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[[Image:Southparkseason10opening.png|right|thumb|300px]]

[[Image:Southparkseason10opening.png|right|thumb|300px]]

'''''South Park''''' is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning animated cartoon series created by [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]], who are members of the [[Libertarian]] Party,<ref>http://www.libertarianism.com/pop_celebrity/trey-parker {{dead link}}</ref> that is shown on American cable network [[Comedy Central]]. It is controversial due to its use of vulgar and obscene language, biting humor, and questionable depictions of religion and other respected institutions. Shows have touched on [[Catholic]]ism, [[Islam]], [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Mormonism]], [[Judaism]], [[Scientology]], and made jokes about [[Jesus]], [[Moses]], [[Muhammad]] and other religious leaders.  

'''''South Park''''' is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning animated cartoon series created by [[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]], who are members of the [[Libertarian]] Party,<ref>http://www.libertarianism.com/pop_celebrity/trey-parker {{dead link}}</ref> that is shown on American cable network [[Comedy Central]]. It is controversial due to its use of vulgar and obscene language, biting humor, and questionable depictions of religion, politics and other respected institutions. The show has touched on [[Catholic]]ism, [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Mormonism]], [[Islam]], [[Judaism]], [[Scientology]], [[atheism]] and [[agnosticism]]. It has made jokes about [[Jesus]], [[Moses]], [[Muhammad]] and other religious leaders.  

The show has ran for 20 seasons, with many critics have believe that it is in decline, however not to the extent of other adult cartoons like ''[[Family Guy]]''.<ref>http://firstsignsoftrouble.blogspot.com/2011/04/south-park-decline-in-quality.html</ref><ref>http://www.tbseblog.com/2011/10/14/worst-thing-ever-the-decline-of-south-park/</ref>

The show has ran for 21 seasons, with many critics have believe that it is in decline, however not to the extent of other adult cartoons like ''[[Family Guy]]''.<ref>http://firstsignsoftrouble.blogspot.com/2011/04/south-park-decline-in-quality.html</ref><ref>http://www.tbseblog.com/2011/10/14/worst-thing-ever-the-decline-of-south-park/</ref>

==Premise==

==Premise==

Taking place in the fictional small town of South Park, Colorado, the show follows four friends: Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman.  Due to the low quality animation that South Park utilizes, the majority of episodes are made in less than a week, allowing for the creators to change their storylines at the last minute to reflect on current events that are not otherwise touched on as quickly in other animated comedy shows such as ''[[The Simpsons]]''. For example, an early episode entitled ''Quintuplets 2000'' was changed to reflect the controversy surrounding Elian Gonzalez at the time. In fact, many of the situations depicted are parodies of current events in politics and pop culture.   

Taking place in the fictional small town of South Park, [[Colorado]], the show follows four children who are friends: Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman.  Due to the low quality animation that South Park utilizes, the majority of episodes are made in less than a week, allowing for the creators to change their storylines at the last minute to reflect on current events that are not otherwise touched on as quickly in other animated comedy shows such as ''[[The Simpsons]]''. For example, an early episode entitled ''Quintuplets 2000'' was changed to reflect the controversy surrounding Elian Gonzalez at the time. Many of the situations depicted are parodies of current events in politics and pop culture.   

A running gag in the early seasons revolved Kenny dying in every episode, often in brutal ways, but his character would return the following episode, fully alive and with no one commenting on his previous death(s).  The tradition was abandoned when Kenny was "killed off" for good for several seasons, before returning, where he only died occasionally.

A running gag in the early seasons revolved Kenny dying in every episode, often in brutal ways, but his character would return the following episode, fully alive and with no one commenting on his previous death(s).  The tradition was abandoned when Kenny was "killed off" for good for several seasons, before returning, where he only died occasionally.

==Reception==

==Reception==

''South Park'' has been praised for its often blunt [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] viewpoints on many political, moral, and social issues of the day. For example, in "Chinpokomon" (a satire of the Pokémon craze), the boys learn that blindly following a trend can be dangerous, and that it's best to just be yourself. In "Super Best Friends," we discover that [[Jesus]], [[Muhammad]], [[Buddha]], [[Moses]], [[Joseph Smith]], and [[Krishna]] are all friends, even though countries have gone to war over them.

''South Park'' has been praised for its often blunt [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] viewpoints on many political, moral, and social issues of the day. For example, in "Chinpokomon" (a satire of the [[Pokémon]] craze), the boys learn that blindly following a trend can be dangerous, and that it's best to just be yourself. In "Super Best Friends," we discover that [[Jesus]], [[Muhammad]], [[Buddha]], [[Moses]], [[Joseph Smith]], and [[Krishna]] are all friends, even though countries have gone to war over them.

==Politics==

==Politics==

In 2010, the episodes ''200'' and ''201'', the 200th and 201st episodes respectively, caused controversy for depicting Muhammad.  The celebrities that South Park has mocked over the years band together, and they decide that they need Muhammad, as they believe he is "unmockable," given the reactions to a Danish newspaper's printing of critical cartoons of Muhammad.  Following the airing of the episode 200, threats were made against the creators of South Park.  In ''201'', several minutes of dialogue at the end of the episode were bleeped out.  The episodes are not available for streaming on the internet or on Netflix on Demand.  Despite the flurry of controversy surrounding the depiction of Muhammad, the prophet was depicted in the episode ''Super Best Friends'' with no controversy.

In 2010, the episodes ''200'' and ''201'', the 200th and 201st episodes respectively, caused controversy for depicting Muhammad.  The celebrities that South Park has mocked over the years band together, and they decide that they need Muhammad, as they believe he is "unmockable," given the reactions to a Danish newspaper's printing of critical cartoons of Muhammad.  Following the airing of the episode 200, threats were made against the creators of South Park.  In ''201'', several minutes of dialogue at the end of the episode were bleeped out.  The episodes are not available for streaming on the internet or on Netflix on Demand.  Despite the flurry of controversy surrounding the depiction of Muhammad, the prophet was depicted in the episode ''Super Best Friends'' with no controversy.

The vast majority of episodes focus on four native South Park boys in the third and later fourth grade, often referred to as just "the boys".  The creators of South Park have stated that their personalities are usually reflected through Kyle & Stan.   

The vast majority of episodes focus on four native South Park boys in the third and later fourth grade, often referred to as just "the boys".  The creators of South Park have stated that their personalities are usually reflected through Kyle & Stan.   

===Stan Marsh===

===Stan Marsh===

Stan is voiced by co-creator Trey Parker and is more or less a filter for his personality and experiences. Though possessing a foul mouth and other shortcomings that typify his age, Stan is basically a good kid, with above-average intelligence and a strong sense of morality. He is the best friend of Kyle Broflovski, a good friend of Kenny McCormick, and about the closest thing to a friend that Eric Cartman can ever expect to have. He comes from a typical middle-class household. His father Randy is a geologist and his mother Sharon is a stay-at-home mom. Typical of the adult characters on South Park, both parents are frequently irrational, but they are also shown to genuinely love their son.

Stan is voiced by co-creator Trey Parker and is more or less a filter for his personality and experiences. Though possessing a foul mouth and other shortcomings that typify his age, Stan is basically a good kid, with above-average [[intelligence]] and a strong sense of morality. He is the best friend of Kyle Broflovski, a good friend of Kenny McCormick, and about the closest thing to a friend that Eric Cartman can ever expect to have. He comes from a typical middle-class household. His father Randy is a geologist and his mother Sharon is a stay-at-home mom. Typical of the adult characters on South Park, both parents are frequently irrational, but they are also shown to genuinely love their son.

===Kyle Broflovski===

===Kyle Broflovski===

===Eric Cartman===

===Eric Cartman===

Often just called "Cartman," he is arguably the main character of the show. He is obese, bigoted, narcissistic, and generally sociopathic; he was originally conceived as an eight-year-old version of Archie Bunker from [[All in the Family]]. He is very antagonistic towards Kyle, largely because of Kyle's ethnicity. (Cartman is anti-Semitic and admires [[Adolf Hitler]].) Fights between the two, usually stemming from mocking each character's respective obesity and ethnicity, have become a centerpiece of the show. Ironically, however, each has saved the other's life twice. All three of the other boys are open about their dislike for Cartman, but they still usually refer to him as their friend. Cartman has been shown to be extremely intelligent and manipulative, and he has a dark charisma that makes him a natural leader of the boys in times of adventure. Cartman's sociopathy has been traced to his upbringing by a single mother, Lianne. Lianne encourages Eric's obesity, and treats him like a friend instead of a son, thus not disciplining him. Lianne, a "crack whore" in the show, was also the name of Trey's former fiancée who Trey saw cheating with another man.

Often just called "Cartman," he is arguably the main character of the show. He is obese, bigoted, narcissistic, and generally sociopathic; he was originally conceived as an eight-year-old version of Archie Bunker from [[All in the Family]]. He is very antagonistic towards many people, especially Kyle, largely because of Kyle's ethnicity. (Cartman is anti-Semitic and admires [[Adolf Hitler]].) Fights between the two, usually stemming from mocking each character's respective obesity and ethnicity, have become a centerpiece of the show. Ironically, however, each has saved the other's life twice. All three of the other boys are open about their dislike for Cartman, but they still usually refer to him as their friend. Cartman has been shown to be extremely intelligent and manipulative, and he has a dark charisma that makes him a natural leader of the boys in times of adventure. Cartman's sociopathy has been traced to his upbringing by a single mother, Lianne. Lianne encourages Eric's obesity, and treats him like a friend instead of a son, thus not disciplining him. Lianne, a "crack whore" in the show, was also the name of Trey's former fiancée who Trey saw cheating with another man.

===Leopold "Butters" Stotch===

===Leopold "Butters" Stotch===

==References==

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

== External links ==

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121955/ IMDB Website]

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121955/ IMDB Website]

* [http://www.southparkstudios.com South Park Official Website]

* [http://www.southparkstudios.com South Park Official Website]

[[Category:Comedy Television Shows]]

[[Category:Comedy Television Shows]]

[[Category:Cartoon Television Shows]]

[[Category:Hollywood Values]]

[[Category:Libertarianism]]

[[Category:Libertarianism]]

[[Category:Hollywood Values]]

[[Category:Satire]]