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South Park true understanding is only for people that achieved thinking out of the box.
this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
305 points (97.2% liked)
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They do get sued pretty often, but the law is on their side. The more absurd the circuimstances the easier it is to get away with as Parody, the only time you're in hot water is if the viewers in any sizable metric would be fooled into thinking the things portrayed in the show were true when in reality they weren't. In fact, when South Park revealed everything about Scientology's internal beliefs they were almost sued but Scientology backed down because what South Park said in the episode was actually verifiable truths that could be backed up with evidence in court.
That's it? You just need to say "you know this actor character we call Tom Cruise in our show, and does the same stuff as the real actor Tom cruise in real life, it's actually a fictional character unrelated to the real Tom Cruise in real life" and you Gucci?
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As others have pointed out, US first amendment laws generally protect shows like South Park because it's generally understood that the characters in the show that resemble real people are parodies, and the show runners aren't stating a fact that the real person said or did a thing in reality.
Funnily enough, the UK has much stricter laws about defaming people - the country has a strict class system, and it wouldn't do if poor people could embarrass rich people - there is a significant carve out for "vulgar abuse". If I was to go on TV and (for sake of example) called Boris Johnson three shit-stained jugs of fetted piss wearing a trench coat, that would be ok, because people understand that to be a euphemistic insult, not a literal statement of fact. If I went on TV and said that he was a drunk, that wouldn't be - unless I can prove that he is an alcoholic, he could sue me for libel. The outcome of this is that an equivalent show to South Park could be made in the UK, it would just have to be utterly filthy
the country has a strict class system
Yanks pretending their country doesn't have a class system on the internet has to be one of my favourite delusions.
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I'll sue you in England!
The UK has a lot of shows with celebrity parodies... As in the US it's entirely protected speech...
Spitting Image seems like the most immediately obvious one. It's older, of course, but I think the point stands
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keep in mind, we're talking about the show that toppled Scientology.
just, for the record.... part of how it's able to make fun of shit is because they're usually correct about the stuff they're mocking.
Saying 'Biden is a baby-sacrificing pedophile' is defamation. saying 'trump is a rapist and a fascist' is not.
further, both parody and satire are in fact protected speech. at least, for the moment.
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In the United States, parody is protected by the First Amendment as a form of expression.
It should be noted that that really only applies to citizens being protected from the government (and primarily was created to protect the printing presses and media from the government). There is no legal precedent to indicate that it would apply between citizens.
There comes an issue when a private citizen seeks to use the engines of state to punish those whose speech offends them.
It's one thing to withdraw society and business from someone who offends you, quite another to demand that the state crush them for you. Of course, most states will do that to a greater or lesser degree. No state extends an absolute freedom of speech.
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Yuuuup, and a lot of times the people that get parodied love it. It’s like fuck me! We made it to the point where South Park makes fun of us. Only person I know of that got pissed was Kanye but fuck that guy anyways
Nirvana famously said they knew they had made it when Weird Al did a parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit.
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And most of the ones who arent ok with it are aware of the "Streisand effect" and know that their best course of action is to either ignore it or pretend they are ok with it and wait for everyone to move on.
The Mormon church did this when the play Book of Mormon came out! Also amazing play if you have not seen it please do!!!! There is a reason it won a Tony!
Ah yes, the gay fish
And Kathleen "The Force Is Female" Kennedy.
And Prince Harry & Meghan
The best thing is he apparently actually didn't get the fish sticks joke which, if true, makes Parker and Stone the best satirists of all time on merits.
what was the joke meaning, i don't watch south park
Say it out loud.
"Do you like fish sticks?"
'Yeah
"Then you're a gay fish."
Kanye in the show didn't get it and thought people were calling him a gay fish. So if real Kanye didn't get the joke, and got mad because he thought South Park was calling him a gay fish... that's just incredible.
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They are already working on weakening it.
That's a very limited scope ruling.
In terms of parody as a whole, sure, but in cases that involve trademarks it's huge. They completely killed the test that was set by the prior precedent case.