are you speaking "in general" or about this thread? both drrrtyboots and I mentioned Team America, but I can't find anyone actually making him the villian for it.

although I think they are funny, I sure as hell don't let Matt Stone and Trey Parker make "political" decisions for me....I can't speak for drrrtyboots though. :p

For the sake of clarification, I was merely pointing out something about the South Park creators because their work was mentioned in this thread.

I quoted it, but backed out to make sure that there wasn't some other post I was missing.

curse you and your ninja edits!

personally, I feel that anyone who lets entertainers tell them how to think is a sheep.

it's back in
you can delete that last one

Quote:

Originally Posted by atari 2600 Damn, I thought I took that out...haha

Quote:

Originally Posted by atari 2600 it's back in you can delete that last one

Quote:

Originally Posted by floatingslowly curse you and your ninja edits!

I'm going to just stop quoting you now. :p

When he interviewed Marilyn Manson in Bowling for Columbine it was a real revelation for me because before that i saw him as just some teenage marketing machine, but in the whole documentary Manson
was the one who made the most sense. I got a new respect for where Manson was coming from after seeing that.

Really? Wow. I always wondered where they were coming from politically. I did sort of have them down as libertarians but the Republican thing, in terms of Trey Parker, is a bit more of a surprise. Although saying that, Libertarianism and at least certain aspects of Republicanism go together quite easily.

I get impression that Messrs Parker and Stone lampooned M Moore so mercilessly in "Team America", after Moore put in a very shameless South Park-type animation segment in "Fahrenheit 9/11".

If you want to learn about the politics of Matt Stone and Trey Parker, read their own words in this interview: http://www.reason.com/news/show/116787.html

The above aren't "my words."
It's a fact that Stone is a registered Republican and that Parker is a registered Libretarian.

I enjoyed reading the interview you posted, but it's mainly just about the two episodes they did about the network refusing to air a cartoon with Mohammed in it.

In an interview in the March 13, 2006 Time magazine, the two stated that the only reason people might peg them for conservatives is that they are willing to mock anti-smoking laws and hippies. They also stated that the show could just as easily be pegged as a show supporting liberal ideologies. The interview ended with Parker quipping, "We still believe that all people are born bad and are made good by society, rather than the opposite", and Stone adding, "Actually, I think that's where we're conservative".

Actually, I think that's where Trey's quite religious, truth be told...nice job at damage control, though.

How is a South Park written?
My long-standing hypothesis is that like many TV comedy writers of the last ten years or so, they get high and watch The Simpsons, then expand on a few of the many-layered jokes of The Simpsons by dressing them up for shock-value. That's what South Park does when it's not doing the same using news headlines or some hated personal enemy (at the time) as inspiration. The formula usually makes for some amusing no-holds barred comedy because often the harsh satire is warranted, but mostly it's a schtick that wears thin and it's difficult to watch an entire episode without being distracted by numerous incongruencies. And this is what is frustrating about South Park, because you know they are trying to be clever and insightful, but they are just not intelligent enough to quite pull it off and thus defer to vulgarity for a knee-jerk reaction, be it positive or negative.

I dunno, I still think that of all the current US cartoons, South Park is the most consistent in terms of writing.

It's good. I still like it. It's no The Simpsons though. Of course, it's still much better than Family Guy, although Family Guy isn't without some moments too.


So all the sudden now because I wrote that last post I'm a South Park hater, right? That's how people "see" me, right?

The shortness of some of your memories is disturbing.

I wrote in this same thread earlier that I still enjoy South Park.

Nothing's changed since then.

It's very difficult to present ideas here on this board that have any complexity.

You guys are supposed to be "intelligent" Sonic Youth fans; tell me, why is it so difficult then?

I wrote my last post in response to Bunbury's post which was worded (deliberately or not I do not know) to make it seem as if I was off-base for referring to the creators of South Park as Republicans, and that the discerning reader should decide for themselves by reading an interview. Well, as I've already stated previously, the interview really only deals with recounting the minutae of the genesis of a couple of episodes.

The creators of South Park have both claimed to be Republicans and have denied being Republicans. The truth about this matter is evident enough to anyone with a keen mind that has watched all the shows.

And their Rolling Stone interview aside, most sources cite that Trey Parker is a registered Libretarian (same as Republican really) and that Matt Stone is a registered Republican voter.

That I have to become engaged in argument with others merely because I am the messenger of these facts is rather tiresome; but, I suppose it's par for the course around here.

Well, regardless of what you might think of me, I certainly consider you one of the more intelligent posters on here and my question about SP wasn't assuming that you disliked it at all. Quite the opposite.

Coming from the UK, my understanding of shows like SP, FG, The Simpsons, etc., is inevitably filtered by a general ignorance regarding context. However, as a fan of those shows nonetheless, it's always interesting for me to hear how American's receive them.

South Park always manages to reward slightly critical viewers like myself.
South Park has business-sense. It's creators and contributors are adept at "playing the game," as is the case with any successful pop culture entertainment enterprise.
There's at least a couple every season that are comedy classics.

Last season, "Cartoon Wars" (1 and 2...takes some playful shots at The Simpsons hehe(although The Simpsons was first to successfully parody other successful animated satires)...is discussed in the interview Bunbury posted) was good and I loved the return of towelie in "A Million Little Fibers."

"Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow" is funny, but it's also convoluted.

In season 7, "Woodland Critter Christmas" finally delivered delightfulness.
Although, their "Something Wal(l)-Mart This Way Comes"from the same season is a perfect example of (by this particular episode's end) a short-sighted, smug, Republican agenda.

Only a few seasons ago, SP busted out "Raisins" (good for the "goth" sub-plot), "Cancelled", "Red Sleigh Down", "The Return of The Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers", "Towelie", and the glorious "All About Mormons."

Which is the one where they debate whether to defend Family Guy over its plan to show the image of Mohammed?

Cartoon Wars

first and second eps of last season

When I saw that, I thought they were trying to create a sort of contract-breaker.

It says in the interview that they told Comedy Central they wanted to do a cartoon with Mohammed in it as reponse (& to get the attention of?) to the Muslims in Europe rioting over the editorial strip. CC told SP that they would not air it. In a power-move, SP told CC that they were already under contract to produce 7 new episodes and one of the eps would be the Mohammed one and that CC would have to pay for it irregardless. They then upped that to two eps out of the seven by making it a two-parter putting even more pressureon CC to go ahead and air both shows, which they eventually did. To show they were good sports, SP didn't even actually show Mohammed. They had, however, already done so in a ep for a couple of seasons ago called "Super Best Friends." The first of the interview explains how when they first caught wind of the riots over the editorial comic, they (a tad self-importantly) thought at first it was because the particular Muslim groups had eventually seen "Super Best Friends."
That's swell to know that Matt & Trey actually want to piss off these extremists and dictators, isn't it?
On that note, I thought Team America:World Police was much better than I thought it would be, but it still is basically dogshit as satire.

A new promising documentary about Michael Moore:
http://www.myspace.com/manufacturing_dissent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Dissent

It's hard to count how many documentaries have been made about Michael Moore, but those made by Canadian left-wing fans seem to be a bit scarcer. Supported largely by Canadian financiers, Manufacturing Dissent starts out as a balanced exploration of filmmaker and political personality Michael Moore. The film documents Moore during his 2004 national touring campaign for Fahrenheit 9/11, his politically sensational documentary that spoke out against the integrity of the Bush Administration.

As the film progresses, the filmmakers are disappointingly unsuccessful in securing an interview with Moore, and as they try, facts arise questioning Moore's credibility as a journalist, his film-making techniques, and his personal character. It concludes on a much less optimistic note than at the beginning, gradually disclosing a reluctantly-developed disenchantment with the fervent Midwestern public activist. What makes Manufacturing Dissent particularly unique is its resistance from sensationalizing its condemning findings.

With an attitude of professional reserve, Manufacturing Dissent strategically uses subtlety and a careful resolve to disclose straightforward facts and present the comments of interviewees with accuracy and integrity—a set of convictions that many viewers, in turn, observe to be lacking from Moore's bountiful supply. This is a film that speaks, first and foremost, to the die-hard fans of Michael Moore. Leftist followers owe it to themselves to experience the cautious, revealing process that this film provides.

Sorry, had to bump this thread after just sitting through 'Sicko', surely one of the most simple-minded pieces of garbage I've seen in a long time.