The show “South Park” is known by many as Comedy Central’s dark and daring cartoon series which began airing in August 1996. Since its inception the series has seen vast popularity and has earned monstrous ratings throughout the years. Nearing its 16th season, the show continues to see success for it’s edgy and satirical humor which shocks some and entertains others.
The series follows a group of elementary school friends, Kyle, Stan, Kenny and Cartman who are often caught in bizarre and surreal situations. Kyle and Stan are two close friends who are usually the voice of reason in each episode. Kenny rarely speaks as his parka muffles his speech and he often dies, though somehow he always comes back to life by the next episode. Cartman is a devious anti-semite and is often plotting sinister plans to get the many things he desires.
There’s no doubt that “South Park” has received a lot of attention for it’s controversial nature. “South Park” makes no bones about emphasizing its opinion on anything from religion, politics to celebrity culture. The show has several times pushed the envelope, much to the disdain of many different organizations. The show often is criticized for entertaining racist values against blacks, Jews and people with red hair and fair skin (“Gingers.”) The show has also come under fire for its view on conservatives, liberals, religious groups, popular culture and celebrities. Below is a synopsis of a few episodes which were considered highly controversial on their release.
In season five, episode 1 entitled “It Hits the Fan,” the show uses a record-setting amount of profanity. Parodying “Chicago Hope’s” singular use of the word “shit,” the word is spoken 162 times and written 38 times throughout the episode.
Season nine, episode 12 entitled “Trapped in the Closet” the show called Scientology a “world wide scam” and heavily criticized the religion throughout the episode. Tom Cruise, a member of Scientology, threatened to reject promotion of his film “Mission Impossible III” if the show was repeated. During the scheduled repeat, the episode was indeed changed, though comedy central claimed it was not because of Tom Cruise. Following the episode’s release, actor and fellow Scientologist Issac Hayes who played “Chef” on the show also quit, claiming the show was too intolerant of religions.
Season fourteen, episode 5 and 6, entitled “200” and 201″ lampoon the taboo surrounding the use of the prophet Muhammad’s image. The episode makes fun of an incident when a cartoonist drew a picture of Muhammad in a European newspaper, which resulted in riots and threats from some Muslims. “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were threatened by the radical Muslim organization “Revolution Muhammad” and subsequently, episode “201” was censored and unavailable in many regions.
Sources:
Joshua Rhett Miller, “‘South Park’ Creators Could Face Retribution for Depicting Muhammad, Website Warns,” Fox News
Lisa de Moraes, “Everyone’s in a Stew Over ‘South Park’ Chef,” Washington Post
Neva Chonin, “Cruise Control,” Sfgate.com
