"South Park" airs censored episode after threat

"South Park" airs censored episode after threat

www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - Satirical animated TV show "South Park" beeped out the words Prophet Muhammad and plastered its Wednesday episode with the word "CENSORED" after being issued a grim warning by a U.S. Muslim group.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Greetings,
I apologize for this is my first news submission, I hope I have done this right and am not doubling up on a thread. I wanted to know what everyone here thought about last night's South Park episode. Now I am a huge South Park fan and always find amusement at their sometimes childish jokes and satire. I watched last week's episode and found it to be one of the more amusing episodes I have seen in a while, especially with the Prophet Muhammad depicted in a moving van and then in a bear suit not to mention the stick drawing representation followed by, "well is that ok?"... amazing.

Now back to this weeks episode. I was hoping for an equally amazing wrap up to the can of worms they blew open in the first episode and was horribly caught of guard by the constant bleeping of the phrase, "Prophet Muhammad". Before watching the episode I had discussed the situation with a roommate and we came to an agreement that this would probably be their course of action but seriously WTF!? How is it that some Muslim group can push forward beat around the bush threats and be left alone due to The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution yet Trey Parker and Matt Stone end up censoring their voice. I understand the possible ramifications and what not but seriously I'm not happy with the outcome of this development, I feel like I was cheated out of a perfectly good episode.

On a side note near the end of the episode when everyone is giving their two cents on what happened, huge segments were censored out. I am trying to figure out why, my first thought is that it may have been purposefully done as a message of "where is the line drawn?" in censorship but maybe it wasn't meant to be censored at all until the "threats" were issued. Anyways I was just hoping to get input from others who watched the show.

www.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 22-4-2010 by Vicious Jones]

This is typical jihad activity and nothing new. Muslims demand we submit to their deity Allah, accept them as our overlords and pay the jizya, convert to the Islamic system and adopt Sharia, or be killed. Basically convert or die.

It is the same pattern expressed wherever muslims interface with other cultures. Wherever there is Islam, there is jihad. Same as it ever was for the last 1,400 years.

One has to wonder about a religious system that forbids depiction of humans. Seems sort of, well, anti-human to me.

The creators of South Park seem to know what Jihad is, but should also know that submission to it only invites more jihad. These guys will end up the same as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Geert Wilders, Theo Van Gogh, Salmon Rushdie, and anyone who dares to "insult" Ol' Mo and the thug-life religion he spread at the point of a sword.

I only wish the South Park guys had not bowed their heads to Islam for they may be cut off.



[edit on 22-4-2010 by mike_trivisonno]

It's SO stupid! This is all that religion really accomplishes. Honestly if i were Trey or Matt, id hire the mob or some other fanatical group and just have those weak minded IDIOTS exterminated like the cockroaches they are. To Allah, Screw you! i'm going home!

Intelligence agencies perve into peoples lifes for ideas for shows, and this is how they keep people from talking. Its one of the ways mi5 and mi6 keep people from talking. Otherwise they will take your life and make shows about them on bbc. They can perve through your whole life.

I would assume programs like south park are being used in this way.

So Stone & Parker buckled? Hopeless!

IRM :shk:

Originally posted by mike_trivisonno

I only wish the South Park guys had not bowed their heads to Islam for they may be cut off.

[edit on 22-4-2010 by mike_trivisonno]

My exact thoughts, great way to sum it up.

Well, there are a number of questions about the censoring. Did Comedy Central force the issue? Did Trey and Mat do it to make a point? Did they do it out of fear?

reply to post by Vicious Jones


does freedom of speech grant you the right to directly insult , ?

----



in my opinion southpark should be put off the airwaves and be made in to a 3 year university study course, its just a trashy sitcom which rides the waves of foul language with little or non of own ingenuity as far as story telling goes.

reply to post by SpacePunk




I think they did it to make a point in "Cartoon wars" but this time it was clear that they did it to appease someone... be it Comedy Central or the Muslim group calling for their lives... :shk:

Part 1 was uncensored so it was clear that the death threats and issues this caused led them to change/censor the episode/part 2
It was really, really annoying too..... I hope this isn't a new precedent set by South Park and they will now start bowing down to pressure and stop mocking anyone and everyone.

Let's hope this isn't the day that SP died.



[edit on 22/4/10 by blupblup]

reply to post by SpacePunk


Great questions although I doubt all the censoring was done to make a point, it was most likely Comedy Central's will imo. I am still questioning the end of the episode which may very well have been done to make a point seeing as a good minute or so was bleeped out completely amongst the various characters discussing what they learned through the episode. If in fact I learn that was not the case and the episode was censored to that extent due to the warnings I may just lose my mind. I watched an interview with Younus Abdullah Muhammad head of Revolution Muslim in which he discusses why the warnings were posted while he also voices his distaste for America including stating that America deserved the 9/11 attacks. I mean I have my own beef with the US and her dealings with the world but I am still a proud American and to hear this dude peddling his crap resulting in the mucking up of something I enjoy watching is *snip* annoying. No offense to anyone who may be religious of course, but this dude can *snip* stay away from South Park!

please don't circumvent the censors or use derogatory references.
Thanks.

Interview at end... god I hate this guy


[edit on 22-4-2010 by Vicious Jones]

[edit on 22-4-2010 by gallopinghordes]

Originally posted by zerbot565
reply to post by Vicious Jones

 

does freedom of speech grant you the right to directly insult , ?

Who was insulted by it? I wasn't.

Oh! It was the muslims who were insulted!

Tough beans moose lamb! Don't like our culture, then get the heck out.

COME ON PEOPLE it's obvious Parker/Stone did this on purpose and to make a point....they knew what Ep.1 would create and set it all up!!!

You think they're gonna cave now after all the people they've ripped???

reply to post by zerbot565

I did not see anything insulting about it other than the fact that apparently depicting Muhammad is a direct insult. SO is depicting him as a stick figure insulting? Or in a van? or in a bear suit? It obvious that they weren't trying to insult the prophet as much as question where lines are drawn like they usually do, and I found it hilarious, apparently that is not the case with some hardcore Muslims.

You do realize that they had Buddha snorting lines of coke throughout the episode right...

reply to post by Signals




How many times can you make a point? and the same point?
As I said, they made a point in "Cartoon wars" and it was funny and clever.... this IMO was a cop-out man.
They bowed to pressure form somewhere and it's wrong.

Originally posted by Vicious Jones


You do realize that they had Buddha snorting lines of coke throughout the episode right...

Well, generally Buddhists don't make 'dirka dirka (KABOOM)' sounds.

[edit on 22-4-2010 by SpacePunk]

The episode made a great point in that...Only Muhammad was censored. All other religious deities? Fair game. That says a lot of Muslims if they can't take a punch or two unlike the supposedly restrictive Christians or crazy Mormons.

When Religion is pushed, everyone else should push back.

I bet it was Comedy Central pushing the censors, I know Stone and Parker have the balls to bring things out in the open; it had to be CC.

Originally posted by SpacePunk

Originally posted by Vicious Jones


You do realize that they had Buddha snorting lines of coke throughout the episode right...

Well, generally Buddhists don't make 'dirka dirka (KABOOM)' sounds.

[edit on 22-4-2010 by SpacePunk]

indeed

Well check out southparkstudios.com

When you try to watch the full episode you get this message:

We apologize that South Park Studios cannot stream Episode 201 at this time.

After we delivered the show, and prior to broadcast, Comedy Central placed numerous additional audio bleeps throughout the episode. We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show.

We will bring you a version of 201 as soon as we can.

Seems it was CC that pulled the plug. What an embarassing shame.

I'll bet that Parker and Stone were trying to make a statement, and it may have worked.

Hopefully it gets more attention.

Right, like... how can one of their old episodes be ABOUT THIS EXACT THING... but NOW it's an issue..

we've already crossed this bridge in my mind, and to go back??

ugh, sad...