'South Park' vs. Lucas and Spielberg: Too far?

Never mind "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," the most welcome Comedy Central program this election season just might be "South Park."

The series has been on a roll for the past four/five seasons, and whether turning an alien invasion into an examination of immigration, or leprechauns into targets of terrorism, "South Park" has been presenting relatively reasoned examinations of cultural issues.

Until, perhaps, last night. "South Park" has missed out on skewering this summer's pop-culture events, and last night, the episode was on the attack. As dark and twisted as "The Dark Knight" was, "South Park" was just as aggressively over the top.

Returning with new episodes as part of its 12th season, "South Park" didn't level its aim at presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain (fingers are crossed for such an episode to be forthcoming). Instead, the series had Hollywood heavyweights George Lucas and Steven Spielberg directly in sights.

Oh, there was also a paranoid Cartman convinced that China's Olympic opening ceremony telegraphed an attack on the United States, but Cartman's mockery of Chinese stereotypes was almost an afterthought after Matt Stone and Trey Parker completely dismantled the worldwide hit "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

"We all saw it happen," says the handicapped Jimmy, discussing "The Crystal Skull" as if it's a personal tragedy. "Do you remember that scene with Indiana in the refrigerator? It didn't make any sense, Stan."

From there, an excited Stan sits down to watch the latest film in a dream sequence/nightmare, but soon has to warn Indiana Jones that Spielberg and Lucas are nearby. And then in a series of film parodies, Indy's pants come off.

The boys of "South Park" spend much of the episode struggling to come to grips with the raping of Indiana Jones. In its rave review of the episode, IGN wrote that "South Park" went "beyond offensive and into some sort of hyper-offensive stratosphere," all of it hilarious.

Indeed, each scene builds upon the other, with Spielberg and Lucas eventually becoming two rednecks in the woods who demand Indy "squeal like a pig" as the pair humiliates and degrades a cinematic icon. A Stormtrooper gets it even worse, prompting the "South Park" police to lock up the directors to prevent such travesties from happening again.

Not that anyone didn't see this coming. Parker and Stone tried to warn Spielberg and Lucas from even making a fourth "Indiana Jones" flick. Back in 2002, the series took the two to task for re-editing their films for the worse, hoping to prevent a ruining of "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

But was continually -- and graphically -- having Spielberg and Lucas violently rape Indiana Jones too far? "He's gonna do it right there!" shouts a cartoon Spielberg in one scene, holding back Indy's hands over a pinball machine. Or was seeing a Stormtrooper completely defiled still easier to swallow than having to watch Shia LaBeouf swing like a monkey, or worse, inserting aliens into the film?

Show Tracker put a call in to Lucasfilm to try to get their thoughts (ha!), but in the meantime, do you side with "South Park," or those behind the "Crystal Skull" on this one? Coming a few days after The Times' Hero Complex wrote that "Indy 5" is still a possibility, it might be time to make your voice known. 

-- Todd Martens

Photos: http://www.southparkstudios.com/

Comments

[Andre LeJeune]

Spielberg and Lucas are horrible. Spielberg and Lucas are naked emperors walking down the street demanding homage. They have not made good movies in several decades. People like them need to be made fun of. It is too bad the LA Times is too busy kissing Spielberg and Lucas's asses to see the situation for what it is.

"Yes, look at the bad thing Trey and Matt did. They made fun of the lords of the movie industry." Screw that, Spielberg and Lucas do not deserve respect. They are systematically strip mining their past creative period to pad their pockets today.

It must be sad to look back at a career that has seen the creation of seminal works of film and know that all they are producing now is garbage. They are destroying reputations that took years to build.

So, if little old South Park points a finger and laughs at the pasty, flabby, exposed flesh of Spielberg and Lucas's film careers should we be angry with Trey and Matt?

I think not. Way to go South Park, "SCREW THOSE GUYS!" They don't mind doing it to us, people who love film.

[Yohanan]

The 1970's film, SILENT RUNNING was the film Lucas and Spielberg ripped off for their star-wars, right down to R2-D2. These two bearded slobs are nothing more than over-rated plagiarizing liberal hack jobs, with computer knobs, ripping off ideas from the real talent and never giving them an appreciative nod.

[ely mansford]

you do have to be a genius to figure this out...ok....SOUTH PARK IS NOT FOR KIDS! you people still don't get it. This show is not aired at 8am saturday mornings. It is on at 10pm on a cable channel.

All the people who don't understand south park and its dark humor...i feel sorry for you. You people just read drudge report and leech on to an article you know nothing about. Then you think you know it all? WTF? why don't you actually watch the show before you comment.

[Bill]

Too Far Indeed. South Park is a great show, but this is not funny. They should have left the graphic part out...VIEWERS to condone rape scenes is to condone rape itself. How sick is that! I am no longer a South Park fan and I will work from now on to push South Park out of the cable viewership (out of the view of 10 year olds who watch this show and do not understand this type of humor and will see it as normal) and only in the hands of 18 or older. The ones over 18 who enjoy this, well that is your conscious and character.

[Charlie]

The Indiana Jones scenes were spot on. Lucas and Spielberg both first saved then ruined modern film. The fact that all special effects are now horrible, unrealistic computer animations, and that most scripts are empty adrenaline rushes, means that film is almost dead.

What Trey and Matt got wrong was the whole Chinese issue. People aren't scared of the Chinese as a race, they are scared of the country of China. China does not believe in human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and a host of other modern ideals. They are becoming increasingly more powerful. They control the goods of the world, and the debt of the U.S. Soon they'll also control our information.

We have every right to fear the Chinese, and the contents of their products.

[DK]

How do so many mental patients get access to a computer?

[Ryan R]

For starters, there is no such thing as South Park "going too far". They both deserved it. Lucas needs to start coming up with some original ideas for movies or retire. He knows he can through together a crap sequal and make his money back with a big opening weekend. Fans of the earlier "Indiana Jones" or "Star Wars" movies will always take the bait if Lucas puts out a sequal. When they realize that they've been dooped with a bad product, they have no recourse. South Park is the only show brave enough to express what a lot of people feel to the Hollywood elites. So what if people like George Lucas or Steven Spielberg or Tom Cruise get their feelings hurt by South Park episodes? I think the show is still great and cutting edge even in it's 12th season.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

The new film of Indy is rubbish.

I prefer to remember the last scene od the Last Crusade: the four friends riding into the sunset. Lucas and Spielberg deserved Southpark critic.

[jgrffn]

I can't help but notice many of the people who were offended by this also happen to think that the fans of southpark are dumb and crude people who "can't read or write well".And this just struck me as one of the most ignorant things i have heard in a long time.Please take into consideration that south park is one of the most watched programs in the united states. And the demagraphic that makes up it's audience is broad and consists of many college students some of whom attend the top schools in the nation.And also take into consideration that statistics show those students are much more intellegent then the previous generations.So Southpark goes agaisnt your own morals and standards. So what? Many of your morals are rooted from your old school religious backrounds that most of my generation does not truely agree with.And to say that the audience of this show are stupid is ignorant and completely offensive. If it was the 1950's you would be going on about how offensive Elvis's hip shaking is! Now of course south park is far from elvis. But take into consideration that we are also far from the 1950's. Pop culture has always become expidentially more graphic as time goes on. And as generations become older they can't handle the change because it contradicts they're morale codes which are also outdated. So if you are over the age of 30 and offended by south park, change the channel to something that made for you! And definitely don't try to undermind the intelligence of my generation because overall we are far superior.

[kike]

Best-Episode-Ever

[Kat]

I love that some of the people on here don't seem to get that the South Park guys are NOT liberal. At all. They are conservatives with possibly libertarian leanings. If they make fun of anyone, it'll be Obama and his "messiah" complex. I mean really. Anyone remember Team America? What about Al Gore and Manbearpig? Or Rob Reiner and his war on cigarettes?

Anyway, I don't think this episode crossed the line. When I first watched, I'll admit that I was disgusted and uncomfortable. However, the more I thought about it, the funnier it became. They so accurately captured the feelings I had while watching Indiana Jones and the Nuking of the Fridge. Now, whenever I think about it, I can't stop laughing. $pielberg and Luca$ deserve this. Everyone's been kissing their butts for the past thirty years, and their egos need to be taken down a notch so that they'll stop ruining the franchises we all love so much.

[Donkey Punch]

I was 12 years old when Star Wars first came out. I was in grade 12 in high school when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out in 1983. I loved 'em both and thought Lucas and Spielberg were Gods. I chose a career in film and television production because of them.

Now after the new Star Wars films and this Indiana Jones I think Lucas is the biggest hack. They both ruined my childhood loves.

Now all I need is a remake of Robocop (1) and Blade Runner and I will want to shoot myself in the gums (yes, both are slated to be destroyed in a remake.

[Vin]

South Park tends to equally offend all groups. That's been their mantra for 12 years. I get that. I get that the South Park writers were trying to make a point, but raping is not a point. Rape is about power, not sex. Rape is about taking away a part of a person's humanity. So I do find it offensive, not that they did the show, but that 80% of respondents don't see anything wrong with a portrayal of multiple rapes on a very impressionable TV show. I wonder if the view points would have been different if a woman was raped? Sadly, though I wish it, I highly doubt it would make a bit of a difference. And now, impressionable young people are carrying out this fantasy in their minds and some of them probably have carried out and committed a real rape because they feel justified. Justified to rape someone because they warned that someone and that someone didn't head the warning.

You can respond like crazy, I don't care your opinion. But you can't tell me that rape is right. That's the only question - is rape EVER justifiable? If you can't answer that truthfully with a yes, then you should have a problem with the writers of South Park.

[GM]

I am also a faithful South Park fan but I too thought that was a little over the top. I watched the whole thing and felt a little dirty doing so but I had the ability to turn it anytime which is what someone should do if they don't like what they are seeing. Life is too short and it's sad we have to live amongst assholes that make it their life's work to impose their beliefs on others. Anywho, Matt and Trey, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do an episode on Sarah Palin. It will be the most watched show you have ever done!!! Look what she did for the VP debate.

[Ben Atherton-Zeman]

"South Park" is really funny. Rape is never funny to me, anyway, since I know many rape victims.

[Hevach]

I think the article misses the point: The episode was about the critics and fans. The episode wasn't being negative about the movie at all, but the reaction to the movie. From Zero Punctuation to Rotten Tomatoes to thousands of fan review ranging from the reasonable to the incoherent, the same words come up again and again: "Lucas and Speilberg raped Indiana Jones," and, by extension, fans of Indiana Jones and their childhoods in general, often with graphic added description. Then with Clone Wars, again, same thing: Lucas raped Star Wars, the same words, the same imagery, again and again. For that matter, every time one of the prequel movies came out, the rape imagery followed.

And it's not limited to Lucas. Rape imagery was rolled out for Spiderman 3, X-Men 2 and 3, every Superman movie, the He-man movie, every Batman movie before Batman Begins, Transformers, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV show, etc, etc, etc, and I have no doubt that when GI-Joe and The Watchmen come out, both will be accused of brutal and pornographic crimes against their parent works.

[anon]

I don't think people are upset about the fact that SP went after Speilberg and Lucas at all...they're upset that the analogy of rape was used. A rape is an incredibly power-driven, violent crime that affects a person for the rest of his or her life.

For those of you comparing yourselves, saying that you feel raped by Indy 4--think about what your saying. Did knowing that you paid to see a crappy movie make you feel as though power had been taken away from you? Violated? Lack trust in others? Look over your shoulder when walking by yourself? have nightmares and flashbacks?

That's what people mean when they say "over the top."

Just playing devil's advocate. :-)

[brittany]

i have always been a fan of southpark and stood by their controversial ingenious. The fact that they can make a show that is so off the wall hilarious and still has a valid point is truly something to be admired. Ok now. My thing is, that episode just ... wasn't funny. Who laughs at rape? And no, seriously, I'm not just being all feministy like "that's not funny cause it's RAPE." Rape is never funny just because... well, it's not. it's just not a funny situation. That's kinda like trying to make a parody of soldiers dying in Iraq. (Did anyone just get a little sick thinking about it? Looks like you still have some soul left.) same thing. not funny. And I know as SOON as I post this, some sick guy is gonna be all "I laughed the WHOLE time, what episode were you watching. " I guess all I have to say is this, If you watched this whole episode and didn't cringe or have conflicting feelings about whether you should change the channel : if your most basic childhood conscience didn't speak up and tell you that what you were watching was wrong and wasn't funny, then I just don't know about the world today. I feel for anyone who actually had a belly-laugh from a rape scene of ANY kind, even if it was from our beloved South Park. Dare I say, shame on them. Yes. Yes, I do believe I will say it. For SHAME, South Park. I had more faith in you to handle a situation much more intelligently and, atLEAST in a FUNNY way. Thanks for reading. :)

[Rob]

Hi,

Strangely today was the first time I saw this episode... over a week since it was originally aired. Damn Canadian time slots.... Anyway, I actually loved this episode for the stinging commentary on the latest Indiana Jones film. I didn't hate it but was disappointed. It did not spoil or "rape" my nostalgic moments of the first three films. A more proper sexual metaphor concerning my experience was one of bad sex rather than abuse ; ). I enjoyed this episode despite the graphic nature and I am a FAN of both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas (hell I even liked the Star Wars prequels). Yet I still enjoyed it nonetheless for it's comedic timing and awesome script.

My only complaint with the episode was that it did not tie the two plots together. These plot ideas would have probably been better used had they been their own episodes.

[marie-Eve Ouellet]

They went to far.....it's like if they want to be pull out of the screen. Like if they want to pass to something else. But, with a contract, they can't. The only way for them is to do something so bad that they will be out of the screen.

They don't want to do bad show, so if the inspiration is gonne, I'm sure they don't want to do any show

They want to go in dignity

let them go