Go Bill!!
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Posted on 12/30/2005 12:45:47 AM PST by Quick1
Following the Dec. 7 season finale of South Park, titled "Bloody Mary," the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights slammed the network for its irreverent portrayal of church icons and sought to block the episode from being rebroadcast.
It appears the group may have met with success. A repeat of the finale was scheduled to air Wednesday night, but was seemingly pulled from the Comedy Central lineup without explanation.
In the episode, a statue of the Virgin Mary is believed to be bleeding from its rear end, inspiring faithful parishioners to flock from miles around to be healed by the miraculous blood.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Just imagining how the writers of this show thought up the idea for this episode is funny in it self. What will they think of next? And, more intriguingly, why? To make money and have fun pushing society's buttons seems to be the easy answer. Which reminds me of the work produced by people like Madonna and Andres Serrano, who also seemed to enjoy pushing the religion button for profit. In that sense, Matt Stone and Trey Parker are no different than a crufix clad Madonna prancing around stage in a pointy bra and kissing tramps to a pretty good beat; or from Serrano producing startling photographs of religious symbols dipped into vats filled with a mixture of his own blood and urine. But then, they likely never claimed to be any different. So for me as a member of the audience, a cartoon about a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding from it's rear end is both offensive and funny, as (some of) Madonna's music is alarming and entertaining, and (some of) Serrano's imagery is repulsive and exceptional. I know I can turn away any time I like, but I just can't seem to help from tapping my toe, taking another look, or giggling my ass off. Here's hoping God appreciates a good sense of humor.
I don't think the Captain of the "no fun" brigade would much like it.
The irony of this statement is staggering, considering that the episode in question was 80% about personal responsibility, and 20% about religious fanaticism. Not that you've seen it, of course. As a wise man once said, 'Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts'. Fact of the matter is, there is no entertainment show on television that promotes conservative values with more edge or passion than South Park. Period. Full stop. The superficial aspect is crude and shocking, because they're trying to be funny (and that tends to offend conservatives), but the point of each episode is usually a spear through the heart of liberalism.
exactly.
Go Bill!!
Catholic Ping - Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
"Also, the people getting their panties in a knot miss the whole point of the episode. It's not making fun of Catholics, it's making fun of people who worship "miraculous" idols. There have been plenty of stories recently about people worshipping images of Mary, in grilled cheese, or weeping statues, and people flock to them."
Sorry, wrong answer. It WAS mocking the Mother of God, it was mocking the most revered Saint in the Communnion of Saints. It WAS ugly and nasty and if you found humor in it, you either clearly have no understanding of the Catholic culture, or you clearly have a perverted and bigotry riven sense of humor.
They even took on scientology, and I LMAO!
Well said, Torquemada. Here's why I disagree. Making fun of people who seek bleeding statues to worship is fine. Those people are not 'the average Christian'. They are fanatics. In small numbers, fanatics are amusing. In large numbers, they are dangerous.
Statements like yours, for instance, are interesting to ponder, but if it was the official position of my government, it would probably mean that I live in Iran. It's a nice sentiment, but I'll take my chances without the firm hand of government looking out for my spiritual well being. Fanatics may growl at the occasional 'Emepror's got no clothes' moment that South Park brings (like the scientology episode), but let em. If their faith is so weak that they can't tolerate teasing, and they want to impose limits on what we can say, then they probably need to be teased some more.
Sorry, wrong answer. It was mocking people who worship inanimate objects. People who pay $12,000 to buy a grilled cheese sandwich relic on eBay in order to feel closer to God should be taunted.
As far as South Park goes, if they redo the episode, and substitute a golden statue of a calf for the plaster statue of Virgin Mary, you probably won't be offended, nor will you notice the irony.
Im not fan of censorship and I do enjoy Southpark but I wish hyperbole was left out of these conversations. Censorship did not occur. No govt action was taken in regards to this Southpark episode. It was purely a Comedy Central decision after receiving complaints.
But if you really must know, the episode was pretty weak overall and the focus of the show was actually on the Alchoholics Anonymous.
You sure are living up to your username. Where am I? GoosestepUnderground.com? Geesh.
If you don't like it, don't watch it. Its for mature audiences - before the show there is a disclaimer that says it is offensive.
So, if they were to urinate on the American flag you would be okay with that since it is an inanimate object?
Simpsons basically did when Bart messed up the flag in front of veterans. I didnt hear any outrage then.
>>Sorry, wrong answer. It WAS mocking the Mother of God, it was mocking the most revered Saint in the Communnion of Saints. It WAS ugly and nasty and if you found humor in it, you either clearly have no understanding of the Catholic culture, or you clearly have a perverted and bigotry riven sense of humor.<<
Actually, I would have much less of a problem with this episode if it had not been aired on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Timing means everything.
Society has gotten cold and crass. I am not surprised by any attack on Catholics. I may not like it, but I'm not surprised. I can tell you this, sure as I sit here, no matter how many we win, there will be more coming.
And I also will say this, as people continue to display their statues as bending their heads or grilled cheese and Cinnabons as objects of veneration, some of it is warranted.
Well, now I have to clean the coffee out of my keyboard! Thanks! LOL
I must ask: do you have Tourette's Syndrome of the hands, or some disease that causes you to just randomly type nonsense on South Park threads? You must because no healthy, logical, rational person repeatedly posts comments that are false or outright lies over and over again. Not on Free Republic. DU maybe...
Seriously, I've read ALL your South Park comments (and the comments of a few other "like-minded" posters from this SP thread and the other one from a few days ago) and I'm convinced that you're either just baiting folks for spite and fun, or you really are clueless. If it's the former, fine. You deserve any flaming you get from pro-SP folks. But give it a rest for a while. Go back to eating Cheetos in your underpants while posting articles that are relevant to you and your buddies. You know, phony pious stuff that fluffs your ego. If you're the latter, I feel it's my duty to tell you the following: Sweetie, knock it off. You're making a scene and people are laughing at you. You've done enough to make yourself look like a fool. Let someone else have a turn for a while.
Your original comments added some interest to these threads and started some interesting conversations about the show. But now? Now you're just posting lies and gibberish. Really, knock it off, or use some sense when you post on South Park threads, please.
I was in China several years ago, and I had a shirt with an little American flag on it. Some people try and pretend to be Canadians or some such, but I figure, why try and hide it? I'm American, and if they don't like it then they don't like it.
Anyway, a student asked me about the shirt one day. The Chinese aren't allowed to use their flag for anything other than as a flag, or they face prison. He said that in China the state would see that as disrespect of the government, and would be sure to punish you.
Then it dawned on me that I love our flag precisely because I don't have to. I believe in America, and have elected to love it. Turning the flag into a sacred symbol of the Almighty State is basically turning it into a portrait of Kim Jong Il or Chairman Mao. I think that anyone that would deface an American flag is a lowly cretin, but anyone who told me I couldn't probably had a lot of other ideas about things 'for my own good' that he'll want me to do.
To that end, I feel the same about statues of the Virgin Mary.
That still doesn't make it right.
What if it was the "actual" Declaration of Independence or Constitution? I'm not talking about the legality of destroying a valuable document, but the emotions that we would feel if such a thing happened.
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