South Park censored? That’s no surprise for individuals who watch South Park. But South Park 201 being censored marks a fresh milestone of bleeping for the show that seems to be created specifically to attract the attention of censors. And Comedy Central censored the show after getting death threats from a Muslim group. South Park is apparently viewed by Muslims. They also consider any physical representation of their prophet — cartoon, drawing, sculpture, movie, etc. — to be blasphemous, and within the case of extremists, punishable by death.
Censored South Park 201
Censored Wednesday night on Comedy Central and denied network approval for streaming online, South Park 201 was expected by fans who watch South Park to reveal a likeness of Muhammad. The character was concealed by a bearsuit in South Park episode 200. In episode 201, the Muhammad character comes out but it blacked out by a censor bar. The name of the character is bleeped out whenever spoken.
Funnier than original: South Park 201 censored?
It may have really been funnier to view South Park 201, censored by Comedy Central after the group RevolutionMuslim.com published their death threat. It might be said that South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker used the occasion as an opportunity for self-parody, not to mention an incredible surge of publicity no amount of pay day cash could purchase.
Extreme South Park episodes offend extremists
The wrath of RevolutionMuslim.com was brought out by South Park episode 200 which depicted Muhammad in a bear suit. Stone and Parker must have imagined what could have happened within the subsequent South Park episodes following the group’s site published a post claiming they “outright insulted” the Prophet:
“We have to warn Matt and Trey that what doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show,” the post read. “This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.”
The post showed a graphic photo of a Dutch filmmaker who was murder in Amsterdam in 2004, Theo Van Gogh, by a Muslim offended by Van Gogh's film about Muslim women. Then listed were the addresses of Parker and Stone's California production office and Comedy Central's New York office.
Other episodes for South Park
Other South Park episodes censored consist of one in 2006 when Parker and Stone wanted to weigh in on a controversy involving Muslim death threats motivated by caricatures of Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper. Comedy Central passed on the opportunity to get extra cash by depicting an image of Muhammad in that South Park episode. On the South Park website, Episode 201 is not available for streaming. Instead of video, a box contains the message:
“After we delivered the show, and prior to broadcast, Comedy Central placed numerous additional audio bleeps throughout the episode. We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show.”
Resources for the article
Comedy Central
http://www.comedycentral.com/
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
http://treyparker.info/matt.htm
Muhammad published in a Danish newspaper
http://zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archive/jyllands-posten_cartoons/
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