Southpark has been known for dealing with issues of censorship pertaining to cultural topics- a sentiment recognized by Horance Newcomb upon the show's presentation of the 2006 Peabody Award for "distinguished achievement" in media (145). In this post, part II of my response to Dr. Ted Gournelos' 4th chapter of his book The Tao of South Park: Dissonant Visual Culture and the Future of Politics, I will discuss Jesus and Pals, a public access show featured in South Park, which is laced with themes inherent to censorship, religion and politics.
In Southpark, "religious figures do not respond to serious ethical or social crises or even provide interpretations of religious beliefs" but at the same time are also portrayed as human or in a "blasphomous way" (128). The example Gournelos gives pertaining to Jesus and Pals is the episode in which Jesus states he will, once and for all, give his stance on homosexuality and then, before the first word leaves his mouth, is cut off. Jesus and Pals, while on a surface level is poking fun, the depth beneath the surface is a window allowing for discourse centered around issues pertaining to religion's intersection with social issues. This can be seen in the S6E8 Red Hot Catholic Love, an episode surrounding the abuse of young boys by Catholic priests and the church's subsequent cover ups (130).the exposure of the Church’s role in sanctioning and covering up the crime
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