Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
Last night's South Park episode, as usual, contained a premise that was brilliant satire on multiple levels at the same time. First of all, they actually helped promote a show on another network, by having Kyle convince the head of the FOX network that he should show an episode of the Family Guy that includes a scene with Muhammed in it. Not an insulting scene, not a mocking scene, a totally innocuous scene where Muhammed hands something to the Family Guy.
Kyle tells the FOX executive, ""You can't do what he wants just because he's the one threatening you with violence...Yes, people can get hurt. That's how terrorism works. But if you give in to that, Doug, you're allowing terrorism to work...If you don't show Mohammed, then you've made a distinction between what is OK to make fun of and what isn't. Either it's all OK or none of it is. Do the right thing." So the FOX executive decides to show the scene, but then as the guys are watching the show and it gets to that scene, the screen goes black with this message on it:
"In this shot, Mohammed hands a football helmet to Family Guy."
At first, I assumed that this, too, was satire, that the South Park guys were making fun of Comedy Central, which would have been even more brilliant. Alas, no. Comedy Central really did censor the show and they've now released a public statement saying only:
"In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision."
Now here's what makes the decision doubly ridiculous. Later in the episode, Al Qaeda responds to the Family Guy showing Muhammed by putting out a cartoon of their own that features President Bush and Jesus shitting on each other and on an American flag. And that, apparently, was just fine with Comedy Central - it's okay to show Jesus shitting on an American flag, but not okay to show Muhammed just standing there doing nothing controversial at all.
So the religious right is up in arms that they showed such a mocking portrayal of Jesus but not Muhammed. Many Muslims would have been upset if they'd shown the picture of Muhammed. And Comedy Central blatantly caves in to one and not the other. They should have shown both and told both groups to go get bent. It's a satire show. It mocks everything. But allowing them to mock everything BUT radical Islam, you are indeed caving in to terrorists.
Does Comedy Central have the legal right to do so? Of course. They own the network. But the rest of us should condemn them for their cowardice and their hypocrisy. They've allowed South Park to make brutal fun of anything and everything except this, and that sends one and only one message: threats of violence work. Threaten us with violence and we'll cave in and do whatever you want.
It's like a parent who gives in when a child throws a fit in a store and gives them what they're throwing a tirade over - the only thing you guarantee by doing that is more tirades every time you take them to the store. And I'm just tired of seeing everyone turn into invertebrates when the thugs start rattling their swords. To hell with them and their demands. We've got enough of a problem with our liberty being whittled away by our own government. If we give up that freedom the moment someone threatens us, maybe we don't deserve to have it.
By the way, you can send a comment to Comedy Central by clicking here.
Comments
Could it possibly have been part of the show, despite the CC statement? it seems so incredibly ludicrous that they would have censored one and not the other that it is hard to believe.
Posted by: Mark Paris
| April 13, 2006 4:24 PM
Any thoughts on how to support South Park without supporting Comedy Central? I've sent an email (thanks for the link) but I would like to back it up with the power of almighty (withheld and redirected) dollar. With Borders it was easy... Free Inquiry got my subscription and Amazon will get the rest of my business. On this one the line is a little fuzzier.
Posted by: ChristieJ
| April 13, 2006 4:27 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/13/southpark.muhammad.ap/index.html
Link to CNN article about the episode
Posted by: ChristieJ
| April 13, 2006 4:30 PM
I don't think it's ludicrous at all. They're not likely to lose much by showing offensive Christian imagery (not even viewers), but they could have found themselves embroiled in an international incident by showing an image of Mohammed. Best case they would have had to deal with a ton of negative publicity. Worst case, the parent company's share price might have been negatively impacted and threats of bodily harm could have come true.
Whether we like it or not, different actions have different consequences, and Comedy Central and/or their parent company probably just didn't want to have to deal with all the fallout from showing an image of Mohammed. Remember, Comedy Central is an entertainment business first and foremost. It's not their duty to stick their necks out for the sake of free speech everywhere.
Posted by: tacitus
| April 13, 2006 4:37 PM
I read the linked article, and it puts a somewhat different light on it. The "censored" message apparently was part of the show, but it was put there as a response to actual censorship, where CC refused to let them show Mohammed. It does not look any better for CC.
Tacitus, you are right that CC has no obligation to "stick their necks out for the sake of free speech everywhere." They own the network. But their hypocrisy would certainly make it harder for them to argue for their own freedom of speech. I think it is far more likely that in this climate, they stand to lose more (public support and potentially even money) by allowing the extremely crude treatment of christianity and the American flag than they do by showing an image of Mohammed. Pehaps you have not noticed the trend towards nationalism and "faith" trumping civil rights?
Posted by: Mark Paris
| April 13, 2006 4:48 PM
Here's what I said to Comedy Central:
Are you guys for real? You show a cartoon of Bush and Jesus shitting on an American flag, but you won't show a cartoon of Mohammed doing something totally innocuous? Your spinelessness is matched only by your utter stupidity. Are you really this cowardly, or are you just cravenly bending over for tantrum-throwing thugs to boost your ratings? Trust me on this: this sort of performance-art is not your forte.
You're a big corporation, you have more money than I will ever have, you can get your message out with little or no trouble, but you're scared to death of losing...what exactly? Why are the richest Americans also the wimpiest?
Thanks for telling the whole world that empty threats can change the way you do business. Don't be surprised if your capitulation is rewarded by more threats -- and don't come crying to me when you get them. Spinelessness is its own reward.
By publicly letting murderers push you around (from the other side of the planet), you are increasing the danger to innocent people, not averting it. The next time an artist or filmmaker gets hacked to death, we'll know who to thank for encouraging it.
Posted by: Raging Bee
| April 13, 2006 4:59 PM
The real funny thing about this is that several years back South Park did an episode about the "Super Best Friends", who are a group of superheroes made up of the key figures of various religions -- Jesus, Krishna, Moses, some Taoist guy... and Mohammed. The Super Best Friends team up to save the world from the tyranny of the false religion of street magician David Blaine. In the climax, Blaine animates the Abraham Lincoln statue at the Lincoln memorial in DC, and the Super Best Friends construct a giant animated John Wilkes Booth statue to assassinate him.
As I recall, Mohammed's superpower was to fly around and shoot fire out of his hands. He wasn't censored out or anything. I don't recall anyone protesting after that show or during the many re-airings of it.
Here, I'm going to link to the Wikipedia page about the episode, which has a picture of the South Park Mohammed shooting flames out of his hands. Strangely, no one has protested Wikipedia either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Best_Friends
PS: Wasn't it a "salmon helmet" or something that Mohammed was supposed to be handing family guy?
Posted by: Nick (Matzke)
| April 13, 2006 5:00 PM
Nice find Nick.
Posted by: Will
| April 13, 2006 5:08 PM
Also from Wikipedia:
"Despite Comedy Central's ban, Muhammad has been hidden in the opening credits since the episode "Smug Alert!". He is standing next to Satan and Scott Tenorman in the final shot of the sequence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Southparkseason10opening.png
I found a copy of the episode on YouTube, and Muhammad is indeed present in the intro scene.
Posted by: Tiax
| April 13, 2006 5:23 PM
Correction. The episode I found on YouTube isn't the "Cartoon Wars" episode in question.
Posted by: Tiax
| April 13, 2006 5:26 PM
Although I haven't seen last night's episode (it's still on my DVR); last week's also featured a censored image of Muhammad.
Has anybody seen any comments on the censorship from last week's episode? Was that actually the original censorsed episode from Comedy Central/Viacom, and Trey and Matt extended the episode into a two-parter in order to satirize the network?
It bugs me that there was no uproar about last week's episode until this week's Bush/Jesus/Flag scene aired.
Posted by: theberle
| April 13, 2006 6:26 PM
"Has anybody seen any comments on the censorship from last week's episode? Was that actually the original censorsed episode from Comedy Central/Viacom, and Trey and Matt extended the episode into a two-parter in order to satirize the network?"
My understanding is that Matt and Trey were informed that they couldn't show Muhammad several weeks ago, and wrote this storyline to ridicule the network. I've heard that Comedy Central did not actively censor any image, instead Matt and Trey censored Muhammad each time before submitting the episode, since they knew it would not be allowed to be shown.
Posted by: Tiax
| April 13, 2006 8:02 PM
So, if I'm to understand this, the South Park writers probably wrote in all the Family Guy / Fox stuff to further stick it to their own Comedy Network.
Meaning, they knew they would have to write in the censor panel on their show because Comedy Central wouldn't let them show Mohammed, and they were protesting this by showing that Family Guy would have been able to do it over at Fox, because to censor would be to cave.
Brilliant.
Posted by: blogista
| April 13, 2006 8:10 PM
No, the "censored" portions of last week's episode were part of the story. The end of last week's episode told viewers to tune in next week to see if CC would have the cahones to air the pictures of Mohammed.
Apparently they didn't...
Posted by: Troy Britain
| April 13, 2006 8:10 PM
Tacitus: It is ludicrous. Duplicitous. CC is suffering from Wimpitis.
Thanks to South Park, for showing us what it looks like on the inside of an implosion.
Posted by: blogista
| April 13, 2006 8:16 PM
Here's a clip of the last part of that South Park episode, showing Family Guy receiving a salmon helmet, as well as the "Jesus and Bush crap on the US flag" retaliation.
Posted by: Krauze
| April 13, 2006 9:14 PM
The other day I was reading a Jack Chick tract against Islam, entitled "Allah Had No Son", which contains a drawing of Mohammed surrounded by flames, prostrating himself on the floor and declaring that "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
I really am wrestling with putting the image on my blog. On the one hand, it certainly is relevant and interesting. On the other hand, the place where I work is pretty PC, and I simply can't afford to risk my job right now. I don't have Comedy Central's resources...
Posted by: george.w
| April 13, 2006 9:39 PM
You know, I think that South Park have just shown in a brilliant fashion exactly what they wanted to achieve. Comedy Central now look like complete idiots and I think they've made a brilliant point - even when they never got to show it.
Posted by: J O'Donnell
| April 14, 2006 1:12 AM
comedy central was duped as well by the episode's indirect reference to the scientology episode rebroadcast being pulled.
but really, the entire country buried it's head in sand to avoid offending, didn't it? comedy central's no more guilty than any other major media outlet, or most of the country for that matter. what particularly stands out is the scene where the town's gathered and one man speaks out for liberty, .... naw, it's easier to just bury our heads in the sand (wouldn't want to have to consider too much, now would we?).
Posted by: epitaphforacentaur
| April 14, 2006 1:46 AM
This is getting to be a trend. South Park is the #1 can't-miss show on television. If you get the attention of Matt and Trey, you're screwed.
I don't know about anyone else, but I just can't watch the terrorist retaliation video enough.
Posted by: FishyFred
| April 14, 2006 2:36 AM
Incidentally, I found it hillarious as well and the fact they would show that, which many Christians with a much less hardy temperment than myself would definitely have found offensive, over a simple scene of being handed a hat is amazing.
Posted by: J O'Donnell
| April 14, 2006 3:01 AM
Follow-on to Nick's response here: it's important to remember that there was no significant protest against any of the Mohammed cartoons when they were first published. The tantrum was orchestrated several months later, when Saudi state-controlled media started running hysterical articles about them to divert attention away from yet another embarrassing crowd-control failure at the Haj, in which about 350 pilgrims were killed.
Here's a link that sheds some light on the matter:
http://muttawa.blogspot.com/2006/01/priorities.html
Posted by: Raging Bee
| April 14, 2006 8:31 AM
Well this clinches it. Hindus, Buddhists and Christians need to start jihads and nuke a few people. Apparently it's the only thing that works.
Posted by: Soldats
| April 14, 2006 9:58 AM
So the killers are winning. The terrorists are winning. They are winning not because of who they are but because of who we are not. Clearly we are not the America we thought we were.
Posted by: Susan Brassfield Cogan
| April 14, 2006 10:55 AM
Soldats: "Well this clinches it. Hindus, Buddhists and Christians need to start jihads and nuke a few people. Apparently it's the only thing that works."
Yes, it's working well in India and Africa, where all of those groups have violent uprisings (historically and in the present day). Even "peaceful" Buddhism has its own history of violent aggression. The common denominator isn't Islam...it's religion.
Posted by: ck
| April 14, 2006 11:01 AM
Women better starting buying up hajibs and burkhas, because the next thing you know, Muslims will start complaining about seeing the hair and skin of women everywhere they look and that it is offensive.
Posted by: Miguelito
| April 14, 2006 11:21 AM
While this has returned to public attention for the moment, don't fail to view the Two Percent Company's image of the frieze on the north and south walls of the US Supreme Court. The Great Law Givers of History are all depicted in our highest court, including Muhammad. Notably absent from the frieze is Jesus, who famously left no written works.
Posted by: STSmith
| April 14, 2006 11:40 AM
The common denominator isn't Islam...it's religion.
Posted by: Colleen Keating [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 14, 2006 11:01 AM
You're missing my point. Why bother to engage in intelligent debate and a civilized appeal to mutual accomodation when you can behead a few people, blow up several thousand innocent civillians and get what you want due to spineless cowards capitulating?
Posted by: Soldats
| April 14, 2006 11:41 AM
Any thoughts on how to support South Park without supporting Comedy Central?
Well, this really doesn't support South Park that much, but I mentioned in my email to comedy central that I would be downloading episodes from now on rather than tuning in.
Posted by: atari24
| April 14, 2006 1:40 PM
Let's not forget that Comedy Central also decided not to re-air last season's episode "Bloody Mary" after Catholics got pissy and complained.
They'd better let the episode show uncensored when the DVDs come out.
I also sent an email to Comedy Central lambasting them. I'm some poor intern taked with sorting messages will just delete it. But maybe CC will get so bombarded they'll realize what spazzes they're being.
Oooh, sorry. Aparently you're not supposed to say "spaz" either.
Posted by: chrisberez
| April 14, 2006 3:02 PM
You're missing my point. Why bother to engage in intelligent debate and a civilized appeal to mutual accomodation when you can behead a few people, blow up several thousand innocent civillians and get what you want due to spineless cowards capitulating?
This is good to know. I hadn't heard that the west had stopped manipulating power and politics in the Muslim world. Thanks for the update.
Posted by: Carel
| April 14, 2006 6:26 PM