www.hollywoodreporter.com: The last time a security guard was spotted at South Park‘s production offices in Marina del Rey was when Eric Cartman got deputized in 1998’s “Chickenlover” episode and started pulling over tricycles and ticketing cows. Respect mah authoritah!
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I read something earlier this week about the value of political humor, it's one of the best ways to send messages to other people, of differing opinions without being just a jerk. There was this one SNL skit I watched that was about a trump supporter being a contestant on an all black Jeopardy, and the whole point off the skit was to represent just how similar we all have in common with each other and how the divide that has been created been the different people in the world, really doesn't seem to exist. It was such a powerful skit, because it made fun off both sides, while managing to send such a powerful message. That's why it's important to maintain comedy and to allow comedic skits about our political climate, so people realize the stupidity of what we are getting mad at each other over, and it's just so sad to see people taking South Park of all things seriously.
For an administration against the "Woke Mob," they really are acting like "snowflakes" about this! South Park has been a political commentator for years; there is nothing new coming out from this administration. The only thing different here is the blatant censorship and vilification, as opposed to a general annoyance. Many other shows do the same, especially Late Night Television. What happened to them when they spoke about Charlie Kirk, or too poorly of the Trump administration? They were taken off the air, or rated NC-17, or censored in some other way. I hate to watch this country, and its media, become an affront to our First Amendment rights. Are we not allowed to make political commentary on this administration? Insane.
Honestly, I am very glad they are doing this and protecting the security of these artists. The world is insane right now, and for a show that criticizes government and cultures so much, its not a matter of if its a matter of when one of the writers or team members including the animators gets attacked from someone who felt offended on behalf of a certain orange person. Everyone is going insane and feels like they are apart of something, when the person incharge of the thing doesn’t fucking care at all about them, so they will get offended with the jokes south park makes. I am hoping this added security is more than enough for them, they really need it and it is honestly a work of art the criticism they make and the way its delivered in such a consistent and entertaining way. I think they should do what the far right is all for, conceal carry and protect themself!
To be truly honest I'm a little bit shocked that they didn't have any frequent form of security in the past couple of years. I feel like it's a little bit given that most studios have a certain level of security just in case something happens while we live in such times. But to see that they now feel the need to give extra security/any security at all is truly disheartening and it shows us how severe this straight up fascist regime is getting. I believe in pure freedom of speech, and that when media has a certain audience, their messages and speeches are being amplified for a reason. People tune into south park for multiple reasons, one of them being their criticisms of our current times, and while it is extremely satirical and unscrupulous a lot of the time, the topic matter should be whatever they think it is as long as it is punching up.
I was surprised to hear that South Park’s production offices haven’t had security detail until this year. For how long they’ve been running, and for how long they’ve been upsetting different groups of people, you’d expect them to use some kind of protection to be careful. I appreciate the move to keep their staff safe. It’s extremely important to protect artists and their ability to create art that speaks openly against people doing the wrong thing. I’ve always appreciated South Park’s ability to do that. Humor can be incredibly helpful to show how ridiculous peoples’ actions can be, or to just look at something a different way. I think many South Park episodes are really effective in using humor to criticize overstepping leaders. I hope they continue to protect their artists, and general staff. It says a lot to spend the resources to keep them safe, showing that they value what they create.
I always found it ironically hilarious that a show as absurd, politically active and continuously immersed in the world of Hollywood and current affairs was made by two seemingly “normal” dudes. Not necessarily “normal” in the sense of personality (that’s extremely obvious from the vulgar content of their show and other works), but rather in the aspect that they come from an average background and continue to stay relatively distanced from the rest of the entertainment and political industry. This story, considering the history of the show always fighting censorship even when getting personal threats from terrorist organizations, is surprising, but not shocking. The past season of South Park has made headlines and heads turn, springing it back into the spotlight for its constant jabs at the Trump Administration. Being mentioned directly by the president himself after its debut, threats are no stranger to South Park. However, it is extremely telling that they finally feel the need to hire real security, and while I don’t blame them for being cautious and encourage their safety and protection, it’s disappointing to say the least that it’s come to this.
I hold a strong appreciation for South Park because they are always toying with what can be joked about and what can’t, and often they figure that out not until after things are released. It makes a lot of sense to need a new security position given well… everything… but I just watched a video essay called Who’s Afraid of Modern Art (thank you Jess for introducing me) and it’s really been making me think about art like this. I personally love art that makes a statement, and makes people a little uncomfortable, and even if south park takes it too far sometimes I think that’s sorta the point; to push the limits of what people are willing to accept as viewers. They’ve made a lot of bold statements politically recently which is something that they've established as a company they were quite obligated to do, but given the current state of our world it is perfectly sensible to fill another security position. South Park is often poking the bear, and while I am part of the indulgent audience, I’m also just a fellow artist who hopes they know how to continue creating in the way they are currently without finding themselves in too hot of water.
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