South Park: Episodes "200" and "201"
The show South Park is no stranger to controversy, as it is widely known for not pulling punches towards everything from political ideologies, and in this case religion and censorship. In the episode titled "200," show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker purposely allude to all previous controversies up to the point of the episode; the biggest of all being the visual depiction of the Muslim prophet Muhammad which Islamic tradition forbids. Previously, the prophet was included in the episode "Super Best Friends" with no problems. However, more were increasingly becoming afraid and willing to steer clear of getting in the crosshairs of Islamic extremists after violent protests were made against Danish cartoonists for depicting the prophet and the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh. Though Muhammad was not shown in "200," the episode heavily teased that he'd appear in the next episode; this led to threats that alluded to a fate similar to that of Theo Van Gogh befalling Stone and Parker. The time came for "201" to release and Comedy Central, the cable channel that shows South Park, opted to censor the episode for Stone and Parker. Of course, this had people up in arms as it would seem Comedy Central was giving in to threats and relinquishing free speech; people especially believed this because a monologue sarcastically asserting threats of violence were effective in controlling others was censored. There was of course the usual critique levied at the show, that the creators were being needlessly provocative and negatively contributing to the conversation of free speech by emboldening others to say whatever extreme thing came to mind. By virtue of the show's nature, however, there were plenty of other controversies for audiences to chime in on soon after the two episodes and nothing would come of the threats made against Stone and Parker.
Sources Used
Collins, Scott. “Censoring of ‘South Park’ Episode Underscores Struggle to Balance Free Speech and Religious Sensitivities.” Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2010, www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/show-tracker/story/2010-04-22/censoring-of-south-park-episode-underscores-struggle-to-balance-free-speech-and-religious-sensitivities. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
“Comedy Central Pulled South Park Episode ‘201’ off the Air amidst Controversy.” 37prime, 23 Apr. 2010, 37prime.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/comedy-central-pulled-south-park-episode-201-off-the-air-amidst-controversy/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
“HULK vs. the CHURCH of SOUTH PARK.” FILM CRIT HULK! HULK BLOG!, 15 June 2011, filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/hulk-vs-the-church-of-south-park/. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Pilkington, Ed. “South Park Censored after Threat of Fatwa over Muhammad Episode.” The Guardian, 22 Apr. 2010, www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/apr/22/south-park-censored-fatwa-muhammad. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
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