(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
by Ed Vitagliano and Bill Fancher
(AgapePress) – As far as profanity and vulgar language is concerned, there are few taboos left. In June, however, Comedy Central’s South Park — already infamous for its horrendous language and revolting subject matter — took great pains to smash one of the remaining taboos.
On its June 20 episode, South Park’s animated characters used the s-word a staggering 162 times, according to an article in the New York Daily News — more than seven times a minute.
Comedy Central defended the foul-fest on creative grounds. “Comedy Central has always been about asking questions,” said executive vice president Bill Hilary. “It’s been about challenging people’s perceptions.”
Hilary also seemed puzzled that people were upset by the South Park episode. “What is it about [the s-word] that makes people think it is offensive?”
Brent Bozell, president of the Parents Television Council, shot back: “If the word weren’t offensive, would South Park have devoted an entire episode to flaunting it?”
The s-word was used once on CBS’ hospital drama Chicago Hope last season and, according to the Daily News, was also used — some say unintentionally — in a 1996 installment of NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
At least one academician seemed nonplussed. Prof. Robert Thompson, head of the Center for Popular Television for Syracuse University, said, “This takes up the Chicago Hope challenge and multiplies it by 162 times. In many ways, this was a profound linguistic experiment,” adding that the episode “makes an interesting statement.”
Objectionable TV
Bozell's organization recently released a report on the programming content found in the so-called “family hour” on network television. Former Vice-Presidential candidate Joseph Lieberman was saddened by the report, which saw a doubling of objectionable material in the “family hour” over the past three years. He says the study displays a real anti-family problem on network TV.
“[There are] too many messages that reject rather than reflect the basic values that most parents are trying to instill — messages that are clearly inappropriate for children and that may well be harmful to their development and to our moral health as a nation,” Lieberman said.
Lieberman praised CBS for having the least offensive programming in the “family hour,” but that may change this fall when the network airs The Ellen Show during that time period. The new CBS sitcom will feature lesbian actress and homosexual rights activist Ellen DeGeneres as a successful lesbian entrepreneur returning to her Midwestern hometown.
