Last month, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in a Moscow park to protest the Russian government’s attempt to crush the television show South Park. For now, writes Contributing Editor Cathy Young, it seems to have ended in a victory for the protesters—at a time when victories for freedom in Russia are a rare treat.
New at Reason: Cathy Young on Russia's War on South Park
Comments to "New at Reason: Cathy Young on Russia's War on South Park":
jasno | October 10, 2008, 3:04pm | #
Jesus, did you see this week's episode? If I were Russia I would have done the same thing.James Butler | October 10, 2008, 3:05pm | #
О мой бог! Они убили Kenny!JMR | October 10, 2008, 3:10pm | #
I have yet to see this week's episode, but if descriptions are correct SP will probably go the pay-per-view way of Howard Stern, both here and in Russia. Sad. But it's not like the people who want tasteful comedy would be watching South Park at this point in history for *any* reason besides "to bitch to a government censorship agency," so maybe they'll survive on the "free" airwaves.And as an American, I think The Simpsons represents me better than the US Embassy, so I'm very happy that it's popular in Russia.
economist | October 10, 2008, 3:21pm | #
At least someone mentioned it.BTW the Simpsons ceased to be funny years ago. And while I didn't love this week's episode (too much dick-shooting) the season overall has been okay. I would prefer, of course, for something like the 4-7 seasons (in my opinion, the best run in any comedy series ever).
SP isn't going pay-per-view. It's the only thing that makes Comedy Central worth watching.
Trotsky | October 10, 2008, 3:31pm | #
@James Butler LOLDanny | October 10, 2008, 3:33pm | #
Stand-up isn't worth watching, economist? None of it? Sure they put on a lot of popular comics that aren't necessarily the best, but they certainly give plenty of up-and-comings a chance and have quite a variety. Their podcast has also been pretty awesome and has introduced me to some awesome comics.And I agree with the sentiment that there is a lot of value to South Park, and most fundies (aka my family) could never appreciate it's message and purpose. Such art is absolutely brilliant, and it appeals to younger, more vulgar audiences who just watch it for the cussing. Impressive, if you ask me.
Danny | October 10, 2008, 3:33pm | #
James Butler,I should have seen it coming, but I had to put that into a translator. Nice work.
economist | October 10, 2008, 3:40pm | #
Danny,Maybe I should rephrase. It's the only regular program on CC that's worth watching. That said, the stand-up comics can sometimes be funny, but I also think a lot of their humor is flat.
economist | October 10, 2008, 3:41pm | #
This is just a sidenote: Has anyone noticed that the "Russian Beauty" model doesn't look very Slavic?Dickface | October 10, 2008, 3:54pm | #
In Soviet Russia, Kenny kills you!!111!Question here - as far as I can tell, 2x2 is a broadcast channel. South Park could never be shown on broadcast in the US. So Russia's airwaves are *more* free than ours?
Sovietologist | October 10, 2008, 4:26pm | #
Having watched South Park on Russian TV while I was on Moscow this summer, I have to say I think this is waaaaaaaay overblown. 2x2 shows South Park on regular broadcast TV, which the American FCC would never, ever allow. In their drive to greater broadcast "morality," Russian authorities are merely following in the footsteps of generations of moralist blowhards who have fought to make our airwaves "safe for impressionable young minds." As in many aspects of policy, Putin's Russia is merely following America's bad example on this one.Justen | October 10, 2008, 4:26pm | #
Channel 6 in Phoenix, Arizona runs South Park. They may omit some of the most offending episodes, I'm not sure about that.Anyway, it's good to hear that Russians are still willing to stick up for their rights, even after all they've been through in the rocky road to Russian capitalist democracy. I hope that willingness extends beyond the right to watch vulgar television shows. The 'lessons' contained in South Park are increasingly deeply veiled in vulgarity, to the point it's sometimes hard to discern what the message is beyond "censorship sucks".
It's also sad to see that Russians are just as ignorant about the concept of cartoons for grownups, and the idea that they can simply change the channel if they don't want their children watching a show they don't approve of. Televisions and cable boxes come with pretty sophisticated parental controls these days; parents need to get off their lazy asses and take five minutes to block the channels they don't like instead of whining to the government to take them off the air. It's ridiculous, in this country or any other.
Nick | October 10, 2008, 5:53pm | #
Oh, Russia is SO going to get it in an upcoming episode."Holy #&*%! Russia killed Kenny!"
south park is indeed broadcast over the air in the US, albeit a tad cleaned up and late at night
Abdul Alhazred | October 10, 2008, 6:06pm | #
I see SP on broadcast all the time, it is edited, but it is there.kwais | October 10, 2008, 8:52pm | #
Ha,I am in the middle east. I watched a romantic comedy on Air Jordan on the way over here, and they cut out all of the kissing. It made the movie somewhat more watchable to me, and more interesting, because I had to figure out what was going on.
Also funny is watching the subtitles, the allow the characters to say bad words, but don't subtitle them correctly into Arabic.
Richard Brannigan | October 11, 2008, 7:59pm | #
Don't know about you tards, but "Merry Fucking Christmas" is a classic in my household.Marian Kechlibar | October 13, 2008, 3:54am | #
2 economist:There is quite a lot of Russian girls living in Prague, and quite a lot of them are blond. Sometimes, with help of peroxide.
Polish people are also generally quite fair-haired.
I do not think that there is a common "Slavic" phenotype; for example, quite a lot of Bulgarians have Turkish blood and looks.
Joe in Peoria | October 13, 2008, 1:16pm | #
Somehow, I think the libertarian leaning of the wickedly pointed satire of SP is probably lost on the Slavic Orwellian sensibility. One almost has to be immersed in the American cultural inanity to really "get" SouthPark beyond the scat and sex jokes. Its over the top bleeding social satire kids! Now don't watch it or I might have to explain it. HA!Dr. Kenneth Noisewater | October 15, 2008, 9:59am | #
There is quite a lot of Russian girls living in Prague, and quite a lot of them are blond. Sometimes, with help of peroxide.Don't forget who went a-raidin' down the Dnieper way back when...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rus_(people)