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Ginger666 ,

Have you not read the intro text?

https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/f853b79c-e010-464e-9dee-6b5469cef754.jpeg

daltotron ,

Hijacking this, but, do people actually watch south park? My friend showed me a couple episodes, one was about cartman having a kanye on his shoulder that made him antisemitic, and the whole episode was pretty stupid. Also showed me a… parody? Of multiverse stuff, maybe? Had some sort of willy wonka figure and imaginationland and a bunch of off brand characters, and then they all died in a big war, that one was pretty stupid. Also showed me a one about the being evil and killing jesus on christmas, or something like that, which was also pretty stupid. Other friend showed me a dog the bounty hunter parody, also struck me as pretty stupid. They were all just really dumb, there was nothing really insightful about any of this subject matter in particular, it was just like I was watching whatever they were making satire of, but if it was decroded by like a couple IQ medians.

I dunno, most other adult-oriented animated comedies are also pretty bad and hacky, and also feel the need, a lot of the time, and especially in their “cultural commentary” episodes, to have something at the end which ties everything into a takeaway for the viewer, totally unironically. Like a children’s book that needs to have a moral or message. In south park, it’s always an extremely writer’s-POV here’s your takeaway “I am talking directly to the audience”, kind of way, which I find, just straight up pretty bad most of the time. I dunno, I really don’t understand how people watch this shit. It’s like a show that would come on inside of some other show as a shorthand that the people watching it are really dumb.

Nomecks ,

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer’s head. There’s also Rick’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they’re not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick’s existential catchphrase “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub,” which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev’s Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon’s genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools… how I pity them. 😂

And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the ladies’ eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

Car ,

Downvotes don’t appreciate the copypasta

seth ,

I’m so thankful for copypastadb.com . It’s saved me from wasting time replying to crazy stuff on more than one occasion.

Tylix ,

Yes people watch south park, and have their entire lives.

Is the show always good? No, some of the more recent stuff has been pretty downright terrible actually. Will I keep watching it? Yes. Crack Baby Basketball was probably the best commentary ever on why players at the college level can’t be paid. Do I always agree with them? Nope. I don’t know how you didn’t like the Kanye episode though, Cupid Ye was hilarious, and they were pretty much just straight making fun of him and immortalizing his breakdown.

They were blatantly wrong about climate change, which they addressed with the return of ManBearPig and Al Gore. They did trans issues almost a decade before anyone else did with Mr. Garrison’s Fancy New Vagina.

South Park has always been about fighting censorship, without them, it’s fair to say that we would not have had a ton of TV moments, largely because they cleared the way for others.

It’s fair if you didn’t like them, not everyone is into watching Santa do coke with Jesus and Randy. The whole show is basically about offending people and there have even been episodes I can’t get behind because it’s my turn. But to me, South Park will always be entertaining because sometimes they’re just plain silly, and sometimes there’s a deeper context.

The BP oil spill episodes, Crack Baby Basketball, Nascar is for Poor People, and episode 200 and 201 are all excellent commentaries on different issues. For just random hilarity, Die Hippie Die, Scott Tennorman Must Die, and the most recent Christmas Special are just silly episodes.

And if you don’t like it, that’s fine, not everything is for everyone.

Wanderer ,

I always find it funny that this got them in trouble

https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/9487dcf6-cdf7-4534-9488-fcb4ebaca992.webp

This didn’t

https://lemm.ee/pictrs/image/d08ce819-e47f-4d24-9a5c-d2844123dfa0.webp

But I’m still pissed this didn’t get aired:

youtu.be/mDmOGN-x0ls?si=yzsO2Fh_d-tc-fP-

lars ,

what was the problem with the bear?

Passerby6497 ,

Mohammed was in there. There’s a big thing about Mohammed not being able to be down, so they have to hide him any way they can. The official release has a censor over the “lesson speech”, which is dumb AF given the message they’re censoring.

Ginger666 ,

It got aired, the entire speech at the end was just bleeped out. I remember watching this live after all the hype, and in was pissed at cc for doing this. Buncha pussies

RIP_Cheems ,
@RIP_Cheems@lemmy.world avatar

Southpark isn’t sued as far as I know, but they have received massive criticism and even death threats from terrorists organizations.

Jumi ,

They must be doing something right then

Hugin ,

Simple answer is they are careful about what they say and have good lawyers that review it.

A few examples.

Calling Tom Cruise a fudge packer in the context of him being in a bathhouse could eaisly open them up to liability for calling him gay. But doing it in a fudge factory while showing him putting fudge in a box gives them a clear defense that they meant it literally.

Simmaraly telling him to come out of the closet while he is actually in a closet provides cover.

Making things so absurd that a reasonable person wouldn’t believe it and know it’s a joke also works. So having Barbara Streisand aquire an artifact that makes her into a giant robot monster works but something plausible wouldn’t.

Having Kanye open up and admit he is a gay fish is absurd enough to provide protection. However they probably couldn’t get away with him simply coming out as gay.

Of course the genius of south park is they use these legal protections in ways that make the story funnier and not just for cover.

mke_geek ,

Simmaraly

You meant “Similarly” (like “similar” but with an “ly” at the end).

Hugin ,

I did. My mobile keyboard sucks and changes things when I start a new word. I often miss it.

model_tar_gz ,

Telling people to suck on Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls was one of my favorites parts of my fucked up childhood.

Nollij ,

It’s a very fine line they would have to walk. It must be believable to the average person that the claims are true. It must not actually be true. It must be done with (the appearance of) malice. It must not be done as a criticism/satire of the target and their actions.

And on top of that, their publicist/PR must think a lawsuit will get them more than they lose. Once it’s aired, it is out there forever. It could then be the one that everyone seeks out and shares with friends, as “the one that Tom Cruise sued to get rid of”. This is known as “The Streisand Effect”.

tourist ,
@tourist@lemmy.world avatar

Reminds me that Scientology sent “private investigators” after Matt and Trey to find dirt on them, but ended up with nothing

avclub.com/scientologists-spent-a-long-time-inves…

olicvb ,
@olicvb@lemmy.ca avatar

They demolished Scientology, before people were “afraid” of them.

This video talks about the whole story www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMrN5nWuh_s

maynarkh ,

Are all youtube videos so epileptic nowadays? Does this appeal to people? Am I out of touch?

NeatNit ,

What do you mean by epileptic? It’s a video essay, the majority of the substance is the words spoken by the guy making the video. And yes, I occasionally watch and enjoy this kind of video, and I even saw this one about s month ago and liked it. It tied up some loose ends in my head and gave me context I wouldn’t otherwise get.

The term video essay is really a perfect description for this.

edgemaster72 ,
@edgemaster72@lemmy.world avatar

I think they mean the intro with the “music” playing at about 400 bpm and peaking horribly?

Agrivar ,

Wow, I had to check it out myself and you are not wrong! WTF was the editor of that video thinking? It starts fine and then becomes like a nightmare of overlapping audio streams.

edgemaster72 ,
@edgemaster72@lemmy.world avatar

Am I out of touch?

No, it’s the children who are wrong.

TimewornTraveler ,

What is this channel and why is it popping up in my feeds all of sudden

Wogi ,

You can’t damage the credibility of people who don’t claim to have any. And, in attempting to do so, you can only increase their credibility.

Matt and Trey don’t claim to be any more than a few jackass comedians with a TV show. Scientology’s MO really doesn’t work against guys like that.

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world avatar

Parody is protected under US law.

People can (and do) sue, but they lose every time because it’s easy for their well resourced corporate legal team to prove the show is parody and thus, protected free speech.

crypticthree ,

Also public figures have to prove “actual malice” in a defamation or libel case. Actual malice is an incredibly hard thing to prove.

Corkyskog ,

I imagine if it were easier, there would be like another couple hundred of thousand lawsuits against Trump lol

KnowledgeableNip ,

And by Trump, too. He’d definitely try and cash in if it were possible.

geography082 ,

South Park true understanding is only for people that achieved thinking out of the box.

FiniteBanjo ,

They do get sued pretty often, but the law is on their side. The more absurd the circuimstances the easier it is to get away with as Parody, the only time you’re in hot water is if the viewers in any sizable metric would be fooled into thinking the things portrayed in the show were true when in reality they weren’t. In fact, when South Park revealed everything about Scientology’s internal beliefs they were almost sued but Scientology backed down because what South Park said in the episode was actually verifiable truths that could be backed up with evidence in court.

email ,

In the other country that starts with US you would be tortured and then send to a camp for political prisoners

YarHarSuperstar ,
@YarHarSuperstar@lemmy.world avatar

I have no idea what you’re talking about. Assuming the United States is one, what is the other? And which one are you talking about? Sorry if this is just the joke/topic going over my head or something.

TheDorkfromYork ,

Prob USSR

BakerBagel ,

You mean the country that ceased to exist before 3/4 of this site was even born?

SatansMaggotyCumFart ,

If the USSR doesn’t exist why does the Beatles have a song about it?

Apepollo11 ,

I guess the USA famously uses rendition flights and offshore detention centres, so maybe the plot twist is the other ‘US’ is actually the USA?

email ,

USSR

NoIWontPickAName ,

Wtf are you on about? Do you mean the ussr? They disbanded in like 91

tobogganablaze ,

Uzsbekistan?

Delphia ,

Heres a really well written article that should give you all you need to know.

Deceptichum ,
@Deceptichum@sh.itjust.works avatar

https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/52c956c3-d5b5-451a-8367-767f47d62c3d.webp

taanegl ,

One of my favourite legal disclaimers of all time. It reads like Bukowskian legalese.

sonovebitch OP ,

That’s it? You just need to say “you know this actor character we call Tom Cruise in our show, and does the same stuff as the real actor Tom cruise in real life, it’s actually a fictional character unrelated to the real Tom Cruise in real life” and you Gucci?

NoIWontPickAName ,

Pretty much, satire is protected

lars ,

Tom Cruise’s sexuality and religion are objective satire

NoIWontPickAName ,

Is Kanye West a gay fish?

Agrivar ,

That whole joke doesn’t quite hit the same way, now that we know he’s actually a mentally unwell self-hating man.

nomous ,

Yeah funny is funny but making fun of mental health is pretty crass these days; it’s rough out here, everybody has some issues

neptune ,

Celebrities don’t really win anything by suing. First, they look like a cry baby. Second, the bar for slander/libel against a public figure is enormous.

Honytawk ,

It is counted as a parody, which has different laws

CosmicTurtle0 ,

Keep in mind that a celebrity can send you and me, regular joes, a C&D and we’d likely comply simply because we lack the resources to sustain a challenge in court.

What stops celebrities and organizations from suing South Park creators is likely the opposite: they have money and a legal team.

The same thing happened with John Oliver when he talked shit about some coal mine owner that was notorious for suing people. The mine owner served them from a court that had friendly laws but they were ready. And they had insurance to pay for it.

FartsWithAnAccent ,
@FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.world avatar

Eat shit, Bob.

Full story, the guy really is an awful piece of shit.

towerful ,

That is fantastic

CuttingBoard ,

Was a piece of shit. He’s taking a dirt nap now.

FrostyTheDoo ,

If it’s all stuff he really does in real life, how could he sue over it? If it’s factual, you can’t sue. Well you could but you’d lose because South Parks lawyers would say “show me what we said that wasn’t true”

If it’s its fictional and they clearly state at the beginning of the episode that it’s fictional and you should not assume it’s true, it’s going to be really hard to convince a judge that they were trying to trick people into thinking something was true in order to harm you.

The first amendment allows you to make fun of people, especially if you say “we’re just being silly and none of this is serious” beforehand

johannesvanderwhales ,

This is really only to prevent them from suing and claiming that the show is representing the actions of celebrities on the show as true fact. If I publish a newspaper article saying “Donald Trump strangled a baby” without evidence then that could be actionable, as it’s a factual claim. But if I showed Donald Trump strangling babies as part of an obvious parody, then that would be protected speech. So their disclaimer is basically just to make it obvious that it’s a parody. It’s not a requirement, but they want to cover their asses.

Wanderer ,

Apparently they actually had to have him packing fudge to call him a fudge packer and to have him in the closet.

They couldn’t just call him a fag or they would get sued.

RegalPotoo ,
@RegalPotoo@lemmy.world avatar

As others have pointed out, US first amendment laws generally protect shows like South Park because it’s generally understood that the characters in the show that resemble real people are parodies, and the show runners aren’t stating a fact that the real person said or did a thing in reality.

Funnily enough, the UK has much stricter laws about defaming people - the country has a strict class system, and it wouldn’t do if poor people could embarrass rich people - there is a significant carve out for “vulgar abuse”. If I was to go on TV and (for sake of example) called Boris Johnson three shit-stained jugs of fetted piss wearing a trench coat, that would be ok, because people understand that to be a euphemistic insult, not a literal statement of fact. If I went on TV and said that he was a drunk, that wouldn’t be - unless I can prove that he is an alcoholic, he could sue me for libel. The outcome of this is that an equivalent show to South Park could be made in the UK, it would just have to be utterly filthy

silasmariner ,

The UK has a lot of shows with celebrity parodies… As in the US it’s entirely protected speech…

Skua ,

Spitting Image seems like the most immediately obvious one. It's older, of course, but I think the point stands

tobogganablaze ,

I’ll sue you in England!

WhyTFNot ,

Relevant QI fact: youtube

Sorry YouTube link - you know the game

RobotToaster ,
@RobotToaster@mander.xyz avatar

the country has a strict class system

Yanks pretending their country doesn’t have a class system on the internet has to be one of my favourite delusions.

imaqtpie ,

Nobody said the US doesn’t have a class system? Also the person you’re responding to appears to be a kiwi, not an American.

Non-Americans making fools out of themselves while trying to casually denigrate the US is one of my favorite internet traditions. It’s especially entertaining because there are plenty of valid criticisms, but people often seem to go for the most lazy, inaccurate generalizations and reveal their ignorance.

BakerBagel ,

Our class system is based entirely on how much money you have. The UK still has a legal aristocracy based on how much land your direct ancestor owned 800 years ago.

dhork ,

The outcome of this is that an equivalent show to South Park could be made in the UK, it would just have to be utterly filthy

I never wanted to see a hypothetical show as badly as this

Nollij ,

In Penn & Teller: Bullshit, they did something similar. They pointed out very early they would be more vulgar than most people expect. This is because words like fraud, quack, scammer, etc were specific allegations that could land them in court. But words like asshole were not, and were much safer.

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

keep in mind, we’re talking about the show that toppled Scientology.

just, for the record… part of how it’s able to make fun of shit is because they’re usually correct about the stuff they’re mocking.

Saying ‘Biden is a baby-sacrificing pedophile’ is defamation. saying ‘trump is a rapist and a fascist’ is not.

further, both parody and satire are in fact protected speech. at least, for the moment.

PlainSimpleGarak ,

IANAL, but I’m pretty sure calling someone a rapist who hasn’t been convicted in a court of law of being a rapist could get you into trouble. Now the fascist part is completely subjective so you could probably get away with it.

vaultdweller013 ,

According to the defamation lawsuit Trump committed sexual assault. And since common parlance doesnt differentiat between sexual assault and rape you could probably call him a rapist.

PlainSimpleGarak ,

All rape is sexual assault, not all sexual assault is rape. Calling all sexual assault rape dilutes the term.

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

And according to the counter suit, carol is allowed to call him a rapist.

Remember, you don’t have to be convicted of rape to be a rapist, you are not innocent and then magically guilty. It is merely a presumption of innocence until proven so, but that’s a procedural thing to prevent the courts from infringing on rights. It has absolutely nothing to do with the true facts of guilt.

It’s not defamation.

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

Nope. I sincerely believe Trump is a rapist.

That’s not defamation because I have good reason to believe that.

Remember, the presumption of innocence is not a matter of fact- it’s an assumption that dictates procedural principles until it is in fact proven. But, if you rape some one… your a rapist. Period.

PlainSimpleGarak ,

Simply believing a thing is true will not protect you from a defamation suit. You have to know he is, not just believe it. I suppose this varies from country to country.

I’m not obsessed with Donald Trump like most people seem to be, so I don’t follow his news much. I don’t have good reason to believe he’s a rapist, and prefer to wait until he’s convicted in a court of law, and would hope others would give me the same benefit of the doubt.

nyctre ,

No, the fact that a judge ruled that he raped someone is what protects one from a defamation suit. At that point you’re just quoting the judge

PlainSimpleGarak ,

Jury. A jury in 2023 found him liable for sexual abuse/defamation where Carol was awarded $5 million.

apnews.com/…/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b9…

The verdict was split: Jurors rejected Carroll’s claim that she was raped, finding Trump responsible for a lesser degree of sexual abuse.

This year, another jury awarded her an additional $83 million for defamation.

I read three articles, and watched an NBC video, not one of them stated he was found liable for rape.

nyctre ,

washingtonpost.com/…/trump-carroll-judge-rape/

This is what I was going off of. Sounded to me like rape. I’m no lawyer tho.

PlainSimpleGarak ,

We don’t need something to “sound like rape”. If he was guilty of it, meaning there was sufficient evidence, in the jury’s opinion, the jury would have found him guilty of it. I’m sure they weren’t looking to do him any favors. Obviously the defense failed to prove their case relative to rape.

Now, did he do it? Probably. He’s a career criminal. But the line has to be drawn somewhere, and for me, if you’re found guilty of it, be it a criminal court room, or a civil one, that’s when I can safely say a person is what they’ve been found guilty of being.

Take emotions and opinions out of it, and just stick to the facts. He’s guilty in a civil case of defamation and sexual abuse.

nyctre ,

I don’t particularly care what the legal system calls something that’s pretty much impossible to prove. And I don’t understand why you’re using my words as if it’s legally relevant. I’ll quote the article, because I don’t think you’ve read it: “A judge has now clarified that this is basically a legal distinction without a real-world difference.”

PlainSimpleGarak ,

I read three independent articles on the subject, including the one from last year, I don’t need to read a fourth.

I find it interesting you admit something is difficult to prove, yet feel perfectly comfortable making accusations on the subject. I’ll stick to the facts, thanks, and leave my bias out of it.

nyctre ,

I never claimed to know what he did. I’m pretty sure I didn’t even state what I believe. I only stated what the judge said. And the judge said he raped her.

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