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60 Minutes Profiles South Park Creators: Haven’t Yet Found A Line They Won’t Cross

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Trey Parker and Matt Stone are the creator’s of Comedy Central other long-running and hit show that consistently makes insightful political commentary by amplifying absurdities from the day’s headlines. South Park has been on air for well over a decade, and its creators have extended their creative reach to movies, and recently, a Broadway show. 60 Minutes Steve Kroft recently sat down with Stone and Parker to discuss their hit musical The Book of Mormon as well as their creative process.

As is often the case when 60 Minutes tries it hand at explaining pop culture phenomena, the following segment is by turns entertaining and remarkably banal for nearly anyone with a passing knowledge of South Park. It’s a strange editorial decision that leads the news magazine producers to highlight a “hip and young show” and yet, in the process, reveal how out of touch it must consider many of its viewers.

Still, there are some great archival clips included in the segment, like their first student film Cannibal, The Musical. And watching the creative process that dedicates far more energy to clever concepts than high fidelity animation or special effects should be held as an example for nearly every development exec across the land. It’s easy to mock 60 Minutes for treating the South Park guys in such a square manner, but the net result is actually quite a treat.

Watch the segment below, courtesy of CBS News:

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  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_M5V6VTQAVLARF7XXO47Z5OCZWM TangledThorns

    These two are talented but I wish they’d make another South Park film. 

  • Anonymous

    They are very funny until they piss you off. 

  • Anonymous

    Stevie Croft hasn’t found a line he won’t cross, either. He’s just so…CBSy.

  • Latin2

    When they do a play about Muhammad without any self censorship then I’ll know they are really edgy.

    Do plays about Mormons is meh…try doing one about Islam.

  • Latin2

    When they do a play about Muhammad without any self censorship then I’ll know they are really edgy.

    Do plays about Mormons is meh…try doing one about Islam.

  • TruDat

    I’ve never watched the garbage.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tony.westover Tony Westover

    South Park is the only mainstream counterweight to the endless Progressive bullshit that get spewed during primetime. I can’t even stand NBC at this point. I hope Trey and Matt aren’t as bored with South Park as they appeared to be in their last mid-season finale.

  • Pablo

    Parker and Stone have found no lines they won’t cross, but Comedy Central/Viacom has. Anyone care to guess?

    http://tinyurl.com/29d6z3d

  • Pablo

    While it’s often juvenile, it’s always funny and it’s occasionally brilliant.

  • Anonymous

    I like the ruthless nature of the two of them.  No one is sacred. Everything is about the truth.

  • Pablo

    I think they’d gladly do it, but they’d be doing it in their garage because no theater would run it.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKEQSTA4WOBYU5Z7QNSBUR2LXI MASSMURDERMEDIA

     they did an episode of south park on islam, muhammed specifically…

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    They’ve already done one. Pretty much covered all the major bigamy religions.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Not really. What interests you tends to interest only dingos and warthogs. Not other humans.

  • Anonymous

    And Comedy Central censored it. And actually they did 3 episodes on it. It was a trilogy. Loved Bart Simpson wanting kill Family Guy.

  • Anonymous

    Me too. I’m one of the biggest fans of Matt and Trey.

  • dono

    I respect their lack of respect…

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKEQSTA4WOBYU5Z7QNSBUR2LXI MASSMURDERMEDIA

    i love how they tore the hollywood left a new one in “team america”…

  • Anonymous

    I find them funny while they are pissing me off. They make fun of stuff I support all the time. People need to relax in this country and stop being so damn sensitive.

  • Anonymous

    Right! It would make sense if you are not constantly sensitive to Palin and TP snide remarks and jokes which they deserve.

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for taking the time to let all of us know your tastes are superior.

    Let me guess, you’re the same guy who calls out people who bash Fox News while saying they’ve never seen it?

  • Anonymous

    I am no Palin supporter. But there is a difference between funny and cruel. Trey and Matt are not cruel for the sake of being cruel.

  • http://twitter.com/Good_Lt Good Lt.

    Is that why you responded?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dronetek-Bulk-Vanderhuge/100000918732763 Dronetek Bulk Vanderhuge

    Actually, they have. They wont belittle or attack Islam. 

  • cdnhawk

    I have a feeling the satire would go over your head.

  • cdnhawk

    I have a feeling the satire would go over your head.

  • FreeMike

    Herow, City Wok, can i take yo orda pea?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKEQSTA4WOBYU5Z7QNSBUR2LXI MASSMURDERMEDIA

    apparently, you missed their total evisceration of tyler perry…  he’s black, last time i checked…  and michael jackson, but of course his ethnicity has been called into question…

  • http://www.facebook.com/seansolidsnake Sean Dunlap

    actually the episodes on islam and the prophet muhammad were pretty funny, i dont think FAR right viewers have the mental capacity to “Get” south park, satire has become an aquired taste
     

  • Pablo

    Jokes are funny, vicious lies peddled as truth are not. Matt and Trey don’t do the former. When they’re doing over the top characterizations, there’s no question that it’s a joke.

  • Pablo

    Yes they will. But if it’s Islam, Comedy Central chokes it off.

    “In the 14
    years we’ve been doing South Park we have never done a show that we
    couldn’t stand behind. We delivered our version of the show to Comedy
    Central and they made a determination to alter the episode. It wasn’t
    some meta-joke on our part. Comedy Central added the bleeps. In fact,
    Kyle’s customary final speech was about intimidation and fear. It didn’t
    mention Muhammad at all but it got bleeped too. We’ll be back next week
    with a whole new show about something completely different and we’ll
    see what happens to it.”

    http://tinyurl.com/3uhx3g2

    Oh, and then there’s Token.
    http://tinyurl.com/28zgwxd

  • Anonymous

    Really Croft?

    Then why are they afraid to make fun of Judaism and Islam?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PKEQSTA4WOBYU5Z7QNSBUR2LXI MASSMURDERMEDIA

    regular viewers know that kyle is jewish and cartman is anti-semitic…  perhaps you didn’t catch the “passion of the jew” episode with cartman dressed as hitler…  as for islam, there are plenty more responses on that above this post

  • FreeMike

    Have you actually watched the show??  Google “Jewbilee” and then come back to the discussion.

  • http://twitter.com/TommyBennett Tom Bennett

    You have no idea what you are talking about.

  • http://twitter.com/TommyBennett Tom Bennett

    you have no clue. Watch the show.

  • caconservative

    How about that Muslim line they didn’t cross after being threatened?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VYUK3HIJFCPFBZUHRHN6HCR5AA MarkfromSavannah

    They’re especially funny when they piss you off. 

    I too would like to see another South Park movie.  Bring back the Devil!

  • Pedant

    There are 4 abuses of the possessive s in this. First, Matt and Trey are the “creators” not “creator’s.” Second, it’s “Comedy Central’s other” not “Comedy Central other.” Third, “60 Minutes tries its hand” not “60 Minutes tries it hand.” Fourth, it should be “leads the news magazine’s producers” not “leads the news magazine producers.” The sentence you start with “And” looks sloppy. Next time consider “Additionally” or just cut the word out entirely.

    Did you send this to anyone else to skim before you put it up on the internet?

  • Truthtellr

    um how do you know it’s garbage if you never watched it? Oh yeah Fox News or Rush or whomever told you it was so like a sheep you just graze & follow.. smfh lol

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dronetek-Bulk-Vanderhuge/100000918732763 Dronetek Bulk Vanderhuge

    I’m an avid watcher of the show. Just because they have a black character, doesnt mean they’re making fun of him. In fact, token is one of the only “normal” characters. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dronetek-Bulk-Vanderhuge/100000918732763 Dronetek Bulk Vanderhuge

    Yes, but the point isnt to make fun of jews. Its to make fun of the people who don’t like jews. 

  • Anonymous

    Funny show…one of my favorites. However it has gotten a bit stale over the past 3 or 4 years but that’s to be expected of all great shows after so many years in production.

  • Anonymous

    One episode?

    Where is the episode on Muhammad?

  • Anonymous

    “It is half man, half bear and half pig.  It’s man bear pig.”

  • Anonymous

    “It is half man, half bear and half pig.  It’s man bear pig.”

  • Anonymous

    Way to move the goal posts! High five.

  • Glutton

    LOL @ them being afraid to make fun of Judaism & Islam. That’s like saying your mom is afraid of a DP.

  • Glutton

    Far right viewers get offended by comedy. That’s why they get mad at the Daily Show & Colbert Report while cheering for executions & people dying for not having heath care.

  • Glutton

    Awww, are you mad because South Park isn’t racist enough for your taste?

  • Glutton

    Anyone who gets offended by South Park is about as moronic as anyone who is offended by Daily Show and Colbert Report. In other words, you have to be a right wing nut job.

  • Glutton

    Anyone who gets offended by South Park is about as moronic as anyone who is offended by Daily Show and Colbert Report. In other words, you have to be a right wing nut job.

  • FreeMike
  • http://twitter.com/maggiefanelli Maggie Fanelli

    I generally enjoy South Park (except for last season, which quite frankly SUCKED), but I have a hard time forgiving them for the episode entitled “Bloody Mary”, which featured a bleeding statue of the Virgin Mary (I won’t say where she was bleeding from, I’ll leave that to your imagination). I know they have a problem with organized religion, but that episode just had gratuitous blasphemy which bordered on hateful and was very hard to watch, even for non-Catholics.

  • http://twitter.com/maggiefanelli Maggie Fanelli

    Oh please, South Park rips on the left-wing way more than they do the right. Trey Parker is a libertarian.

  • Anonymous

    You get truth from South Park?
    Hitler, Satan, and Pineapples?

  • http://twitter.com/aipfan aipfan

    That was Comedy Central’s line. 

  • john.kliber

    And then pulled back, unwilling to cross that line – in America. One can only envision the crazy comedy and satire they must have in the middle east. It probably amounts to Jews and Uncle Sam getting kicked in the pants while women drop buckets of urine on them and do that weird warble sound that not even animals can reproduce.

  • Farnsworth

    I generally enjoy South Park until they did an episode about the specific thing that I’m hyper-sensitive about. That was WAY over the line. It’s cool when they’re attacking everything else though.

  • Anonymous

    Actually, never seen a complete episode. Tim does not like scatological comedy, but I did see clips from the movie, which attacked both libs and cons. After watching the clip, though, I would like to see the book of mormon. You want to go too?

  • Lra3001

    I am a 54 year old mother who has a 30 year old son, a copywriter for an and agency in NYC.
    I happened to see the 60 Minutes profile of the Southpark creators.  Growing up my son was (and am sure continues to be a faithful follower of Southpark.)  I have never, ever watched an episode of Southpark until I saw the clip on 60 minutes.  Consequently, I understand my son better.  I often wondered how we could be so different. This show had a tremendous influence on this young man’s life.  I see so much of Southpark culture, quest for knowledge, outspokeness,  and attitude in his life.  I think he would be a great asset as a writer to this team. I am in awe!  Now I am on a hunt for Southpark episodes!  Congratulations to Trey and Matt!
    How can I get tickets to Book of Mormons?

  • Anonymous

    Why not look into the Hitler, Satan, and Pineapples first? Funny yes, truth no.

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