'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

[Mike]

I don't understand why this article talks about South Park as going too far. To put it in perspective, the "Res-erection" episode mocking Jesus Christ is far more controversial than this.

While this episode may be funny to a regular viewer, it's nowhere near approaching "shocking" in that sense.

[cj]

Right on Southpark! These two weenies can dish the dirt, now let's see if they can take some themselves.

Obviously the MSM is running to the defense of the "heros." But "We The People" ain't buying any of the MSM tripe this time.

[Barry]

I don't see every South Park episode...but I saw this one and I was disgusted. This goes beyond fair criticism of an artistic product...it's character assassination...and I think that Spielberg and Lucas should sue. A horrible, shoddy and disgusting South Park episode and a totally unfair
representation of these great producers. Don't go to their movies...say they're movies are bad...okay fine...but to depict them in sexual actions not according to their nature...it's beyond fair criticism...it's deliberate slander even if they are public figures.

[Fathead]

I didn't think the episode or any of the new South Park series was funny, but I don't think there's any subject that's intrinsically "not funny". Obviously a real person getting raped in real life isn't funny, but jokes about rape and other offensive subjects often can be.

[allan420]

awesome

[J]

I thought it was hilarious. And it's Trey Parker and Matt Stone, not Matt Parker and Trey Stone.

[diestro]

"There was nothing wrong with the rape metaphor in itself as an idea"

rape metaphor? you must need a few more seminars, genius.

anyway it's gratifying to see something shocks LA's screenwriter wannabes. will this kind of spielberg sacrilege result in excommunication? please, lets keep it clean and get back to mocking Christ OK?

[Tom Snyder, Ph.D.]

Parker and Stone are cultural scum. SOUTH PARK should be banned. And, despite the aliens, CRYSTAL SKULL was a lot of fun. It was better than anything on SOUTH PARK.

[Chucknorris]

South Park is hilarious. If you don't like it then don't watch it. It's that easy.

[Jesse]

It's South Park. Of course it was over the top. That's how South Park works. They take a sentiment and the blow it as far out of proportion as they can.

[tony]

you kidding me? South Park is american as moms apple pie .... and beyond reproach .... some things got to be sacred man ... might as well be cartman and the crew

[JohnF]

Ok .. let's everyone repeat this. It's only a cartoon, it's only a cartoon.

At no point did I feel they were making light of sexual rape. I 'got' that it was a metaphor for raping the Indiana Jones storyline. Sorry that some were offended, but anyone who watches South Park and is surprised that they might be offended at some point is not paying attention. Race, religion, sex, politics, feces ... none of that has ever been off limits.

So ... what's the problem again???

[Are we reallly talking about this?]

This is a cartoon that has regularly offended and spat on religion. Blasphemed Jesus, and Islam and we're talking about them going too far with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas?

Now that, is hilarious.

[w]

Ignorance loses. The rape scenes were direct parodies of some of the most notorious rape scenes in American film, mimicked almost word for word. This is a critical point to the satire, and its lost on this author.

[Mountain Man and toothless man]

How dare southpark defile us like that

[Tom]

It's SOUTH PARK. It's social satire designed to offend and ignite us drones to think about current issues. The perpetuation of the Indiana Jones saga is a fair pop-culture topic.

In this instance, they're putting Lucas and Spielberg to task for RUINING the Indiana Jones saga with their latest version. I think they need to either put out a more sophisticated story (instead of dumbing it down for the masses) or completely put this movie franchise to rest.

At this point, Indiana Jones is all about making hundreds of millions of dollars by putting out utter trash that they know they can get the public to buy. The consumer deserves more (especially from two top filmmakers), and for me, this is the point South Park is trying to make.

[Jim]

It was hilarious.

[Adam]

Let me see if I can help you out Todd...

Danny... you have confused 2 different scenes.

1 - There was a flashback AFTER the scene in Kyle's bedroom where the conversation between Stan and Kyle made it seem like Kyle saw one of his actual friends raped. That was the scene that showed all of the boys together in the theater watching the film. That was a FLASHBACK. In this scene, they were watching the actual movie.

2 - In a separate scene - AFTER talking to Jimmy.. Kyle has a nightmare of a different version of the flashback. In this dream, an unsuspecting Kyle EXCITEDLY sits down alone in the theater to watch the movie - but instead of the movie, he actually sees Indy being raped.

The episode does not claim the movie actually showed Indy being raped... but the nightmares people were having were showing the literal "raping" of Indy, whereas the actual flashback of the boys watching the movie referred to the ridiculousness of the plot and scenes that figuratively "raped" Indy.

Hopefully this helps clear up the issue - The reviewer stated it correctly.

[oj]

They were asking for it

[LogopolisMike]

I can't answer the poll based on the multiple choices. Rape, like anything, can be funny (example: Sarah Silverman's joke about how being date raped by a doctor is a so bittersweet for a Jewish girl), but, other than fact that the rape scenes were from famous "serious" movies, it just wasn't funny. It was like a Saturday Night Live sketch that went on too long and the way it was used to wrap up the superior B-plot (China vs. Cartman and Butter shooting guys in the di@k) was just lame writing. Further, the whole "play the absurd serious issue straight" to mocking over-the-top maudlin movies AND TV shows was already done much better in the episode where Kenny really died and CArtman used stem cells from aborted fetuses to build his own Shakey's.