South Park vs Scientology
Has anyone been following the battle between South Park and Scientology?
If you haven't, here is a summary of what has happened:
-South Park spoofs Scientology in an episode about Tom Cruise called "Trapped in the Closet"
-"Trapped in the Closet" was pulled as a rerun episode, allegedly because Cruise threatened to boycott promotion of his new movie if Comedy Central continued to show the episode. Both Comedy Central and Tom Cruise's movie are Viacom subsidiaries (oh the tangled corporate web)
-Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, quit the show and show creators say it is because he himself is a Scientologist.
-South Park throws together a season opener that has Chef return as a child molester and a member of a brain washing, fruity club.
-South Park fans (Mission Impossible III's core demographic) threaten to boycott the movie until "Trapped in the Closet" is returned to Comedy Central's rotation.
So why am I bringing this up? It's a simple free speech issue for me. Caricature and comedic interpretations of religion are a big part of our American culture. South Park is some of our country's most biting and intelligent satire and it needs to be given free rein.
I am going to boycott Mission Impossible III and I encourage everyone to do the same. Personally, I probably wouldn't have seen it anyway, but we need to show Viacom that they can't filter what the viewer sees because one of their biggest stars throws a hissy fit.
If we lose South Park (in any way), then we humans lose one of the best ways to see how stupid we really are. And these days, we really need something to show us how silly and trite we can be.
If you haven't, here is a summary of what has happened:
-South Park spoofs Scientology in an episode about Tom Cruise called "Trapped in the Closet"
-"Trapped in the Closet" was pulled as a rerun episode, allegedly because Cruise threatened to boycott promotion of his new movie if Comedy Central continued to show the episode. Both Comedy Central and Tom Cruise's movie are Viacom subsidiaries (oh the tangled corporate web)
-Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, quit the show and show creators say it is because he himself is a Scientologist.
-South Park throws together a season opener that has Chef return as a child molester and a member of a brain washing, fruity club.
-South Park fans (Mission Impossible III's core demographic) threaten to boycott the movie until "Trapped in the Closet" is returned to Comedy Central's rotation.
So why am I bringing this up? It's a simple free speech issue for me. Caricature and comedic interpretations of religion are a big part of our American culture. South Park is some of our country's most biting and intelligent satire and it needs to be given free rein.
I am going to boycott Mission Impossible III and I encourage everyone to do the same. Personally, I probably wouldn't have seen it anyway, but we need to show Viacom that they can't filter what the viewer sees because one of their biggest stars throws a hissy fit.
If we lose South Park (in any way), then we humans lose one of the best ways to see how stupid we really are. And these days, we really need something to show us how silly and trite we can be.
