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2ND UPDATE: I understand that no Hollywood bigwig will bother to lodge a protest with Viacom over the South Park episode. “We don’t want to engage. We just want it to go away,” an insider just told me. The Wednesday night episode, which was the show’s fall season premiere, was seen by an average of 3.7 million viewers, up 21% from last fall’s debut and topping all of cable during its time period. It stands as the show’s most-watched fall premiere since 1999.
UPDATE: I’ve learned Paramount’s top execs missed last night’s South Park episode viciously spoofing Steven Spielberg and George Lucas for ”raping” Indiana Jones in the studio’s summer fourquel. No, I mean really recreating those rape scenes from Clockwork Orange, The Accused and Deliverance and scattering them throughout as the “B” story in ”The China Probrem” episode about the racist “horror” of the post-Olympics Chinese taking over the world. My info is that Paramount will look into this on Friday with parent company Viacom which produces the savage adult toon.
I learned about the episode, watched it online, and thought OH MY GOD.
Remember how Tom Cruise was upset with Viacom for South Park’s airing of the infamous “Trapped in the Closet” episode? I can’t begin to imagine what Brad Grey and Rob Moore, and Spielberg and Lucas, will say to Viacom. After all, the DVD of Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull comes out in just days. And Paramount confirmed to me this week that an Indiana Jones 5 is a very, very real possibility and Lucas has already begun development on it.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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“speaking truth to power used to be noble not controversial.”
Agree completely. South Park is one of the only shows left to express itself without bowing down to censors, political correctness, and the humorless. In our crusade to not offend, our comedy has become a shadow of itself.
South Park is an equal opportunity offender!
South Park rips on everyone equally all the time. While at times personally offensive, that is inevitable since, as mentioned, it rips on everyone.
There was a time when my two favorite shows were the West Wing (before it became a liberal preach fest) on Weds. at 9pm, which went right into south park.
Despite my wife wondering how a 40 year old guy could love both shows, I thought they were equally thought provoking, simply using different mediums. Call it the duality of man.
Besides Speilberg is an aging liberal hippie douche.
Sometimes satire is the only way to tell the Emperor he has no clothes.
I have to admit I felt dirty after watching Indiana Jones 4. I mean, Shia LeBouf FLYING THROUGH THE TREE WITH MONKEYS!!!
Some people need to learn when to walk away. Kill Bill and Kill Bill 2. Perfect. No need to ruin it with a third movie or drag it out.
Watching South Park is making me relive losing $10.50 on a ticket and $4.00 for a soda. I feel SO DIRTY again!!!
I wouldn’t be surprised if the parent company lowered the boom. It wouldn’t be the first time. I remember when South Parks creators were forced to censor the airing of the Danish created Mohammad cartoons.
As much as I love South Park for what I think is a dark, wicked sense of an animated editorial cartoon (when there is a social or political overtone in the show), they definitely have their hands tied on matters like this.
Thanks for the story. It made me forget for a few moments that half of my retirement account has been stolen from me and I’ll be a WalMart greeter when I’m 65. Who cares what South Park does? They are the funniest thing on TV. Making a controversy out of a South Park episode is like making a controversy out of something Letterman says. Thanks for the momentary distraction from all the stuff that really matters.
Speaking truth to power is only acceptable when it is aimed at Republicans and conservatives. And, seeing how the Parker and Stone have Libertarian leanings, this is not good (wringing hands). Get with the program.
Hey Finke, have you ever watched an episode of South Park? I think not. A great episode. SP is the only show on television that isn’t shackled by political correctness- the only thing thats sacred to Parker & Stone is the freedom to attack anything they like. THE BEST SHOW ON TELEVISION!!Keep up the good work!
The originals were so good? Come on.. I mean “Temple of Doom”? Gimme a break. These movies really are aimed more towards kids just like the Star Wars movies are. People did not like the new issues of those either. We are not kids anymore and need to look at these movies through the eyes of a 9yr old. 20 years from now those same 9yr olds will be complaining about the new Indy10 and how horrible is was compared to the awesome Crystal Skull movie of their youth.
And for Southpark, that’s what they do make fun of stuff and celebs. Everyone understands that.
This episode was not racist at all. Parker and Stone always go after the race issues in the country this way. What Cartman and Butters did was nothing compared to the 3 brutal rape scenes which I thought was unreal. Indy 4 was beyond awful and deserved to be ripped to shreds. I did think the 2 of the rape scenes went way too far, the show was basically an NC-17 not a TV-MA.
The episode wasn’t racist, idiot. It mocked a CHARACTER who was racist. Cartman is always depicted as an ignorant, racist jerk. The real Asian people in the episode were not depicted in any racist way. Whoever write this article is a fucking irony challenged moron.
I agree with Matt C. The episode just wasn’t funny. It was totally untimely. Who cares about some movie that came out last spring? Especially when there’s so much more to talk about/satire? It was offensive because it was just totally irrelevant. Anonymous – the first poster – almost gets it right, but frankly, there are a lot more dangerous sources of “power” to whom we should be speaking the truth.
Keep up the good work, Trey and Matt. Spielberg and Lucas deserve it. And if they can’t take the satire, then they have some growing up to do.
I’m with Butters: I didn’t think the movie was that bad at all!
And comparing it to rape, well that might just be the worst thing a TV show could do… except this is South Park we’re talkinga bout.
Seriously though, I’m pretty god-damned sure that being raped is a lot more traumatizing than seeing an Indiana Jones movie you disapprove of. SP loves to point fingers at over-reacting douche bags, well Matt & Trey, you’re the douche bags this time.
incredibly racist?
savage adult toon?
Ok, first of all: Before anyone calls the episode RACIST, why don’t you see it first. If you did watch it and saw racism then you missed the entire point, which was that its immature to worry about the rise of China… and anyone who thinks that way is probably a racist moron. I know you’ve all been brain washed by political correctness to scream racism whenever you see anything that makes you slightly uncomfortable, but I urge you to start thinking for yourself. You can start with this question: What were the creators of South Park REALLY trying to say?
As per the second plot of the episode: THANK GOD we have South Park to tell it like it is. The fact that THIS episode is being viewed as having ‘crossed the line’ is hillarious given the history of the show (which inclded a three part special trying to show an image of the prophet Mohammad). So what was so outrageous this time? Oh, that’s right, they made two washed up rich hollywood fatcats feel bad about how they BUTCHERED a series we all loved…
Speilberg and Lucas like free speech until it is used against them. Or unless it “hits” to close to home. It was a funny episode.
someone please please please force those douche bags stop making movies. I hope so baddly that they were forced to watch this episode… in the end when the cops break down the door and they’re raping a storm trooper…. CLASSIC.
Spielberg and Lucas raped my favorite childhood films. they should see 10 to 20 hard labor in pound you in the ass federal prison. the punishment must fit the crime.
Geez, I actually like Indy 4…
Racist? Where the hell did THAT come from? The episode was decidedly ANTI-racist. Calling it racist is much like calling Huckleberry Finn racist; it means you JUST DON’T GET IT.
“Also, incredibly racist? Have you ever seen a South Park episode before? Are you suggesting that Trey Parker and Matt Stone are against Chinese people? They were making fun of the absurd anti-Chinese sentiments some people had when the Olympics were on, plus the general idiocy of middle America.”
Sometimes satire flys over the head of those not as quick-witted as the satirist(s).
I thought cliche, cliche, cliche through the whole Indy 4. Wheres the quick sand scene? Okay here it is. Where’s the big snake scene? Okay there it is. I blame Lucas for the no-brainer plot development. The crystal skull looked completely fake because it had no weight to it. There was no chemistry between Indy and his old flame.
I did like the magnets Indy used in the beginning and the library chase scene.
To be fair, Parker and Stone did leave the episode with Butters saying he thought the movie was good. I believe he said it earlier, too. Parker and Stone were also lampooning the people who were so upset with the film – so both sides got it. What’s worse – people worshipping a film or a producers worshipping the almighty $$$?? (I liked the film, but it could have been tighter. The gopher was not nearly as irritating as the little robot in Transformers or the gecko in the island movie. Criminy!)
Matthew G, you should said the general idiocy of people period. Left, middle, right…idiots abound of all political stripes, ethnic groups, nationalities, etc. It’s what binds us humans–our amazing ability to be irrational, illogical, and downright goofy.
The dangers of beliefs are manifest.
Call me naive, but I missed the “racist” part of last night’s episode. Could you possibly mean Cartman and Butters pretending to be Chinese?? For god’s sake man, grow/buy/steal a sense of humor. I bet you found the “Cartman turns into a ginger” episode equally troubling!
(hint– Cartman’s character is intended as a MOCKERY of ignorant xenophobia. If we can’t make fun of ignorant white people, well, who can we make fun of? It’s the end of comedy, I tell ya!!)
south park is one of the last rare bastions of creativity and independent though in modern media, besides also being horribly offensive and funny. I will continue to watch it, and all anyone can do by complaining is to make it even more popular.