Offensive, drawn, and somewhat political -- that's 'South Park'

By Ben Gertz

May 1, 2006 | The show's characters range from a marijuana smoking towel to a giant stone John Wilkes Booth, which has caught the attention of a variety of viewers.

Since its beginning, Comedy Central's South Park has been under constant scrutiny as its creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, attack virtually every topic.

"They just go too far, I can see where the show is funny, but they are just too offensive," said Matt Liechty, a junior majoring in economics.

The show's offensive nature and political commentary has recently won a Peabody Award for its spoof of the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. The controversy surrounding the show many times hides its message.

"This show really is amazing; the guys who made this show are really good at showing both sides of a debate and then settling somewhere in the middle," said Kile Fischer, a network specialist at Cache County School District.

Fisher said he has slowly become a fan of South Park over the years. He found a similarity between his conservative background and the message of the show. Fisher isn't the only one.

In 2001, Andrew Sullivan coined the term "South Park Republican" on his Internet blog. This term grew in popularity as more and more people found they also agreed with the messages of the show.

Almost every South Park episode, recently, has been receiving media attention.

"I am amazed when I see gossip about South Park headlining CNN's Web site," said Jesse Mace a freshman majoring in electrical engineering.

Recent controversies over Tom Cruise, Scientology and even Muhammad have been covered by all major news agencies.

These episodes have led to banned episodes, censorship from Comedy Central and even a cast member quitting the show.

Isaac Hayes, composer for the 1971 film Shaft, quit after an episode that attacked Scientology. Hayes was the voice for one of South Park's best known characters, Chef.

"It was a shock to see Isaac Hayes leave," said Fisher "Next to Butters, Chef was my favorite character."

Hayes' quitting has sent shockwaves through fan sites. The topic has been highly debated and has left a lot of people confused. The members of Web sites such as Mrtwig.net, which has 3,000 registered members, have lengthy discussions about the whole situation.

South Park has created a large community of people from all different backgrounds. No other sitcom show has had an impact such as South Park has.

"I can't wait to see what they are going to do next," said Fisher.