South Park and religionAn Equal Opportunity Offender?

Origins ofSouth Park

• Creators Matt Stone and TreyParker.

• University of Colorado filmschool

• Student project collaboration“The Spirit of Christmas: Jesusvs Frosty” (1992)– Prototypical “South Park”

characters– Leads to “Jesus vs Santa”

short, that in turn leads to“South Park.”

The Spirit ofChristmas

• The Spirit of Christmas(Jesus vs Santa Clausversion) - animatedChristmas cardcommissioned by FOXexecutive Brian Graden in1995.

• Distributed widely viaunderground and fledglinginternet.

• Success of this “card” leadto talks to create a seriesfor FOX - later, series wassigned with ComedyCentral Network.

• Series premieres in 1997,currently in Season 11,contracted for 4 additionalseasons (until 2011.)

• Full length film “SouthPark: Bigger, Longer, andUncut” premieres 1999.

Controversy• Entire series controversial for

vulgarity (one episode - “It Hitsthe Fan” used the word “shit”162 times).

• Specific episodes (“BloodyMary,” “Red Hot CatholicLove”) have been blacklistedby special interest groups,lobbying to have advertiserswithdraw support (withminimal success)

• Christian Family Networkconvinces Walmart and Sam’sClub (Costco) not to carrySouth Park merchandise.

• Some episodes not broadcast insyndication due to pressurefrom special interest groups(Bloody Mary, Trapped in theCloset).

Controversy• “But the problem with South Park is

exactly what Parker and other of theshow's defenders say is its strength.Whenever I denounce South Park'svulgarity to students, they defend SouthPark by saying that they are insulting toeveryone, as if that makes it better. This isessentially Parker's defense against thecharge of religious insensitivity. Hey, wemake-fun of all religions. But this is theproblem. I like irreverent humor as muchas the next guy, maybe even more. Butwhen you are irreverent toward everythingyou are reverent toward nothing. Andsome things deserve our reverence. Asociety full of Matt Parkers and TreyStones (the other South Park creator)ultimately believes in nothing. We callthat nihilism, and that's bad. But it issometimes really funny.”

• Is South Park “nihilistic”? Does it reallybelieve in nothing?

Most Recent Controversy:Scientology

• “Trapped in the Closetcontroversy”

• Spoofing of Scientology• Scientology founded by Sci-fi

writer and self-help author L. RonHubbard.

• Many celebrity adherents,including Tom Cruise.

• Basic premise of scientology: to become successful, you must identify psychicblockages that prevent you from realizing your full potential. You can identifythese blockages through Scientology counseling. Some of these blockages arecaused by your own life experiences, others are caused by experiences in pastlives, some are caused by “spirit possession” by “body Thetans.” Ultimately, youare an eternal spiritual being, and once you are clear of all blockages, you canregain your eternal oneness state as a pure spiritual being.

Scientology• “Revelation” of secret

Scientology doctrine (Xenu).

• Rumours suggest that either athreatened lawsuit by TomCruise, or a threat by Cruiseto refuse to promote MissionImpossible III (owned byViacom, who also ownsComedy Central) leads tocancellation of episoderebroadcast.

• Parker & Stone’s response to censorship of this episode: "So, Scientology,you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for Earth has justbegun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keepingThetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You haveobstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! HailXenu!!!"

Scientology• Chef quits - Isaac Hayes, the voice of

the character “Chef” and a practicingScientologist, quit the show over the“Trapped in the Closet” episode. Hestated: "There is a place in this worldfor satire, but there is a time whensatire ends and intolerance and bigotrytowards religious beliefs of othersbegins."

• Matt Stone, one of the co-creator ofSouth Park, responded: "This is 100percent having to do with his faith ofScientology... He has no problem —and he's cashed plenty of checks —with our show making fun ofChristians… [he] wants a differentstandard for religions other than hisown, and to me, that is whereintolerance and bigotry begin.

“The Return of Chef!”• Season 10 premiere, “The Return of

Chef” represents Parker and Stone’sresponse to Hayes’ “defection.” Theepisode shows Chef return to SouthPark as a cult-brainwashed childmolester, who ‘dies’ after beingstruck by lightning, catching on fire,falling off a bridge, bouncing offseveral rocks, being impaled on ajagged tree stump, shot three times,and then dismembered by a mountainlion and a grizzly bear.

• Unknown to the rest of South Park,however, Chef is not dead - he isturned into “Darth Chef” by the cult.