In a statement posted at South Park Studios, Trey Parker and Matt Stone clarified some confusion about its heavily censored episode, “201,” which made fun of the Prophet Muhammed and the icons of several other religions. After the episode, viewers naturally wondered if the bleeping throughout Kyle’s entire “I learned something today…” speech was a satiric nod to the whole idea of censorship by Parker and Stone or if it was enforced by the network. “It wasn’t some meta-joke on our part,” said Parker and Stone. “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. We’ll be back next week with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll see what happens to it.”
Meanwhile, Newsweek reports that the NYPD has stepped up security at Comedy Central following violent threats made by an Islamic extremist group called Revolution Muslim. The group’s website has since been taken down.
More ‘South Park’:
Ken Tucker’s TV: ‘South Park’ recap
‘South Park’ creators ‘warned’ by radical Muslim website
Funny.
If any of you haven’t seen the uncensored version of the South Park episode that’s in the news lately, they’ve got it streaming over at http://sneeksurfing.info/watch49327.html for free
that link is a total fraud.
SPAM!!!
i hate to say this because I am all about free speech but when the lines are blurred between free speech and just saying or doing things for attention then the real message gets lost. I use to watch south park but i dont anymore i caught this episode online just to see what all the fuss was about and even though I am NOT a muslim i found it just stupid. Why anyone still watches this show I will never understand and why Matt & Trey at their ages cant be a little more mature than fart jokes just shows how sad and pathetic they are. In this post 9/11 period cant they think about how this will effect our troops overseas first before just wanting to get a laugh.
Mary.. You’re mistaken. This wasn’t about getting a laugh. This was about them standing up for everything they’ve done in their entire 14 seasons. They aren’t just doing this for attention.
Dead on target. Kyle said it last time they brought up M*******d in the Cartoon Wars episodes: “Either everything’s ok to make fun of, or nothing is.”
South Park has been in fact one of the best examples of racial/social/religious tolerance, in that no matter who the figure or group is, whether black, white, democrat, republican, gay, straight, Catholic, Mormon, Islamic etc they are fair game for Satire. If they stayed away from making fun of a group, it would be showing that group special favoritism, and therefor place that group on a pedestal high above any other group they have ripped in the past. Its either all OK, or none of it is OK to do.
I remember a promo for South Park several years ago where they issued an apology to anyone who wasn’t (paraphrasing) black white gay, uneducated, redneck, Scientologist, Jewish, etc (the list went on and on for 15 seconds) for not making an episode about them yet, and that they would rip on you as soon as possible.
This has been South Park’s M.O. for the past decade, since about season 3-4. Its beyond shock humor, fart jokes, etc. Its about social commentary, and it has been for quite some time. If they aren’t allowed to rip on a group of people in a satirical fashion, then they might as well go back and make Terrance and Phillip cartoons. What makes Islamic people to important as they are the ones who get to escape criticism from a cartoon? They aren’t any better or worse (though I’m sure some would disagree) than any other religion, and their religious icons are no more or less rip-able.
Who agrees???
Viva la Resistance!
“Science be praised!”
Well said, Monty.
Yeah Monty, you said it correct…”Its either all OK, or none of it is OK to do”…I go for the latter part none of it is ok…I understand free speech, but is it ok, for me to make fun of Disabled people, whites, black Jewish, Spanish? Maybe we need to grow up, we’re not children, but we need a cartoon to “teach” us life lessons? But according to Monty, as long as I make fun of everyone, its ok, because I’m not singleing out anyone….
Yeah Monty, you said it correct…”Its either all OK, or none of it is OK to do”…I go for the latter part none of it is ok…I understand free speech, but is it ok, for me to make fun of Disabled people, whites, black Jewish, Spanish? Maybe we need to grow up, we’re not children, but we need a cartoon to “teach” us life lessons? But according to Monty, as long as I make fun of everyone, its ok, because I’m not singleing out anyone…. This has nothing at all to do with standing up to terrorizm
Actually, it IS okay for you to make fun of disabled people, whites, black, Jewish, Spanish, etc. You can’t just start a list like that because that list will never end. The who do we reserve humor for then? Also, no individual has probably ever learned a lesson from SP, but collectively, conversations such as this can be brought to the forefront. We might otherwise never discuss the sensitive subjects that SP treat handle “harshly”, like censorship.
Fredo. C’mon man. Don’t lose sight of what the show is saying because it’s animated. It has a real voice. A real message. The chance to debate something real beyond Kate +8 on a dancing show should cherished and championed. Viva la resistance and science be praised indeed.
Mary, Joe is right. This is about free speech and not bowing down to fear.
so if it comes out that a extremist decides to bomb a building in the US or even worse something happens at the Comedy Central Studios and lives are lost directly because of this episode are you going to feel the same way? and dont think it cant if they can take down the towers they can take down much more in the future
So it’s the fault of the people making the jokes/statements and not the fault of the terrorists? That’s kind of a warped world view.
Yeah, they can also do another Oklahoma. Oh wait…
Freedom is something worth dying for – our protectors overseas die for it, our forefathers died for it. And if you believe yourself to be a proud American then you should be willing to die for it.
So because religious nutcases can kill people for exercising their right to free speech, everyone should change the way they live and not speak or express themselves freely?
Grow a spine. You defeat extremism like this by standing up for free speech, coming together and supporting those who exercise it when they know that some nutcase could harm them for it…not by cowering in fear and turning your back on them.
Dwight\
Freedom isn’t Free, it costs folks like you and me
If you dont pitch in your buck o five who will?
Freedom costs a buck o’five
Apparently Mary is OK with giving in to terrorists. Thankfully, Trey and Matt are not OK with giving in to fear, terror, and intimidation. I can suggest a number of countries you’d be free to relocate to Mary, if you’re so against free speech.
If you antagonize a dog, it will bite you, but do you blame the dog?
good job taking the terrorists side fredro.
Yes fredro, you do. You put the dog down.
I think Fredo is saying that muslims are dogs… UH-OHHHHH
I make fun of people all the time and I have cancer! I make fun of cancer, religion, disabled people, people with learning difficulty’s ….everyone on the planet…dammmm even Aliens on other planets, I like to make fun of people it’s how I deal with stuff goin on in the world with a sense of humour, people take life too seriously!
Bad example about the dog thing anyway.
A dog acts on instinct. Humans have evolved the the point where we can base a reaction on more than that.
Mary your comment is filled with FEAR! “take down another building . they can do worse’? do you HEAR YOURSELF…did you know black people wouldnt be free if they didnt stand up because of fear? HOW MANY BLACK PEOPLE DIED,GOT BEATEN,HAD THIER HOMES BURNED DOWN etc. before freedom came? HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED,WERE BEATEN,TORTURED,MADE HOMELESS etc. for the gospel to spread? are you so afraid of your little world being disturbed that you wont fight for a cause that EVERY HUMAN BEING HAS A RIGHT TOO HAVE!? by cencoring this episode, you have let those terrorists and the fear they put upon weak people like you WIN! way to be the one condoning terrorizm mary. people die every day, at least make it for a cause… people like you, being afraid of another 911 are going to be the reason that islamic people (or anyother suppressive people -china for eg.-)would be allowed to take over n tell us how to dress, talk,eat,shop,cook,clean,n whatever other freedom u can speak of…people like u are the reason that people get enslaved…if you dont want the freedoms that MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE DIED FOR IN OUR WARS ALREADY, n u dont want to fight to keep them, n the lives who died not to be wasted then you need to leave this country n go live in jerusalem n tell me if your tune changes… you dont deserve to be an american mary…go spit on your grandfathers grave while your at it…
Sorry Mary, but this was 150 percent about free speech.
Calling muslims dogs? haha I can tell you what the bible prophesizes them to be …Mulims claim they are the descendents of Ishmael correct? so abrahams wife sarah had Isaac and her hand maiden Hagar had Ishmael- Gen 16:11 (to hagar)”Behold, you are with child,and you shall bear a son;and you shall call his name Ismael(God Hears) Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction. 12-AND HE WILL BE A WILD DONKEY(an ass) OF A MAN (nation) HIS HAND WILL BE AGAINST EVERYONE,AND EVERYONES HAND WILL BE AGAINST HIM (cuz hes an ass); and he will live to the east of all his brothers. So dannyk, dog? no…
Mary, I suspect you’re in the minority. Many people found, and continue to find, that “South Park” is one of the funniest shows on television and one of the best sources for satire of current events available. And your comment about whether creative people should consider “how this will affect the troops” in making their works is a selfish imposition of value standards before the work has even been created.
Mary’s a lost cause.
Mary, you are NOT all about free speech, quite the contrary. Matt and Trey on the other hand are, and that’s why they’re worthy of praise
Just because Matt and Trey have become largely successful due to their use of free speech does not give you a reason to disprespect them through your jealousy.
South Park Rules. Islam extremists can eat Matt and Trey’s fart jokes! HA!
Mary, you are an idiot, this has absolutly nothing to do with 9/11 or free speech, it is and allways has been about comedy, the government didn’t sensor the show comedy central did to protect themselves and the writers of their highest grossing show. more to the point, it isn’t all fart jokes, that would be the crap commonly known as family guy. the last 2 episodes of south park had a certain message, you shouldn’t be scared to say what you want, these people are using violence to force our hands and we shouldn’t give in.
Wow Mary, you’re as brainwashed as they come!
“I am all about free speech but when the lines are blurred between free speech and just saying or doing things for attention”
Um, what? You’re “all about” free speech, but think it’s “blurry” if people say things for attention? Free speech HAS to include speech YOU DON’T LIKE.
why hasn’t that moron been arrested yet for making some fairly serious death threats?
Agreed. And further, when 9/11 hit (which I remember vividly, watching the news 3 weeks straight like Stan’s mother in the Osama episode in 2001), we were told to [basically continue being American] or else the terrorists win. If we let this type of intimidation work, then 9 years after, the terrorists have indeed won, and they have crippled everything we hold dear as Americans.
I’ve said this a few times in a few different forums, but I think the reason is that the people who made the threat were smart enough to walk a legal tightrope. We can all read between the lines and take what they said seriously, especially in the context of the addresses of the office being posted and the graphic pictures of Theo van Gogh being posted along side. However, the actual face value of the words used were that they don’t support any such action, and are not saying that someone should take such action, just that it’s understandable to see why someone might feel compelled to act considering the teachings of the Quran. They may appear to be crazy because of their extreme beliefs, but they are masterful at staying just this side of the legal line.
for the same reason this show exist, free speech…he clearly stated, this is not a threat….duh
This is a sad day when Americans are afraid to exercise their own rights and freedoms in our own country out of fear of attack. They expect us to bow to their beliefs and culture even if it means taking away our Constitutional Rights in our Land. These extremists/terrorists do not play by any internationally accepted rules and they are not afforded any protection under the Geneva Conventions or any other armed conflict law or treaty. Its time we treat them like it.
On The Daily Show last night, Stewart addressed the situation and his support for Matt and Trey. It was well done.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-22-2010/south-park-death-threats
Yes, I thought that was very well done. I love that they brought in Aasif Mandvi to talk about his Muslim point of view, because I think it’s worth noting that doing this IS offensive to some or all Muslims – people have got to stop saying “They make fun of Jesus, they should be able to do the same to Muhammed.” It’s not that simple. Buuuut…it’s not right to threaten violence over it. The Daily Show once showed a (photoshopped, obviously) image of Mother Teresa lifting her shirt and flashing her chest like a Girls Gone Wild skank, and I found that incredibly disturbing and offensive, but I respect their right to have done it. And I’d never want to hurt anyone for doing it, and I still love the show. Anyways, I wish non-Muslims would try to understand the Muslim point of view better on this, and I wish the awful minority of Muslims who would threaten to kill over something like this learn from their more rational brethren that it’s NOT acceptable.
I understand your point that they may be offended, but that doesn’t really matter. In a nation that stands for free speech, some people will get offended. Someone may choose not to say something for their own personal reasons, but saying that someone can’t say these things is un-american. (btw not saying you said anything un-american)
If you don’t like it, don’t watch it…that goes for Mary, or any of the Muslims that get upset with it. They (and you) can always change the channel if you don’t like it. I am sorry that Comedy Central caved in to the terrorist threats. First they (too) heavily censored the show, then they didn’t show it again later that night as originally scheduled…What a shame.
Comedy Central really needs to listen to the American people for once and replay the episode uncensored. Show that we practice what we preach and do not give into terrorists.
Hey! “The Truth!” I hate to be the one to point this out to you, but the extremists haven’t touched anybody’s Constitutional Right to free speech. The Constitution guarantees that the GOVERNMENT will not impede on anybody’s free speech, it doesn’t say anything about a private citizen, foreign citizen or anyone else impeding free speech.
For that matter, Comedy Central can censor whatever they want, as they broadcast the material. Regardless, i applaud Trey and Matt for their convictions.
Awesome=O: From a technical standpoint, you are correct regarding the First Amendment. Legally, it is only a restriction on the government’s (first the Federal Government but later applied to the states by the Supreme Court’s application of the doctrine of incorporation)ability to censor speech. However, I think the point people are making is that the concepts of free speech and expression as values independent of legal restrictions and underlying the First Amendment supports recognition of the desirability and importance of Matt Stone and Trey Parker (or anyone else for that matter)freely expressing themselves. We each, as private individuals or institutions, have varying abilities to restrict what another person says. The question (at least for me) isn’t CAN we; rather, it is SHOULD we.
The terrorists have already won…
Nine tenths of the people on here don’t even know who the “terrorists” really are.
South Park is the funniest and smartest cartoon on TV and has been for the past decade. It hasnt been “just immature fart jokes” since the first season.
If you really cant see how they were trying to make a point by portraying Muhammad (and not just “getting attention”), how the episode pointed out the double standard for making fun of religious figures, and how it set out to prove something about free speech…then either you didnt actually see the episode or your ability to understand underlying themes is as bad as your sense of humor.
In either case, and whether you like the show or not, everyone should defend their right to say what they want. ESPECIALLY “in this post-9/11 period” (that was ten years ago by the way). You dont see a problem with thinking that terrorist threats should dictate what people are allowed to say and how theyre allowed to live? Do you really think that “our troops overseas” getting shot at to protect our way of life do it so that we can live like that?
EXACTLY J707. The way it pokes fun of society is hilarious but also very, very smart. Just look at the episode that explains the Easter Bunny. I also agree that it has gotten better over time.
south park is a belta show nd is halrious it’s a cartoon, it not real life get so just leave it be i say brng more on (:
Get back to English class. You have much to learn.
Just to clarify something in the article. The revolutionmuslim site was taken down because it was hacked and if you tried to access it it would redirect you to another site that had a picture of M******d with a bomb strapped to his head and another picture of an old muslim man kissing a young boy.
genius in my opinion
Excellent
Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history.
OMG Thank you for that post.
WOW.
The execs at Comedy Central are nothing short of cowards. Compliance only fuels the fanatics even more. VERY disappointed in CC. I was hoping it was just Matt and Trey making a statement with the bleeps at the end. For a channel that will play uncensored stand up shows late night, but will not play a simple tolerance speech at the end of South Park is just ridiculous.
We need to all e-mail Comedy Central and demand that they at least put the episode on line. Also I posted earlier before learning about the absolutely genius hacking of their site, to inundate revolutionmuslim’s site with e-mails demanding that they cease and desist with their hate fueled agenda and should they not then bad things can happen. I’m not condoning or trying to incite any behavior I’m just saying. wink wink nudge nudge
Cowards for looking out for the safety of its employees? Get a clue…
Yes, cowards. They need to broadcast the episode, they need to stream it, they need to ask every media station in the Western world to broadcast it, they need to let any website willing to host it.
Call their bluff or get the frack off the air. The entire history of non-physical comedy is based on pissing in somebody else’s cheerios.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are totally just doing this for attention. Sure, free speech is great and all, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. Those two are just doing it for the sake of being offensive, which is totally stupid. Why can’t they just back off and not offend something if they know it’s going to cause this much trouble?? Why do they have to make fun of religion and our beliefs? I’m sure if I made fun of their liberal ideas they would be mad.
This post couldn’t have done a better job of proving the very point it was intended to argue against.
“Liberal Ideals” thats a good one. I was surprised a few years ago to realise that South Park actually has some fairly heavy Conservative morals to a lot of their shows. I find they bash liberal stupidity more than conservative. Honestly, whatever their ideals, im sure you could make fun of them and they wouldnt try to kill you….99 percent sure…
Ummm, have you ever watched the show? They attack both sides, but they’re more conservative than they are liberal. As for your point that they should just stay quiet and not offend you…really? Do you have any idea what free speech is?
South Park is about as liberal as Dick Cheney.
Dominic, you obviously didn’t even watch the episode, i don’t think that alot of the people posting comments on here have. The episode was in absolutely no way offensive and disrespectful towards the muslim leader in any way, actually I found that it pretty much kissed his butt. How was them saying that he has the power of not being made fun of offensive? I bet Tom Cruise, Paris Hilton Rob Reiner and every other celebrity would kill to have that power. You need to look at the context of the message and stop listening to the hype and blogs of uninformed idiots lest you take the risk of becoming one yourself…
Matt and Trey are satirical geniuses unlike any before them and the messages they put out with each hysterical episode are what matters. Stop concentrating on how they get their point across and start focusing on the message itself. Maybe you’ll learn something and think about what you’re going to post before you do it next time. LONG LIVE SOUTH PARK!!!!!
grow up. seriously.
Actually, Trey and Matt HAVE made fun of themselves. At least, their ideas. They released an episode a ways back where Earth was canceled, and going to be destroyed, as it was a television series. In the episode, the creators of “Earth” said that every show has to end sometime, because if they don’t, they’ll get to have ridiculous and totally stupid ideas. It was quite hilarious.
Plus, is it Trey or Matt who is Jewish? Either way, they are ripping on themselves a LOT.
No, Dominic, they are not doing this show for attention. T=If they were, then their episodes would simply be about fart jokes. If you actually watch the show South Park, out will realize that each episode DOES have a deep moral.
Seriously, dude, do some research before you argue.
Oh, sorry, that twas a reply to Dominic, not Heywood Jablowme (which is a hilarious name, by the way)