Since the series first aired back in 1997, ‘South Park’ managed to stir up countless controversies while staying true to itself in the art of, well, not caring. Sure, the show may depend on its audience finding it entertaining, but it’s impressive how little the creators care about repercussions the show might face as cancel culture has evolved over the past few years. As creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone continue to write and star in episodes, it’s worth noting how the two met and came up with a show that continues to push comedic boundaries to this day.
Seeing as ‘South Park’ takes place in a small Colorado town, it’s not surprising that both Parker and Stone grew up in Colorado, where the two ended up meeting in a film class at the University of Colorado-Boulder. As they bonded over a shared passion for film and comedy, the pair worked on several projects together and ended up creating a production company. Their first big film project was ‘Cannibal! The Musical,’ a black comedy film that went on to became a small but instant success, indicating a promising future for their partnership.
The origins of ‘South Park’ took the form of a four-minute short film the pair created for class, with characters loosely reminiscent of the main four characters used in the show. A FOX Executive saw the short at a later date and asked the pair to create another, which generated widespread buzz and led to the creation of the show. This pilot would set the tone for profanity-laden, low-budget show that features a plethora of moments that you would not believe were allowed to air on a network.
Whether it’s making fun of celebrities or even an entire religious group, ‘South Park’ never seems to disappoint or back down when it comes to triggering someone. Though there’s a long and extensive list of the most controversial topics they’ve chosen to highlight, there are a few that stand out to the naked eye that don’t sit quite well with some groups of people.
The first stir of the pot comes from Season Seven: Episode 12 titled, ‘All About Mormons,’ which actually animates the story of Joseph Smith, the religious forefather of Mormonism. Parker and Stone seem to be masters at implying things without saying them, just as they do in this episode as they basically denounce the entire belief system that Mormons follow, but manage to highlight how nice and caring the Mormon people are.
The LDS Church was not too fond of this episode, calling it “gross” but evidently not deciding to issue a statement for an apology. Parker and Stone then took it a step further and took their play ‘Book of Mormon’ to Broadway, which the Church would surprisingly end up supporting, printing out ads with the headline,“You’ve seen the play. Now read the book.”
The second controversy ended so poorly that key cast member Isaac Hayes, who played Chef, ended up quitting the show because of the resulting dispute. Season Nine: Episode 12, titled ‘Trapped in The Closet,’ begins with main character Stan being recruited into scientology and declared the second coming of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of scientology. When notable real-world Scientologist Tom Cruise travels to meet his “new savior”, Stan insults him, causing Cruise to lock himself in Stan’s closet where the public attempts to get him to “come out of the closet”.
Not only did ‘South Park’ take aim at Cruise’s sexuality, but managed to insult the entire religion that he and thousands of members practice. It was reported that Cruise did not enjoy the episode and called for a deletion of the program. Also, don’t forget Isaac Hayes. He was also a scientologist and clearly did not enjoy the series’ belittling of the group, choosing immediately to quit the show after the episode would not get taken down.
The third dispute came in Season Nine: Episode 12, from an episode titled ‘Bloody Mary.’ Stan’s father Randy gets a D.U.I and is forced to attend AA meetings, where he ends up coming to the conclusion that alcoholism is an incurable disease, causing him to drink profusely. Because this is somehow related, a Virgin Mary statue begins bleeding out of its…behind area in a nearby town, resulting in Stan and Randy heading down there to cure Randy of his “disease”.
Not only was this episode unhinged from the start, but Parker and Stone chose to air it during the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Catholic observance focused on the Virgin Mary. Catholic groups across the nation demanded an apology, calling for the “permanent retiring” of what they described as a “vile” episode. Even with the heavy backlash, the episode would never be taken down and is still available to stream at the moment on Hulu and HBO Max.
Though these episodes made the cut despite controversy, one of the fan favorite episodes is so crazy that a friend of Parker’s called it “the craziest thing he’d ever seen on TV”. In the Season Five Episode ‘Scott Tenorman Must Die,’ Cartman loses money and keeps getting embarrassed by the eighth grader Scott, and plots his revenge as Cartman always does. But planning a Chili eating contest with Scott, preparing the death of his parents into a bowl of chili to watch Scott eat in front of everyone, seems a little bit harsh, even for Carman’s standards.
As ‘South Park’ continues to air to this day, the show continues to push the limits of comedy and is not concerned with “wokeness” in the slightest. The show continues to push the buttons of any celebrity they feel the need to attack, and there’s little to nothing you can do to stop them. And if you’re wondering if the show is watchable for children? NO. Just…no. Don’t do that.
