Zach Armentrout
English 101, Section 45
Anne Cain
Research Essay
November 28, 2006
South Park: The Most Trusted Name in News “Lick on my chocolate salty balls,” Isaac Hayes sang, “just put ‘em in your mouth and suck ‘em!” This song planted itself into the heads of millions when it was first heard in the movie South Park released in 1997. The singer was a character named Chef who had an unusually low voice with a certain sense of seduction flowing throughout his words. Chef became a mentor to the children the show South Park was based around, usually giving advice with a hint of sexual reference. Chef was certainly one of the most recognizable favorites of the show. That is until he quit on March 10, 2006. He stated to the media that, “There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins.” (Adkins) This came after an episode of South Park aired which made fun of Isaac Hayes’ religion, scientology. “This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology .... He has no problem and he's cashed checks with our show making fun of Christians," Matt Stone, creator of South Park, rebutted. (Adkins) This came as a shock to many considering that for the ten years Hayes worked on the show there has been an episode spoofing every belief, event, and celebrity that has existed. But Hayes’ wasn’t the only angry celebrity mixed up in the controversial episode that was pulled from television. Tom Cruise, whose animated character starred in the episode, was also furious over the satirical cartoon. It was rumored that he would not do publicity for his movie Mission: Impossible III, released by Paramount which also releases South Park. (Adkins) Although this may seem like more trouble then it is all worth, consider that South Park has been airing continuously for ten years and is still able to push the boundaries and create a stir in the media. It has pushed on the...