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Sunday, April 16, 2006

Fraud isn't funny: The sham of Comedy Central's principled irreverence

Comedy Central has spent years intentionally building its reputation as the "anything goes" comedy network by flaunting its in-your-face, off-color, gut-punching, politically incorrect content. It justifies this unapologetic approach to humor with an almost preachy arrogance: Offended by a joke? Too bad; the Comedy Central empire stands on principle.

Or, at least, it did until last Wednesday, when a couple of animated fourth-graders from a small town in Colorado demonstrated that the Emperor has no clothes.

South Park, one of the most politically biting shows on the Comedy Central line-up, dared the network to do one simple thing: show an innocuous cartoon image of the Muslim "prophet" Mohammed. To the shock and dismay of South Park fans, the "no holds barred" network chickened-out. In a spineless demonstration of fear, Comedy Central censored Mohammed's image, even after Kyle (a regular South Park character) delivered a compelling speech about the importance of standing up to terrorist threats in defense of First Amendment freedoms. In the same episode, the network happily aired images of Jesus and President Bush defecating on one another and on the American flag. The message to Islamic terrorists was clear: you've won.

Kudos to Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of South Park, for exposing Comedy Central executives for what they really are: loudmouth braggarts who, when push comes to shove, cower sheepishly behind the steadfast integrity of an animated ten year-old.

Slug posted by Carter Laren @ 21:57