park is now caught in a dilemma between a huge lawsuit and getting bombed by Muslim radicals. Afraid of revealing Muhammad, South Park chose to keep him in a Bear suit, hidden inside a U-Haul truck. Throughout the show you see a large black box labeled “CENSORED” to not reveal Muhammad at all.
It’s a shame to see that some Muslims will go as far as violence to defend the religion. The Muslim extremists are being a little too sensitive about the episode. They seem to feel that they’re the only ones being attacked. They should know that every religious figure is ridiculed at one point in South Park history like Jesus, Moses, and Krishna. The censorship was frustrating to watch. The last minute of the show was completely bleeped. And it wasn’t even about Muhammad! I didn’t see what the big deal was poking fun at Muhammad. South Park is one of the biggest satirical shows in the U.S and it WILL make satirical jokes about anything in the world. There was an episode where South Park made fun of Scientology. Unfortunately, one of the voices for the show left because he was offended by the episode. I don’t think anyone should get riled up over an episode like the recent two. I’m sure Stone and Parker (producers of South Park) tried their best to avoid crossing the line. I really hope nothing bad will happen to Stone and Parker. I read in an article, that their death isn’t a threat, but a prediction. They were sent a message with a gruesome image of the Dutch Filmmaker who was stabbed to death in 2004 for criticizing the Muslim religion. Some people just don’t joke around. A radical could do just about anything if he or she is offended.
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I think it is ridiculous for this Muslim group to respond in such a manner to this episode of South Park. It is a controversial comedy that thrives on poking fun at everyone and anything, I don't feel that they should be censored purely because of this response, once you censor episodes like this it will never stop. A simple comedy should never warrant death threats, it is a show made for the public entertainment, no one is getting physically hurt. It seems that just because extremist Muslim's react in this manner, everyone must be so careful to avoid causing offense, whereas everyone else is fair game, simply because they can accept/deal with the joking.
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I could understand if the Muslim people were mad at South Park for doing this if the writers of the show had not targeted every other religion or major public figure during their two hundred episodes, but they have targeted everybody. The writers of South Park use what is going on in today’s world to help make their show relevant and point out some of the wrongs that are going on. I can be offending to those that they are making fun of, but let’s face it, most of the time people are thinking about these issues and talking about already, the writer’s of South Park just have a bigger audience than the rest of us to talk to. In the end, it is only a cartoon and people are just looking to get a cheap laugh out it. I cannot believe these Muslims are making death threats to the writers of this show. In the episode, they did not even show Muhammad. They only talked about him. I am pretty sure that the Muslims do not want an image of Muhammad on TV and that did not happen. But even after the episode aired, the Muslims still complained and said they felt disrespected since they still inferred that Muhammad was in a bear costume and speaking. This is just ridiculous. In America, we have the right to free speech. That right is what protects the writers from getting in trouble when they make fun of the President, Jesus, Buddha, any other religious figure, any celebrity, and any politician. The Muslim group that had made these threats is actually located in New York City. They are here in America, enjoying all of our rights and freedoms and yet, still complaining and threatening us when we exercise those rights. I do not think this is right. So many groups have been targeted by this show and yet the writers have not been threatened throughout all of these years. These threats frightened the producers of Comedy Central so much that they actually altered the show after receiving it from the producers of South Park. They bleeped out Muhammad’s name any time it was said, any dialog that was thought to come from Muhammad, and even the speech at the end of the episode. The writers of South Park said that the speech at the end was about intimidation and fear and did not even mention Muhammad, yet the Comedy Central producers wanted to stay safe and bleeped out the entire speech to make sure the Muslims would not be offended. Being able to take a joke is part of growing up and these Muslims obviously still have a lot of growing up to do.
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I may sound like an idiot, but I think that this is completely ridiculous. Now like a comment before mine, I can see how people in Muslim culture may be offended, but I mean, look at the show and what it’s made for. It was created solely to make fun of things. I mean it’s a story that surrounds fourth graders and it seems to me like they make it to show that these things they make fun of can be understood by fourth graders better than older people. Like, it’s a joke. These feelings are supposed to arise. Like I said, sensitivity is ridiculous when dealing with South Park. Sit back and laugh and realize that making fun of people isn’t all that bad, especially when it’s a blatant joke.
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I really think that everyone needs to take shows such as South Park, Family Guy, etc. need to take the episodes with a grain of salt. They have to realize that the sole purpose of these types shows are to shock and entertain through insulting all types of religions, cultures, races, etc. If you have ever watched South Park then you would know that they leave nobody out and insult as many different types of people as possible. I don't think that any one group should take so much offense to something on a stupid cartoon especially enough to make actual physical threats to the creators of the show. Based on freedom of speech we are able to say or write whatever we want and this is bound to offend some people however i feel that the reason for this show is simply to entertain and not truly hurt or degrade anyone. South Park is making fun of nearly every stereotype you can imagine and it seems that most people find it funny even if they are making fun of you. As a Christian I could take great offense to them using Jesus in their episodes, however, i know that its just a show and i still find it funny. And if you really are offended then i would suggest just not watching the show, it would never negatively affect your life if you just don't pay attention to it. I feel that any groups getting mad and speaking out about South Park will only feed them more and make them push the envelope further, i mean thats really all their trying to do, shock people. There have been a lot people who have spoken out about the show, such as red heads making youtube videos about being upset about them making fun of 'gingers', but in the end it just backfires because they end up using the videos as new material for the show anyway, so the best way to 'get back' at South Park if you really wanted to would just be to stop watching the show. As far as the most recent issues with the show using Muhammad its pretty surprising to me just how angry this is making people. Its obvious that some Muslims will be offended, just as many Christians or Jewish people would be offended when the show makes fun of their beliefs, however the physical threats are pretty serious especially saying that they will end up like the one playwright who was murdered for misrepresenting Muhammad. Those are pretty serious threats and I think its really not that big of a deal to want to issue such types of threats i mean its not like the show is singling out Muslims or anything like that its just one episode.
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This is a very interesting question. I was watching the second part of the episode and one of my friends told me that they are censoring the parts with Muhammad. He also told me the censorship is due to threats South Park producers have received from a Muslim group that felt disrespected. I was shocked by that explanation. South Park is a show with a reputation of making smears and jokes about everything and anything possible. I have seen many episodes of South Park that makes fun of religions and God. Jesus was part of this controversial episode and I didn’t hear anyone complaining or threatening anybody. I know a lot of young Americans take religion softly and do not feel the need to be upset if someone makes fun of their religion while in some countries, religion is your life and everything you do is based on the rules and guidelines set for you. If we take the Koran as an example, Muslims look at the holy book as the ultimate guide for their life. People eat, work, fast, bank by the Koran. Investors go as far as not getting any interest in their loans as it is forbidden by the sharia law. Muslim countries that follow the Sharia law take religion seriously and have the mentality that nothing is above their beliefs. It is out of their imagination that people will even consider making fun of a prophet that they respect and mimic every day. In the other hand, Americans especially our generation inherited their beliefs from their parents and don’t really practice it outside of their parents house. Freedom of speech is always going to be a factor as well since many will defend their constitutional rights. As we know, it’s very common for people to make fun of the President or anybody in power while in some countries, it is unthinkable. So the controversial episode comes down to the respect Muslims have for the prophet and the offense they feel when they see a comedian from the western world mocking their faith. In my perspective, if the US wants to improve their relations with Arab counties as a strategy against terrorism, episodes like this one cannot be aired. I also see a double standard as far South Park making fun of Jesus and other religions but taking an episode about Muhammad off air. Although religion is private in this country, many people consider it to be the vital piece in their life.
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South Park is funny. They make fun of everyone. If you feel that you were made fun of unfairly or your religion was made fun of unfairly then tough luck. Suck it up and stop being a little baby. It is not like South Park hates those people it is just that there is funny aspects of celebrity figures and other famous people and groups that is funny. I’m sorry if you can’t take a joke. Those Muslim groups are radicals anyway. Kind of like radical Christians who oppose gay marriage and gay anything, the groups are few and far between. They make a lot of noise because of their radical viewpoints when most of the people who believe that Muhammad was a prophet and belong to the Muslim faith do not feel that same way. Most probably laugh at it just like the rest of us. Ever since that newspaper printed the cartoon of Muhammad and the one group threatened them, the group’s actions just make it more popular to make a cartoon about Muhammad. To solve this problem one must go back to grade school. Where one learned that when someone makes fun of you, you laugh at yourself and not hit back because hitting back makes everyone remember. If you laugh at yourself then the insult is quickly forgotten because the bullies do not get a rise that they want. Using the same school children mentality those Muslim groups should just ignore it, post something civil, and go one with their lives. This would cause the whole Muhammad cartoon and voice beeping absurdity to be forgotten. Also the South Park episode was very funny. The whole beeping thing was quite entertaining albeit a little annoying at times especially for the solid minute of it at the end. The episode even blacked out the image of Muhammad until the last few minutes. The whole episode was funny bringing together the insults of everyone including the Denver Broncos, Barbara Streisand, and others. It was hilarious and just because one group of extremists believe that the only way to do something is there very ineffective and stupid way then shame to them and their idiocy. Hopefully those groups will all die in a fire and stop spreading radical views that hurt people. It is not just the radical Muslims, it is also the radical Christians. Like that racist group Sam showed us last week about the racists white children being raised by their racist white mother. Why do these people just go into seclusion and live in their own world where they can’t bother the rest of us. Until we can ship them to the moon where we will never see them again they should just shut up and stop being little pansy bitches.
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Muslims do not want the prophet Muhammad depicted visually for fear that the image of Muhammad would be more idolized than the message behind the figure. It is ironic that Revolution Muslim would threaten violence upon the creators of South Park for depicting Muhammad because then they are putting the image (or lackthereof) above the message of Muhammad. With their 200th and 201st episodes, Trey Parker and Matt Stone wittily took a look back at all of the previous celebrities, politicians, and religious figures that they’ve poked fun of over the past thirteen years. What struck them the most out of everything they have made fun of is the one thing they haven’t been able to make fun of over all those years. Those two episodes directly ask the question: why? Why is Muhammad above ridicule even if the ridicule has nothing to do with him? Why are the creators of South Park allowed to have Jesus be one of the main supporting characters on the show and yet hearing Muhammad’s voice is strictly forbidden? It’s one thing not to want an image of Muhammad to become idolized, but the length that these radical Muslims are willing to go to in order to prevent any image from being shown overrides all the things that Muhammad stands for.
The way South Park aggressively brought this issue back to the forefront was bold and admirable. It also could be potentially dangerous. While I feel it is a necessary issue to bring back to light, I do not think it is worth any possible attack against the creators or anyone else for that matter. Still, I have to applaud Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the message that they are trying to convey with their two episodes. I also got a kick out of how they showed Buddha snorting cocaine multiple times in the episode. What should be seen as very offensive is completely overshadowed by the fact that Muhammad cannot be shown in the episode.
Overall, I find the backlash from Revolution Muslim to be completely baffling and I completely understand Comedy Central censoring the “201” episode as much as they did. It is one thing to make a statement, but I am sure the executives at Comedy Central would rather not fear for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s safety. Sure, it might be a bit of a cop out, but I also found it very troubling that their lives were threatened over such a farce. I mean, really, is this the type of world that we live in? I think Anderson Cooper said it best on CNN, "You might not like 'South Park' the cartoon. You might think it's offensive, but the notion that some radical Islamic group in America would make a threat, even a veiled one, against two men's lives because of it is chilling."
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I think South Park is hilarious. South Park is a cartoon. When you start getting bent out of shape because of a cartoon that is humorous because it treads a thin controversial line, you need to get a life. It airs on COMEDY CENTRAL! South Park isn’t trying to harm anyone. It is supposed to make us laugh. If you don’t find it funny, then don’t watch the show. How hard is it? This is America. You are free to make your own decisions. No one is Clockwork Oranging your ass and making forcing you to watch. Get over it!
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I have seen the 200th episode of South Park where they start to make fun of Mohammad. Its kind of funny how they say that he is immune to being made fun of and is face is never shown on the TV. But its also interesting how every other religion can be made fun of freely on that show except Muslims known for their terrorist activities due to the few extremist organizations that cause problems and destruction for everyone else. I think that because we live in today's society that when one thing become taboo, someone must speak up about it and expose it or else it will remain taboo and the fact that you can never show his face might start to die down. It reminds me about when Sam talked about taboo and "bleeding" for women, it just takes one person to start knocking down walls and the rest will follow.
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I have been a big fan of the show South Park for many years, so I am very happy to see a question pertaining to it on this blog. I was watching the episode about Mohammed when it first aired several Wednesday nights ago and the first thing I thought about was the Danish Cartoonist who received death threats after depicting Mohammed in a series of 12 cartoons. The Dane has been attacked several times by radical Islamists after the cartoons publications in 2005. I knew that this episode would cause a backlash from some factions of the Muslim community.
I can honestly understand why people of the Islamic faith would be upset by a depiction of Mohammed, even though I cannot understand the extreme actions into which their anger manifests. But I really cannot understand how South Parks actions this time around causing controversy. In the episode several weeks ago, Mohammed is always disguised. The shows intent is not to make fun of Mohammed, rather it is an attempt to make fun of the reactions that issues surrounding Mohammed have caused in the past several years. The death threats levied against Mr. Stone and Mr. Parker only go to validate the point they were making.
South Park has always made it a point to spare no one; they have poked fun at or satirized virtually anything you can think about. In fact, this wasn’t even the first south park episode to poke fun at the reaction incited by the depiction of Mohammed. The show produced an episode in 2006 in which the townspeople literally bury their heads in the sand to show Muslims that they mean no disrespect after family guy depicted Mohammed in an episode. I think that this brings up another good point relating to something we’ve discussed in class. People are always scared of being viewed as offensive and there is an almost compulsive adherence to political correctness by society. After this latest south park episode (the first in a two part series) incited multiple threats, the producers at Comedy Central bleeped even the mention of Mohammed’s name from the airing of the second episode. While I can understand that this was done by the studio to protect the show's creators, I also believe it was unnecessary and that we cannot allow the threats of Muslim extremists to dictate our actions. Censorship rarely leads to anything good.
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It is kind of ridiculous. It is South Park. They have made fun of everything and everyone. Let’s look at this from the American angle. We can do whatever we want and a small group of terrorists should stop us from living and having our freedom of speech. If everyone got angry at South Park then it would have been cancelled forever ago. Yes you are not supposed to make fun of Mohammad. But are you allowed to make fun of the pope? Are you allowed to make fun of Moses? No but people do anyway. South Park had an episode last season where they made of the Japanese because the Japanese thought the whales and dolphins were responsible for the bombings in world war two. How can you take someone seriously when they make a joke about sea creatures bombing Japan? And you do not see the Japanese people up in arms because of this. They are not threatening America with war. In my mind South Park is way too influential. Everyone makes fun of Michael Bay now because of South Park. Everyone makes fun of red-headed people because of South Park. South Park may take everything else lightly but too many people take South Park serious. It might not even be on purpose. People are brainwashed by South Park and they do not even know it. South Park should be blamed for affecting citizens through the media just as much if not more than other media such as fox news or c-span for all I care. One person said they would be offended if they made fun of Jesus instead of Mohammad. South Park makes fun of Jesus at least once a season if not more. Do not make comments like that when you have nothing to back it up. Let’s not forget. The joke was that Mohammad was in a bear suit, but do you know who was actually in the bear suit? Santa Claus! Yes Santa Claus. I guess it’s not offensive to have Santa Claus pretending to be Mohammad. I am a South Park fan but other fans are also taking this a little too lightly. It goes back to Sam saying you need to understand. You do not have to agree with these radical Muslims but just try to see it from their side and why they are so offended and why they are making threats. And for the record I am for freedom and speech and I do not agree with South Park taking down the episode from their website. It is entertainment it is television. These radical Muslims will not be satisfied with America ever anyway so how about we do whatever we want and just live life.
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I feel that the South Park controversy has grown to insane proportions. The show is clearly a half hour of insane antics and limit pushing. I believe that anyone who has watched the show at one point or another has taken something the wrong way. I definitely do not watch the show in search of seriousness. I would be wasting my time. I understand the outrage, but I feel that people who watch the show understand the scrutiny that the creators put certain subjects through. They have never been ones to make it known that they are preaching a certain doctrine that has to be followed. There are no secret messages that they want to spread. It is a cartoon, nothing more than that. They mean no harm. I think that if you do not want to be offended, then change the channel. They made remotes for a reason. If you have a complaint, then you can voice it. However, I feel that death threats are a little too much. Its not like Sarah Palin threatened Tina Fey’s life when she was being mocked on Saturday Night Live. I feel that death or violence is no response for whatever it is that has upset the Muslim community. We must also look at the people who have made the threats. Are they extremists? Are they in the United States? I have not researched the situation, but I feel we are missing a lot of information about who has made these threats and accusations. If we knew the whole truth then maybe we could come up with some conclusions. In the meantime, I am looking at the overall state of the situation. Parker and Stone have the freedom to do what they want. It is probably the context that makes this a discrepancy. A Muslim probably has no idea what South Park is. They probably have no idea that the show is mean for humor and sheer shock factor. I could understand that they probably feel they are being attacked. This would make more sense to us if this were a news show like 60 Minutes or Dateline. We see it as a cartoon and harmless since we already know what the show is about. It may be highly disrespectful, but we must look at the context. There is never any seriousness about the show. They have mocked every religion and celebrity on the planet. No one is safe from the show. The best way to avoid it is to just not watch. We all have the choice and we should be aware of that. There will always be something that will offend others until we are all cognizant of other cultures besides our own.
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Any one who watches South Park or any show that is somewhat like South Park know that they try and push buttons, and get people raddled. The show is full of derogatory phrases, stereotypes and mockery of all cultures. The authors of the show purposely make fun of all cultures and things that are happening in the media. They want to bring attention to situations and to the politics that are happening in today’s time.
I feel that the people that who made the controversy over the South Park episode were ignorant to what South Park is and how the show makes fun of every religion. When I was younger my mother always said that she disliked South Park but she never actually sat down and watched a full complete episode of the show. After viewing a show her opinion of the show changed a bit, yeah she doesn’t watch the show but she did say that they put satire on political problems and bring situations to light in a comedic manner. So Maybe the people who through the show was offensive just didn’t understand that the show is just for fun but is political and the writers do this for a reason.
Also their has been controversy over this show for so many years, because of how it talks and brings to light taboo conversations and practices of many religions, races, cultures. The show attacks everyone in every realm so if you disagree with what the show is saying then don’t watch it.
Also the show is protected by the first amendment, they can say what they want and create their own opinions. Also, a lot of the stuff that they say on the show is true they just portray it in a different way, through vulgar children that speak everything that comes to their minds. The thing that I find most interesting about the fact that these people got upset about South Park is the fact that there are so many news channels that do the same thing but in a different way. How the media brings light to certain situations and creates a bias opinion about all the same political matters.
One main thing that interests me is the fact that this one episode can make such in impact on public opinion. South Park has so much controversy surrounding it and how it reaches such a large crowd and actually gets people to think about political situations in a different way. It also brings otherwise non-existent conversations to light and makes people examine the situation. The show is great in how it does that for all cultures, and powerful in the same way. It’s just sad that people make such issues about the show before they actually watch it or understand what the writers are trying to achieve.
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In response to the South Park comment, I am an avid South Park fan. I have been watching South Park for basically my whole life. The writers of the show depict current events and make abstract situations in order to make the show more entertaining. The closest shows I can describe South Park as is the Simpsons. Instead of the whole family being the main characters, picture Bart, the son, being the main character. The comedy central hit, South Park, is about four third grade students in a Colorado Elementary School. Of course, to make the show funny, the elementary students curse obnoxiously. Essentially they don’t act like third graders at all; they act more like middle school students because of their intelligence levels. With that quick overview of the show, now comes the main discussion of their material.
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When I say the word material, it means props or ideas that the writers use to make the shows. We already established that South Park is a show which makes fun of current events in a humorous way. For example, just recently the show made fun of Facebook users and their addiction to the website. Also, a few years ago when Steve Erwin died, South Park had him the next episode that aired. It’s a show that makes fun of everything in the world. There is no stopping on what they make fun of. In response to the people who are upset the Mohammad was criticized, they have to realize it’s just a cartoon. South Park already made fun of Jesus many times during the franchise. They called him fake and made up. So the point I’m trying to make is that there is no segregation of topics that the writers use to make their shows. Religion, sex, deaths, and celebrities are all far game on South Park. There are sometimes where South Park can be offensive for me because they are making fun of issues I feel strongly about.
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However you have to understand that the show is meant to be funny. Forms of entertainment take all forms. For example you have movies, sports, drama, reality, and comedy. South Park is a form of comedy that is successful for over a decade. There aren’t many shows currently on TV that lasts more than ten years. The Simpsons has the record for the longest lasting TV series in history. South Park is like the Simpsons. The format is a cartoon and the main characters are abstract. During some episodes there would be appearances by celebrities and most the time the celebrity would be made fun of. South Park is a show that does just that. Muhammad is a god like figure in the Muslim community; therefore, can be argued that he is a celebrity.
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South Park is a show that will parody any issue going on in the world no matter how much it might piss people off. They have been doing it since the beginning of the show and they have covered pretty much every base when it comes to offending people. Since the earliest episodes of the show South Park has had a Jesus character in it that they constantly parody and their seems to be no trouble with that. As an avid South Park fan I have seen some of the most offensive things that they have done on the show and the recent Muhammad controversy does not come anywhere close to the offensive nature of so many other jokes on the show. I think it is ridiculous that every other religion in the world shows their profit and allow people to make fun of it and the Muslim faith has this special circumstance where they are immune. Just because the few extremists threaten people with violence does not mean that South Park should not be allowed to show Muhammad. Also South Park did not actually show Muhammad but just what was supposed to be Muhammad in a bear costume. I do not understand why it is such a big deal for a cartoon television show to depict Muhammad in a bear costume. It should be a harmless joke, but instead people have to take it too far and threaten violence for something so trivial. In the same episode they had Buddha snorting cocaine and you do not hear any backlash about that. We live in America where free speech is a cornerstone of our society, so I do not think Matt Stone and Trey Parker should have to back down for anyone over any issue. If the rest of the issues in the world are free game than Muhammad should be free game too. Also I do not even see how the way South Park depicted him was offensive. They had him in a bear costume and he probably said two words. The whole episode was about bringing everyone back in the show that has ever been pissed off at South Park and piss them off again. Tom Cruise threatened to sue them years ago over an episode that they called him gay in. They brought him back in the recent Muhammad and slammed him with gay comments again. I am not comparing Muhammad to Tom cruise, I’m just saying that no matter what people threaten to do to them, Matt Stone and Trey Parker will continue to push the envelope because they believe they should be able to say and do whatever they want on their television show. I hope they don’t let this controversy deter them for bring up other issues in the future.
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It ‘s interesting that things like this happen because South Park, along with many other shows like Family Guy and Everybody Hates Chris, poke fun at stereotypes. Most of it is done for humorous purposes, entertainment based. Does that give them a right to offend people? Not really. But it has kind of become the norm to accept these programs and not think too much into them. I am not saying that it’s ok to flaunt these stereotypes and convert our ways of thinking to them, but it is not something that I would waste my time getting upset about. Racist and sexist slurs are constantly being used to produce a few laughs, most times they are laughs of the very peoples they are referring too (for example, the comedians that make fun of their own race or others very closely related). There is a thin line between funny and offensive, and often times that thin line can be blurry as well. Are South Park or any of the other parallel shows going to stop doing what they are doing because someone is offended? No, probably not. I am not sure what exact episode the student is referring to, but unless it is for personal safety issues I doubt the show will be taken off the air (especially on channels like Adult Swim or anything of that nature). What most people would say to that is probably “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch it.”
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South Park is a satirical TV show. Everything brought up in the episodes are meant to joke about current issues that we are facing. They pretty much say what most people are thinking in a way that we can laugh about how stupid we are at times. People need to stop taking things so seriously. Everyone likes to laugh at a joke until the joke is on them. People need to loosen up and stop taking things so seriously. Like its on TV its meant to entertain people and if you don't find it entertaining change the channel and watch something that makes you feel better about yourself. There is no reason for anyone to be getting all upset over a TV show. I swear people take things so seriously nowadays. Lets all get over ourselves and live life to the fullest. So what if things on South Park upset you, get over it . Don't let it dictate how you go about your business. You can look at it as another hater that you have to prove wrong. At the end of the day as long as you can rest your head to know that you are living your life and not for anyone, than you have nothing to worry about or be upset about.
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I think that south sark is one of the best shows on television right now. It stirs a lot of controversy which is a good thing, as people become more aware of what is happening in their own country. It is one show that is not afraid to make fun of things. Most of those jokes are based on stereotypes and should not be taken seriously, I can undertsand if some people feel offended with certain episodes that target a certain genre of people. As long as the show does not encourage violence or encourage criminals, its fine by me
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The creators of South Park really like to push people’s buttons and see how far they can go without (illegally) crossing the line. I have to admit that it is an entertaining show, because it points out the flaws in humans and kind of shows us that there are so many angry people out there. I don’t know much about the Islamic religion but I believe that Muslims consider it blasphemy to show any physical representation of Muhammad, so whether it’s good or bad? I’m not saying that Muslims are uptight or anything, but a big deal is being made over a cartoon show.
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I just feel like in America its just so hard to say what you want anymore. I feel like its just impossible for things that could be said before to be said today. People are a lot more sensitive to what is going on now and because of that no one is really aloud to say anything or make fun of anything just for fun. I think that when things are that sensitive in order to keep things from getting worse, people should not try and fight what is going on anymore. I think it just becomes hard to distinguish that point
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South Park is a real funny show. They attempt to go about humor in so many different ways, I am starting to see that the main direction they go is political indirect humor. For instance the South Park writers try and push the limit on sensitive topics. They attempt to make their viewers laugh while still talking about an issue and teaching a lesson or morale or just having the viewers think wow thats interesting, yet funny. I saw the South Park episode that depicted the god Allah as something, I am not sure what He was. I can understand why muslims were mad at the shows writers. However, the show gets all religions not just Islam. They make fun of christianity and Jesus alot. Almost every episode. Christians for the most dont want to harm the writers if people feel they are offended then they simply stop watching it. I used to be very religious and after watching one South Park episode, I swore not to watch this show again. They skit that insulted me was degrading "my god" so I was like "F" this show its bull shit. I probably went about 10 months or so with out watching the show. After a while i realized the show has the right to make fun of what ever they want. Its up to me to either pout and be offended are laugh understand that other people dont think or have my beliefs. And thats ok. The thing thats wrong with the world today is that everyone feels like their beliefs and ideas and princples are above everyone else. Its the "I am right and you are wrong" concept. Thats what these Islams have that want to kill the writers of the show. They however, have it to an extremely expondential degree. Its sad because us humans thinking this way is the fundamental reason of why the world is in such as bad of a shape it is for so many people. We as humans dont accept what other peoples way, and if we do accept it then its done resistently. I think South Parks writers are good. I feel that they should be able to express making fun of any thing they want. I someone feels that they are getting offended then they can simply stop watching the show. America is FAR from perfect but the one thing that this country has going for it is that we have free speech. ( well not really but more than most other countries and its regulated very well). So I think those extremist need to attempt to understand everyone does not believe how/in what you believe in. And its ok for them to share there believes even its a direct opposite of what you believe.
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South Park is designed to push peoples buttons and they once again did this. The people who threatened to kill the makers of the show need to realize that its a show. It's not real and its designed for humor. I didn't really find this episode to be that amusing because I knew how the extreme Muslims would react to someone making fun of their God. I do think that the extremists don't like being mocked along with any religion because they must feel like they are made to be less important to other religions. I really hope that the creators will be a little more careful though because some really think that this is wrong to be made fun of.
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To start off we all know that south park and its creators push the envelope every episode when it comes to the material they use. They aren’t the only show to do this though and they are joined by the likes of the family guy, the Cleveland show, the Simpsons… and many others. The thing about south par though is that in every episode they are ALWAYS making fun of a certain individual and never let up. Now I’m not of Muslim decent or believe in their religion so I don’t know what their rules and values are, but if I had to guess they are the same as anyone else’s and they take their God and values very seriously. What they do on the show I do not always agree with but it is a very funny and long standing show so they obviously are not offending to many people otherwise it would be off the air. The episode in question however has the prophet Mohamed in a bear costume or something and is being disrespected in some fashion. Is this the right way to go about things considering how the Americans relationship right now with Islamic religion is, eh not really but at the same time Jesus is a main character on the show and they always poke fun at him. In my eyes, obviously, I see nothing wrong with this just a show doing what they always do, but I can see how some people would definitely take offense to these remarks. The thing here though is that this is not just a random group, it’s a group of radicals that have previsouly killed someone for the same action so this needs to be dealt with in a more serious manner. I believe they did the right thing by changing the ending of the show to prevent harm to them, whether the threat was real or not, and they should probably steer clear of offending these same people again. The big issue here though is the never ending issues that radicals have over all people not just the creators of South Park. It is definitely a shame that we have to censor what we want to say or do because we could be killed. I mean I certainly wont be making any remarks any time soon that will put my life in danger, at least I hope I don’t, but these creators were trying to give a lighter mood to a serious situation and it is a shame that they were out in a situation like this. They never meant to cause permanent damage to anyone’s ego or values but I guess in the end you have to take into consideration not everyone is going to find what you find funny, funny. In this case they pissed off a group of people who kill when this occurs that’s all. I definitely think it was the right move to edit the end of the episode and they should probably steer clear of this topic in the future.
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Religion is always a sketchy subject to satirize. Recently, Seth MacFarlane was on Larry King talking about this same issue. What he said was that when you're a writer of Trey Parker and Matt Stone's genre, poking fun of religion is a matter of weighing out pros and cons; is this joke so funny and so worth it to make when you know that people are going to be completely offended, and maybe even regard your joke as blasphemous? Members of Revolution Muslim, Trey Parker and Matt Stone are all United States citizens which gives them both the rights to threaten those who mock the faith that they believe in so passionately, and broadcast their 'offensive' cartoon on cable television. Whether or not violence will be inflicted upon the two writers is to be seen.
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I think that it is ridiculous that there are so many groups who take offense to TV shows especially ones like South Park. This show makes fun of everything you can possibly think of and any scandal that comes up in the media. For Muslims to take so much offense to one episode because it makes fun of their culture and they don’t get riled up when our culture makes comments just seems hypocritical to me. There are so many people that probably do take offense and make comments about what is said on this show and others but it isn’t talked about as much because they aren’t such a smaller group of people.
I feel like this is another example of racism but in an alternative way. If someone who was catholic had mad a big deal about an episode then it would not have been such a public showing in the media and people probably wouldn’t have cared as much. I think it is also in a way showing how people in smaller religions who feel as if they are being attacked make things seem like that all the time even if that wasn’t the original intention. I am not saying that what was said on South Park isn’t wrong and that it isn’t slander but it shouldn’t always be made to be such a huge deal.
I realize that there as been a lot of emphasis and criticism of Muslims especially since 9/11 and the events that have happened since then and they are probably on their guard. I have no idea how it would feel to be lumped in with a group of people for that reason but I do know how it feels to be lumped in with a group of people. There are always stereotypes that come with different cultures and religions and even here on campus there are stereotypes that go with groups. I am in a sorority and there are some very obvious assumptions made about us such that we are sluts and only care about alcohol and are ditsy. Also, even within sororities specifically there are tiers and people are lumped in with their tier and are surprised when someone is prettier than they should be according to their tier.
Overall, I think that it must be very hard for Muslims to take on so many hits just for following a religion that has a lot of radical people in it that are terrorists. However, I don’t think that this means that they should always be so on the offensive about things especially about a show like south park that makes fun of anything that can breath for the most part.
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I feel like those protesting South Park and other “politically incorrect” forms of media fail to realize several things about the freedom of speech. The first thing they forget is that freedom of speech cannot be selective. In a nation where these groups have the luxury to be able to protest without getting shot, they have the nerve to declare that other people can’t say anything deemed offensive to themselves. When freedom of speech is involved, one of the most important things to remember that it includes controversial opinions, even ones that express hatred or discrimination. We see images of Ku Klux Klan rallies and cross burnings, the Westboro Baptist Church protesting at the funerals of dead soldiers, and other forms of hatred at its worst. But while we may hate it, it is a right as an American citizen to be able to hold that right with no threat from the government. Naturally, we in turn have the right to disagree with them, and we have the complete ability to do so. Perhaps that’s something we forget sometimes. We have every right to say what we think, we just need to do that more. Otherwise, the ideals the United States stands for are at risk.
I was able to watch the new episode of South Park, and throughout the episode there were a series of censors on the screen where Mohammed should have been. The episode also bleeped out the word “Mohammed” and even completely censored a monologue at the end of the show. At first, I thought this was a well played meta joke that the South Park creators planned. But today I saw a statement on their website, noting that “Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact, Kyle's customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn't mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too.” Looking for confirmation, I found several sources (including one from the New York Times website) that confirmed that Comedy Central had indeed heavily censored the episode prior to it airing. I was fairly taken aback to this decision. At first I reasoned that this was maybe a part of a marketing scheme to hype up the show, but I feel like that would be a fairly low thing to do. But I suppose this whole ordeal isn’t the right thing to do either. I’m fairly certain that this course of events is far worse. South Park lampoons everybody (even in the recent episode it portrayed Buddha ripping lines of cocaine and Jesus watching internet porn), but now at the sign of a threat everybody clamps shut and doesn’t support their own rights. Sometimes we need to fight for our basic constitutional rights to exist, otherwise they hold no merit.
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South park is always out of line. They really hold nothing back, and there is no way you should take offense to what they say. They trash everyone, and I mean everyone. I am Jewish, and when they say something extremely offensive to Jews, I start to get upset, then I remember that they do it for an effect. They do it for people that have incredibly and disgustingly crude humor. Even shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons do not take it to a level that South park does. I try not ot watch the show, because I know it is written by a bunch of people that get high together and try to write things that people will find funny.
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I think that south park is completely “off the hook”. I have never liked this show. It is completely offensive and ridiculous. All of my friends love to watch this show so I figured I would just give it a chance. However, by the end of the episode I was completely outraged and bothered. They made rude and offensive comments towards women, different races and religions. I think that this show should not even be allowed to be aired. I understand that some people may think it is funny, but they should really think about the people they are offending when they make those comments.
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Let me start off this blog post by saying that I am a huge South Park fan. It is a hilarious show and has always been one of the best cartoons and programs on television. However, it's not just hilarious but it is brilliant. Nearly every episode has a message and every episode is a satire. It is not created just to have foul mouth jokes and inappropriate language. But rather, it pokes fun on current events and the craziness that is today's 21st century society and America. Having said that, this past week's two part episode about Muhammad and the muslims was great. It was in my opinion one of the best episodes in South Park history. Again, having said that, people need to lighten up and learn how to take jokes. That is what South Park is. It is a satirical joke with a message. South Park's creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone aren't making fun of Muslims, the islamic religion or Muhammad. They are just using the episode for a greater message and to be funny. Today's society with the radical Christians and Muslims, whoever it may be, need to take a chill pill and relax. People need to learn how to take jokes and lighten up a little bit at times. Laughter makes this world such a better place and South Park's creators helps a better mood. Yeah, the show may cross the line at times. I could name 20 episodes off the top of my head that people would consider too racy and crossing the line. But you know what, who the hell cares. It is funny. It is a comedy. Whether it is censorship and stuff like this or whatever, people need to just relax, smile and have a good time. In my opinion, this is just a small representation of people caring too much. The FCC, the christian conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, everyone. People are too damn serious. Life is short and we should have fun and laugh. I know this doesn't necessarily answer the question directly but I'm using this blog post to just tell people to live and laugh. People always say carpe diem and sieze the day and life life to the fullest. Well, the best way to live life to the fullest is to smile and laugh and have some fun. South Park has fun and it makes me smile and laugh. So Trey Parker and Matt Stone, keep making fun of Muhammad and whoever the hell you want to because I want to laugh some more. People will complain, it's a fact. People complain about everything. Sarcasm and satire make life fun. Being uptight just makes everyone unhappy and I don't want to be unhappy. I want to laugh ans South Park is all about laughing.
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I’ll watch South Park occasionally, but I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Matt Stone and Trey Parker. I know they put out episodes that offend various groups and that they attempt to push the envelope. However, I’ve taken issue with them every since their episode “The F Word”.
This episode that’s causing so much controversy is one that features a depiction of the prophet Mohammed. In Islam it’s frowned upon to create visual images of Mohammed because they want to deter idolatry of said image. The rule basically wants to stop people from worshipping the image as opposed to actually worshipping the idea and person beyond the image. That’s why I’m a little eh over people saying “They showed Jesus, Buddha, etc!” Well, those religions don’t have a problem with depictions of their prophet, etc. Of course I’m not excusing the few crazies who want to kill over a depiction. There are many more liberal Muslims who don’t have an issue with depictions of Mohammed, but as the case with the South Park guys shows, there are people who take issue with images being shown. It’s the same with every religion I suppose. There are liberal and rational people in each religion, but the few crazies are the ones who are given media attention and as a result, people associate the crazies with every single person in the religion.
The South Park episode aired recently and the image of Mohammed was blocked out because Comedy Central decided to censor it. They did it without the South Park guy’s permission and I suppose it was due to the death threats the producers were facing. I’m not a fan of censorship and as people have repeated over and over, South Park makes fun of every group. I think it’s ridiculous to censor an image just to please one group. You can’t make a death threat because you’re offended by something. I understand that South Park is offensive at times and blatantly pushes the creator’s beliefs, but you’re only giving yourself a bad image by threatening to kill over something you disagree with.
An episode they had that really offended me was their episode about the f word and how it’s basically alright to use it because the meaning is changing. I’m changing the topic a bit but it relates to my previous opinion on the Mohammed episode. I quite like what someone said on another blog regarding this episode. “The privileged group does not get to make a statement for the oppressed group.” There are people who will argue that the Mohammed episode is a joke and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but half the time they’re the ones who use South Park as their go to political show. Kinda sad.
Regardless, many people will watch South Park and believe everything is says is incredibly clever, but a few episodes are nothing more than a way for the creators to push their beliefs. Someone(outside of this blog) mentioned a few episodes such as “Cartman’s Silly Hate Crime 2000” where they attacked hate crime laws despite the facts that prove certain groups ARE targeted and hate crime laws are designed to protect them. It makes me sick when people try to say its special privileges. Or the episode about Mr. Garrison which basically poked fun at transgendered issues. The show isn’t really that brilliant (in my opinion) but it does have its funny moments that shine a light on important issues.
Also, some of the comments here scream “ethnocentrism”. The comment that bashed Islam as bogus because of its background. I’m pretty certain the people that bash Islam have no background or any information on it save for a quick glance at Wikipedia or the minutes they can spare to watch Fox News. The fact that someone says Islam is bogus while ignoring the fact that Christianity claims Jesus was born to a virgin and came back from the dead screams of hypocrisy and nothing more than ethnocentrism. People need to get over themselves and realize that making death threats won’t solve anything, but neither will acting as if your point of view is the only correct one.
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I think this is a ridiculous story. The fact that South Park makes fun of people is such an old story, everybody has stopped caring what they say. At this point, the makers of South Park should not be subject to any more criticism. They should be allowed to say whatever they want about anybody, it’s a little thing we call freedom of speech.
Over the years, South Park has made fun of many different types of people. They have said things such as “Fucking Jew” and “People who are annoying…Niggers!” I mean these are some pretty ridiculous things to say on a cable television show, but South Park has been doing this for over 10 years. The general public should understand what this show is and how they are going to write the show. You don’t hear about the Jewish community complaining anymore about the derogatory comments they make about Jews. And you don’t hear about black people threatening the producer of South Park do you?
So why does the Muslim community feel like they have the right to threaten South Park for making fun of Muhammad? Is Muhammad such a sacred figure that they feel the need to protect him more than Jewish people need to protect themselves? I don’t get this at all. The Muslim community needs to suck it up and not get really mad about situations like this. People watch South Park because they like the show and they think it is hilarious. That’s why the show is still on the air. The producers of this show get paid to do make people laugh, and they are very good at what they do.
There is no way that South Park should even concern themselves with apologizing to anybody for this incident. They have worked out of worse situations than this one, and there is no reason this should be any different. I mean what are the Muslims going to do to the producers, murder them. There is no way these people are going to be killed over a cartoon episode. What has this world that we live in come to when people are being threatened over a cartoon show?
What I find interesting is that also on the episode, South Park made fun of all of the other major religions in some way. Why hasn’t the Christian community come out and threatened the producers for making fun of Jesus? Why does the Muslim community have to be so radical and intense in everything that they do. Maybe it would be okay if they said they were upset with the way Muhammad was depicted in the episode in a professional way. But they threatened the producers physically? That’s ridiculous.
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I think this issue about the mocking of the prophet Muhammad is being blown out of proportion. The show South Park is notorious for making fun of everything, from actors to religion, and for people to take it this seriously is ridiculous. Comedy Central censoring the episode is also ridiculous, because they make fun of christianity and judaism too but they aren't censored. To censor this episode because it is making fun of Islam is offensive, what makes their religion any better than other peoples. I can understand people being upset with the show and how they are mocking their religion, but those people do not need to watch the show. The show makes fun of a lot of sensitive issues and none of them are censored, but as soon as Muhammad comes into it they censor the show. That is one of the big things I disagree with, if you make fun of all those things, then turn around and censor one that implies that the censored subject is more important than all the others, which is absolute bullshit. If they are going to censor insults to the Islam religion, than the channel should censor all the religious insults put into the show. The fact that they are treating Islam more important than any other religion is insulting all the people that belong to the other religions. I also think that the people that made this issue a big deal should relax, because they are blowing the subject way out of proportion.
The whole thing about the creators of the show being warned about mocking the religion of Islam is also ridiculous. I don't care what they say about the comments and how it should be taken as a threat. When someone suggests the possibility of you being murdered, because you made fun of something in a show that makes fun of everything, then I would consider that a threat. I am not saying that all Islam is ridiculous, but I am saying that the radical sects of Islam that threaten the creators of a cartoon because they made fun of their religious leader are acting exactly as most non-islamic people see them as. If they want to be taken seriously then they need to stop making death threats as a way to stick up for their religion. The fact that they made “threats” to the creators with a graphic picture of van gogh, makes me personally wish that the creators keep making the show the way they are. I understand that it is only the radical groups of Islam that start these issues, but it makes me angry that everytime Islam is made fun of it is blown out of proportion. This is a more minor case of the cartoon making fun of Muhammad in Europe that started riots and that man also received death threats. That a relatively minor thing makes this big of a deal is not right. This issue proves that relations between Islam and the western world are still a sensitive area.
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I am a young man who grew up watching the hilarious famous TV series which is known as South Park. I was laughing at their jokes way before I could even understand what some of it meant. Even up to this day I find it really appealing and hilarious, which is the main purpose of the show. This show falls under the same category as other wildly popular adult and mature audience intended cartons such as The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Kin g of the Hill, with South Park most definitely being the most highly offensive to any particular audience.
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South Park has been an extremely controversial show for years. My brother and his friends used to always want to watch it when they were in like 7th and 8th grade (now they are 22), and my parents would never let him because they thought it was so inappropriate. South Park is extremely inappropriate, but it is what makes it humorous. They usually relate the topics to events that are going on in the world today and what people can relate to. The thing that South Park does, it targets ALL forms of races, religions, people, and groups. It never singles out and targets one and only one group. It ranges with the various episodes. It is unnecessary for people to take offense to this show because it is not meant to be offensive, just funny and making almost a parody off of certain people. Its a group of supposed third graders, that curse, know more about sex than most, but are still children at heart.
The topic South Park chose to do was use Mohammed as their next "victim" as some people might want to say. It is simply making fun of muslims and discussing their religion. It is making the show funny and for people to enjoy. Laugh at yourselves and know that it is not supposed to be directed towards any individual. People can be very closed minded. If they honestly have such a problem with the show, they should not watch it at all. South Park has been on for years and there should not be so many issues over one topic, when there has been far more controversial topics in the past.
South Park is such a popular show and people are overreacting and taking this to extreme measures. Other shows have done just as worse. So many stand up comedians use stereotypes, race, religions, and groups to make their skits funny and to make fun of people. Other shows such as Family Guy and the Simpsons also do this. Why is it such a big deal now? Why is this episode more offensive than others? The writers of the show are the creative minds behind the show and have the right to say what they feel necessary. It does not mean that it all necessarily true.
As I talked about my brother not being able to watch the show as a kid, my dad now loves the show. He is strict and kind of uptight. He became open minded and loves the show. He waits for a new episode each week and you can hear him laughing for across the house. It is entertaining. People need to give the show a chance and stop taking everything so literally. Its absurd and obnoxious when people take things that are so unimportant and blow them out of proportion.
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I watched the south park episode and I thought it was hilarious. The writers were poking fun at the fact that they had previously had an issue with Muslim groups and the desecration of the prophet Mohammed. I did think the show was witty, funny and a fitting response. However the episode, like many other South Park episodes can also be seen as offensive and brash. In reality they did poke fun at the prophet. But they poked fun at many other religious figures as well, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna etc. I am not saying that it is right or that I approve of the mocking of holy and religious figures, I am merely pointing out that the Muslim religion was not singled out to be ridiculed. In some ways the Muslims do have every right to be upset and enraged. It must hurt to see a figure that you hold in great reverence brought down to a censorship bar and made fun of. At one point in the episode in front of the figure of Jesus Christ, one of the characters says “Jesus f**king Christ”. I was not necessarily offended by the comment but I did feel a slight pang of discomfort and unsettlement. So I can definitely see how someone could find offence in the content of the episode. I think the reason I was not overly offended is because I know not to take South Park seriously. I understand that the show I meant to offended people and take on real or sometimes not so real issues in a comic light. I also firmly believe that everyone will get what is coming to them. If the creators and writers of South Park find it okay to do these things then there will be repercussions for their actions. One day they will have to come to terms with the fact that they have disrespected a lot of people and that they have also committed blasphemous remarks against many religions and spirituality. Or perhaps these people are completely content with their spirituality and religions and they use these parodies in order to make a point and even possible affect change. It is entirely possible that their main purpose is not to offend. Whatever the case I do not think that any groups should have anything negative to say about South Park. Although most of their representations are parodies and hyperboles it has never seemed to me that they grossly misrepresent any characters. In this specific episode and in the other ones I have seen that include the prophet Mohammed nothing in that has really misrepresented him. In the end this is a free country and people are allowed to say whatever they want no matter who disagrees with you
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South Park is amazing because it says what everyone in society is thinking but is too afraid to say because its taboo. Don’t exclude anyone. They make fun of every group of people, including themselves. south Park makes social commentary in a subtle way, in that they are able to present the issues facing society without making a judgement. Similarly to Dave Chappele presents racism as an absurd thing, South Park presents society as an absurd thing, but doesn’t preach. In the Tiger Woods episode, they point out how absurd it is that rich, successful men should be monogamous. I feel that South Park features children. The children always get it. But the arents never do. The kids are the only people smart enough to et wats going on. It points out how ignorant adults can often be and how closed minded they can be. For example, the handicapped kid named timmy starts a band and cince hes retarded the music is “terrible.” The parents get mad because the music sucks, but the kids cheer just to support him and have a goo time. bottom line, the parents never get it…but the kids usually do. Despite the controversy and absurdity, there is often a lesson or morale tat comes with South Park. The lessons aren’t precahy in vibe, but they suggest new idea that should eb considered. they just want you to think outside the box, just like Sam Richards wants us to. It serves as a release from stress because its humor, but it also shows uncensored commentary that nooone else says. South Park is the most entertaining source of life lessons i’ve ever seen. Civilised societies have been in place for so long, but we still do give the knowledge to the next genertion. My parents have taught me alot, granted, but I feel like they hold back. We learn shit in school about math and english and whatnot and noone teaches us how to live in the real world. South Park actually does this. It tells us hen were being douches, and when were right. I may be exaggerating, but I really think we need to educate people on simply how to think. Because alot of us simply don’t think. south Park gives you access to things ou don’t always thnk about. South PArk probably isn’t the best source of life lessons, but they are the only people that really through their opinions out there. It can be too offensive for older and younger people. Nevertheless, at the end of the show they always learn something and more often then not their right. Not only is it funny, but its genius. Its such a scarce resource. Matt stone and Trey Parker are not just comedic geinuses but life geniuses.
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As I am sure we all know, South Park is an extremely controversial show and has been that way for quite some time. In my opinion, and from what I know about the show (since I have never watched it super religiously), South Park is that type of show that is out to parody or comment on what is currently going on the world. Whether it is a topic of religion, politics, celebrities, or whatever, South Park seems to have a commentary on it. They are known for pushing the envelope and for pushing people’s buttons, but that’s what they’re good at. Even though I do not follow the series myself, one thing I have noticed over the years is that everyone and everything is a topic for parody on the show. That is something I have always admired the show for; everyone is on the same playing field and that one particular group never seems to be a heavy target.
The controversy with the Muhammad episode and South Park parodying the Muslim religion annoys me slightly. It annoys me even more because of the other event recently in the news about that kid who named his teddy bear Muhammad and his teacher lost her job over it. To me, that is freaking ridiculous. Come on now, really? Muhammad is not that uncommon of a name, so I am not entirely sure how these people really thought that a little kid would defame the Muslim religion. Anyway, back to the South Park thing – this bothers me because South Park was only doing what it does best: parodying and commenting on what is going on around us. It was not like the writers of the show were specifically going after that one group of people; they just happened to be the next “victims,” so to speak.
However, why this controversy annoyed me got me thinking about something really interesting, so I am going to shift gears here for a second. It seems like we cannot fathom why Muslims would get so offended by this. I wonder if this is one big ethnocentrism issue, from both perspectives. If you really think about it, I do not see how both sides can view this situation from the other person’s side. As for us, since we know that South Park is not completely serious on all they comment on, and they produce stuff for the purpose of commentating and parodying, we find what is on the air quite amusing and funny most of the time. However, people in the Muslim culture do not realize that South Park is a satire, so they believe that what we are saying is serious, so they get offended. On the other side of that now, Muslims are very serious about their religion. Islam is not just a religion for these people; it is also their lifestyle, so in turn, religion plays a more serious role in their lives. In the US, Christianity is not a lifestyle in general, so there is a separation of lifestyle and religion. Because of this, I do not think we can completely understand why a show like South Park would be offensive to the Muslim community, so we get annoyed when they do get offended.
I do not know if there is a correct or incorrect way to look at this issue, and I do not know if one side is more “right” or “wrong” than the other. But what I do know is that while this may annoy most, in the end, I think it boils down to one big ethnocentrism issue.
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What I find so ridiculous about this controversy is that a few years ago South Park depicted Mohammad in an episode as part of a group of religious superheroes and no one noticed. Then this Dutch cartoon came out and all of sudden rules changed. The Dutch cartoons were definitely in bad taste and I could understand why a Muslim person would be offended, but after that controversy any depiction of the prophet was considered blasphemous and controversial. Even if South Park was specifically mocking Mohammad it should be expected because the creators set out to push buttons, but it is ridiculous that all they wanted to do is depict him in a cartoon and that is too much. The response of some Muslim groups has not helped Islam or Muslim people or helped deter Matt Stone and Trey Parker. Threats of violence from supposed Muslim group leaders only helps to misrepresent the true ideals of Islam. And as usual, the American media only adds fuel to the fire by making the episode a big deal.
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First off I do not watch South Park but I do know how often they make fun of other types of people. That is just what they do. I do not think it is really in good taste especially when they make fun of people’s beliefs. But I show that by not watching their show, I do not threaten to kill them. I know that religion is a very touchy subject and maybe that was taking it a b it to far. But killing or even threatening to kill people because of it is not the way to solve it. I think if they wanted to do something about it they could take them to court about it.
I believe that being respectful of people’s religion is important. If people want to believe in what they believe in then they should be able to without having people make fun of them or push their buttons. I don’t think that everyone else has the same values as me though. I wish that South Park and their creators would be a tad bit more respectful of what people believe in and what people’s morals are.
I know that in the past I have had issues because of the South Park show. They introduced the term “ginger” which refers to a red hair person with lots of freckles and pale skin. I have had many people make fun of me for it. It doesn’t bother me because what I look like is nothing compared to what I believe. If South Park made a show saying that what I believe was dumb then I would be really upset if people started to make fun of me because they saw it on South Park.
I think what the creators of the South Park show need to realize is that everything they put out into the world can have an influence on people no matter what. People believe what they see on TV. Or if they find it funny then they could repeat the terms they heard on TV to their friends and that is how these things get started. What the creators don’t understand is that they have a huge influence on the adolescents of the United States. If the people, students, or teens see that the show is making fun of people because they are Arabic, Jewish, Red Headed, from the South, From the North, Black, or Islamic then they will start to think that it is okay for them to make fun of these people publicly.
I still believe that threatening to kill the creators is extreme but it is their right to voice their opinion about what they believe. I hope they would be able to talk about this issue in a more peaceful manner.
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This is a really good question and to be honest I really do not see a problem with the episode it is just television and I really doubt they meant anything by it. You always see television shows like family guy and the Simpson’s doing things like this so I think we just need to forget about it and just remember that it is just animated television.
I think that the writers and producers are always just trying to create controversy. I feel as if you do not like what the show does then just do not watch it. I can easily name a lot of movies that create major controversy that actually had an effect on real life. One that I know of is a movie called Natural Born Killers. This is considered a movie that has been the result of many people killing others because they were so obsessed with it. One example that I am sure everyone knows of is the Columbine shooting. The two students were supposedly obsessed with this movie. What we need to do is start looking at things like this because people look up to movie stars not cartoons. Movies have an effect on much more things in life than cartoons. Kids see something in movies and try to mimic their favorite actor or actress and they want to be just like them. I really doubt anyone wants to be like cartman.
Sure this show is a bit much at times but it is made for humor and for people to enjoy watching. It is never directed towards anything of considered to be a bad influence. This is a show that does whatever it wants. It attacks celebrities, athletes, and political figures and we all pretty much laugh and talk about it the next day but once it talks about Muslims everything gets blown out of proportion. If the show was too much for people then we need to attack the network and not the show itself because it is the network that puts the show on the air. I mean I am just shocked that people are offended about this episode. We all had to have seen this coming from the writers. They have been doing this stuff for years and we have never really said much. We should just say wow it is just another offensive south park episode that may have crossed the line, oh well lets just move on. I really do not understand what the problem is I think that it is just a cartoon and we just need to stop talking about the episode and forget about it. south park will continue to do this and really nothing is going to stop them from doing it because people love the show.
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