Recent South Park controversy


9thdoctor

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I don’t think anyone’s brought up the recent South Park episodes, which are drawing death threats for the creators.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/20/comedy-central-censors-south-park-episode-muslim-threats/

A seemingly minor correction to the article, Muhammad wasn’t in the bear suit, it was Santa Claus. We found this out in the next episode. A voice came from the bear suit, and remember the ban on representing Muhammad includes the sound of his voice. In the movie The Message, Muhammad is neither seen nor heard, when he’s supposed to be talking cheesy organ music plays, then someone repeats what he just said, like so: “The prophet instructs us to release the prisoners!” The film caused riots anyway, including fatalities, when a rumor spread that Anthony Quinn was portraying Muhammad. This was in the 70’s, so this issue has been around for a long time. You can now watch the whole film on YouTube, as biblical style films go its not bad.

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5PI4ZPcX6I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5PI4ZPcX6I&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5PI4ZPcX6I&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

I think the South Park creators planned it to work out this way, it has certainly gotten them valuable free publicity. Why would their network allow them the offend Muslims now, when they censored them on this same issue just a couple years ago? I wonder if the future DVD release of the most recent episode, with all the bleeping and covered over areas, will be uncensored. I’ve seen the DVD version of the last time they did this, which was the episode where they spoofed Family Guy, and the Muhammad material remained censored.

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Shouldn't we use the word 'censored' more carefully? Censored means the forced control of a media's content usually by government. You can no more 'censor' your own newspaper, blog, mouth or television show than you can violate your own property.

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Shouldn't we use the word 'censored' more carefully?

Indeed, though it’s being labelled as “censored” in media reports, and on the show itself. This supports my suggestion that this is a contrived controversy, without denying how important the underlying issue is. BTW, my link to the Fox News article isn’t working, let's try again:

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/04/20/comedy-central-censors-south-park-episode-muslim-threats/

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Shouldn't we use the word 'censored' more carefully? Censored means the forced control of a media's content usually by government. You can no more 'censor' your own newspaper, blog, mouth or television show than you can violate your own property.

The definition at dictionary.com says nothing about government. South Park has never been censored by American government. It has been censored by the network. I am using the word correctly.

Abbie Hoffman's editor once said to him: "Random House does not censor books. We edit...."

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I support the satire by South Park, just as I will support all other satire of Islam (and all other religions for that matter) that will come afterward.

I don't mind that the suits (or creators, who knows?) backed off after the point was made, either. There will be other times. Persistence in presenting a message is one of the ways an intellectual war is won. There is no need for the South Park creators to run the risk of literally becoming martyrs over a single episode.

But the bullying behavior and cowardice in using terror attacks by Islamic fanatics is frankly disgusting. Fanaticism to the point of killing people for blasphemy against religious figures needs to be relegated to the Dark Ages of human history and the practitioners duly forgotten. This is evil and barbaric.

Michael

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Equally awesome is Jon Stewart's 10-minute bashing of the Muslim fundamentalists who made the threat, and his concern for the network's actions to censor the SP episde. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts1763

(To the religious fundamentalists,) Stewart concluded, standing in front of a gospel choir for the second time this week, before offering his now-trademark bleeped-out sign-off, which begins with "Go" and ends with "yourselves."
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I looked it up, and the last time they tried to depict Muhammad was four years ago, so I suppose the issue was due for a revisiting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartoon_Wars_Part_II

It comes down to a matter of free speech across borders, especially in the Rushdie case.

In Bologna, the famous church in the center of the city has a Renaissance painting (a fresco? Its on the wall) of Muhammad in hell, and unlike virtually every church in Rome, this one has metal detectors at the entrance…you have to go through security to get in and it’s because of the fresco.

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Tonight's new episode of the Simpsons opened with Bart doing lines on the board that read:

South Park: We’d stand beside you if we weren’t so scared.

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This appeared on Drudge.

Cartoonist overwhelmed by response to "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day"

By JAMIE GRISWOLD

MyNorthwest.com

April 25, 2010

From the article:

Molly Norris drew up a sketch declaring May 20th "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" after Comedy Central cut a portion of a South Park episode following a death threat from a radical Muslim group.

. . .

The momentum drawn from Norris' cartoon was more than the artist had anticipated and by Sunday Norris had posted the following message on her website:

"I am NOT involved in "Everybody Draw Mohammd Day!" I made a cartoon that went viral and I am not going with it. Many other folks have used my cartoon to start sites, etc. Please go to them as I am a private person who draws stuff"

On her website Norris originally explained the campaign was not meant to disrespect any religion, but rather meant to protect people's right to express themselves.

In her present post Norris directs those interested in submitting drawings to the other sites who've taken up the campaign.

I will look up her site and post it in another thread. I especially want to give our small portion of exposure to the sites that are continuing this.

Michael

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I still think the difference between government initiated force and a private voluntary contract is important with respect to the use of the word 'censor'. A publisher is saying 'I agree to publish your book if I deem the content is consistent with my editorial standards. If you disagree with my standards find another publisher.' This is a voluntary contract, not force. Also one of the definitions I saw at dictionary.com : ( 4. in the ancient Roman republic) either of two officials who kept the register or census of the citizens, awarded public contracts, and supervised manners and morals.)Implies government control. Objectivists are suppose to be more meticulous than others.

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I still think the difference between government initiated force and a private voluntary contract is important with respect to the use of the word 'censor'.

So it’s a broader use of the term. In a sense, it’s censorship by a foreign government, given the precedent set by the Rushdie case. Is there a better term out there?

Here’s last night’s Simpsons tribute:

simpsons-chalk.jpg

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It's being suggested that the last night's Times Square bomb was South Park related:

http://www.businessinsider.com/time-square-car-bomb-police-investigate-link-to-south-park-and-2007-london-bombing-2010-5

Pretty thin.

I loved all the cable coverage of the attempted bombing. Talking heads told us in dozens of different ways that police had no idea who was behind it. Ripe material for Jon Stewart, I would think.

Ghs

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It's being suggested that the last night's Times Square bomb was South Park related:

http://www.businessinsider.com/time-square-car-bomb-police-investigate-link-to-south-park-and-2007-london-bombing-2010-5

Pretty thin.

I loved all the cable coverage of the attempted bombing. Talking heads told us in dozens of different ways that police had no idea who was behind it. Ripe material for Jon Stewart, I would think.

Ghs

As a former street vendor I saw a story that street vendors alerted the authorities to the truck. I felt proud of my former profession.
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's a worthwile program with Hitchens and Rushdie, they talk about the Danish cartoons, South Park, and the attempted Times Square bombing.

Here's a collection of letters to the editor from the 90's, where Rushdie, Hitchens, and John le Carré duked it out in the best tradition of an internet flame war. There's some great put-downs in there.

http://www.rjgeib.com/thoughts/burning/le-carre-vs-rushdie.html

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ND,

From what I watched, excellent stuff from Hitchens and Rushdie.

Rushdie: [on the Ayatollah's fatwah] "One of us is dead. Do not mess with a novelist."

(Delivered in his mild, self-effacing way.)

:P

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