Issue Proposal

No parent ever likes to hear their child use profanity, and no parent appreciates their child’s viewership of expletive-filled entertainment. I have no sort of research or survey to back this claim up with facts, but I do believe it is reasonable to make the logical leap that if you ask one hundred parents with children between the ages of eight and ten if they appreciate the existence of profanity in their child’s life, all one hundred parents will answer with an emphatic “no!” The ethical issue being presented with this commonsensical parenting stance is what the child should and should not be exposed to through the entertainment industry. The boundaries of this issue are pushed on a daily basis, with the heart of the progression coming from the genre of satirical comedy. Perhaps the most controversial use of modern satire is that used by the comedy duo of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who have had full creative control over all twenty two seasons of the animated series South Park. In 1999, roughly two years after the show’s original debut, Parker and Stone released a feature-length movie titled South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. The two used the movie as a platform to discuss the ongoing issues of censorship, more specifically the corruption of the current generation of children and the idea that it is directly correlated to lack of proper censoring of profanity in the entertainment industry. Parker and Stone have always seen mixed opinions from the general public ranging from being heralded as comedic geniuses to being given the title of insensitive bigots, but the fact of the matter is that the formula that they use to create each episode of the show is meant to create this discussion of widely varying opinions. Applying this practice to an 80 minute movie to be shown in theaters is bound to outrage a hefty amount of overbearing parents, even with the movie being given an R-rating meant to at least attempt to control the age of the crowd that is able to see it.
The movie starts off with Parker and Stone’s standard foundation of portraying itself to be an innocent cartoon about kids in suburban Denver mountain town. The opening scene portrays main characters Stan Marsh, Eric Cartman, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick leading the whole town in a choreographed musical number called “Mountain Town,” as they make their way to the movie theater to see the newest movie of the fictional cartoon comedy duo of Terrance and Phillip called “Asses of Fire.” The cheerfully innocent nature of the movie comes to a screeching halt when the boys attempt to purchase tickets to the movie, but are denied because they are not old enough to buy admission to an R-rated film. The scene continues with Parker and Stone highlighting the first issue of censorship when the boys immediately set out to find a homeless man to purchase their tickets for them in exchange for ten dollars. This plan of action succeeds and the boys are admitted to the film after some light questioning from the cashier of the ticket booth, shining light on one of the main flaws of the rating system currently in place. Parker and Stone masterfully use their movie to satirize the problem that the movie itself faced upon release. The in-your face nature of the comedic development in this film proves that much like many aspects of life in America, regardless of how old someone may be, anyone with half a brain and ten extra dollars can get their hands on anything they want regardless of the legal restrictions that may be in place.