• sonovebitch@lemmy.worldOP
      44·
      7 months ago

      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?

      • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        73·
        7 months ago

        Keep in mind that a celebrity can send you and me, regular joes, a C&D and we’d likely comply simply because we lack the resources to sustain a challenge in court.

        What stops celebrities and organizations from suing South Park creators is likely the opposite: they have money and a legal team.

        The same thing happened with John Oliver when he talked shit about some coal mine owner that was notorious for suing people. The mine owner served them from a court that had friendly laws but they were ready. And they had insurance to pay for it.

      • johannesvanderwhales@lemmy.world
        17·
        7 months ago

        This is really only to prevent them from suing and claiming that the show is representing the actions of celebrities on the show as true fact. If I publish a newspaper article saying “Donald Trump strangled a baby” without evidence then that could be actionable, as it’s a factual claim. But if I showed Donald Trump strangling babies as part of an obvious parody, then that would be protected speech. So their disclaimer is basically just to make it obvious that it’s a parody. It’s not a requirement, but they want to cover their asses.

      • FrostyTheDoo@lemmy.world
        10·
        7 months ago

        If it’s all stuff he really does in real life, how could he sue over it? If it’s factual, you can’t sue. Well you could but you’d lose because South Parks lawyers would say “show me what we said that wasn’t true”

        If it’s its fictional and they clearly state at the beginning of the episode that it’s fictional and you should not assume it’s true, it’s going to be really hard to convince a judge that they were trying to trick people into thinking something was true in order to harm you.

        The first amendment allows you to make fun of people, especially if you say “we’re just being silly and none of this is serious” beforehand

      • neptune@dmv.socialEnglish
        6·
        7 months ago

        Celebrities don’t really win anything by suing. First, they look like a cry baby. Second, the bar for slander/libel against a public figure is enormous.

    • Pacmanlives@lemmy.world
      104·
      7 months ago

      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

      • MolochAlter@lemmy.world
        85·
        7 months ago

        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.

          • TheDoozer@lemmy.world
            35·
            7 months ago

            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.

          • Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee
            3·
            7 months ago

            The kids came up with the joke:

            “Do you like fish sticks?” (Pronounced like “fish dicks”)

            Then, when the person said yes, they’d call them a gay fish.

            The joke becomes a meme, but Kanye West doesn’t get it, despite having it explained to him. He thinks the joke is directed at him personally, and does actual scientific research to find out why people think he is a gay fish. At the end of the episode, he accepts his fate, and decides to live as a gay fish (complete with a catchy autotuned song.)

      • Tolstoshev@lemmy.world
        45·
        7 months ago

        Nirvana famously said they knew they had made it when Weird Al did a parody of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

        • makyo@lemmy.worldEnglish
          19·
          7 months ago

          If I recall, Weird Al tries to get permission for all his parodies too, just further adding to the point that people mostly are good with that kind of attention.

          • Tolstoshev@lemmy.world
            20·
            7 months ago

            That he does. The only snafu he had was with Coolio for Gangster’s Paradise. Apparently the label said yes but didn’t actually check with Coolio and he wasn’t happy about it. Weird Al apologized for the mixup and they made peace with it later. Weird Al said the only star that has consistently turned him down was Prince, who didn’t find the whole parody thing funny.

      • MeatsOfRage@lemmy.world
        29·
        7 months ago

        George Clooney liked the show so much he wanted to be on the show but they rejected his request initially since they don’t let famous people play themselves. They in turn offered him the non-speaking role of Stan’s gay dog. Clooney showed up and gave a full performance of barks.

        • Moobythegoldensock@lemm.ee
          11·
          7 months ago

          George Clooney was instrumental in getting the show made in the first place. He liked their second Christmas short so much that he made hundreds of copies and gave them to all his friends, which helped them pitch the show.

      • Delphia@lemmy.world
        16·
        7 months ago

        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.

        • Pacmanlives@lemmy.world
          6·
          7 months ago

          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!

      • jaybone@lemmy.world
        3·
        7 months ago

        I have to doubt a lot of people love being parodied on that show. They are pretty harsh.

        • Pacmanlives@lemmy.world
          1·
          7 months ago

          I take it you don’t have a brother or any close guy friends. It’s kind of what we do. We rip on each other and buy each other a beer. Same with competitive sports. At the end of the day we respect each other but can make fun of each other and live laugh and love

          • jaybone@lemmy.world
            3·
            7 months ago

            This is not like ripping on each other with your guy friends.

            And this is not like Weird Al doing a parody of one of your songs, which most musicians do see as a badge of honor.

            These are pretty damning (and accurate) personal attacks. Pretty sure j-lo, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears were not happy with their portrayal.

        • BrikoX@lemmy.zipEnglish
          10·
          7 months ago

          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.

    • RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.worldEnglish
      8·
      7 months ago

      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.

      • peto (he/him)@lemm.eeEnglish
        9·
        7 months ago

        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.

      • Azzu@lemm.ee
        4·
        7 months ago

        But all kinds of other laws protect citizens from other citizens. You can’t hurt them, can’t slander them, etcetc so there’s really not much most people can do. The most of it is saying “they did a terrible parody of me” and not deal with them anymore.

      • BlameThePeacock@lemmy.caEnglish
        3·
        7 months ago

        That concept doesn’t really apply very well here.

        The government can’t make laws restricting speech(with very limited exceptions) therefore other citizens can’t legally go after you for protected speech. They’re allowed to tell you you’re an asshole, they’re allowed to ignore you, but they don’t have a court case.

  • FartsWithAnAccent@lemmy.worldEnglish
    155·
    3 months ago

    Parody is protected under US law.

    People can (and do) sue, but they lose every time because it’s easy for their well resourced corporate legal team to prove the show is (obviously) parody and thus, protected free speech.

  • Hugin@lemmy.world
    113·
    7 months ago

    Simple answer is they are careful about what they say and have good lawyers that review it.

    A few examples.

    Calling Tom Cruise a fudge packer in the context of him being in a bathhouse could eaisly open them up to liability for calling him gay. But doing it in a fudge factory while showing him putting fudge in a box gives them a clear defense that they meant it literally.

    Simmaraly telling him to come out of the closet while he is actually in a closet provides cover.

    Making things so absurd that a reasonable person wouldn’t believe it and know it’s a joke also works. So having Barbara Streisand aquire an artifact that makes her into a giant robot monster works but something plausible wouldn’t.

    Having Kanye open up and admit he is a gay fish is absurd enough to provide protection. However they probably couldn’t get away with him simply coming out as gay.

    Of course the genius of south park is they use these legal protections in ways that make the story funnier and not just for cover.

    • mke_geek@lemm.ee
      10·
      7 months ago

      Simmaraly

      You meant “Similarly” (like “similar” but with an “ly” at the end).

      • Hugin@lemmy.world
        1·
        7 months ago

        I did. My mobile keyboard sucks and changes things when I start a new word. I often miss it.

    • model_tar_gz@lemmy.world
      5·
      7 months ago

      Telling people to suck on Chef’s Chocolate Salty Balls was one of my favorites parts of my fucked up childhood.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
      61·
      7 months ago

      You can’t damage the credibility of people who don’t claim to have any. And, in attempting to do so, you can only increase their credibility.

      Matt and Trey don’t claim to be any more than a few jackass comedians with a TV show. Scientology’s MO really doesn’t work against guys like that.

      • maynarkh@feddit.nl
        11·
        7 months ago

        Are all youtube videos so epileptic nowadays? Does this appeal to people? Am I out of touch?

        • NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
          5·
          7 months ago

          What do you mean by epileptic? It’s a video essay, the majority of the substance is the words spoken by the guy making the video. And yes, I occasionally watch and enjoy this kind of video, and I even saw this one about s month ago and liked it. It tied up some loose ends in my head and gave me context I wouldn’t otherwise get.

          The term video essay is really a perfect description for this.

            • Agrivar@lemmy.world
              6·
              7 months ago

              Wow, I had to check it out myself and you are not wrong! WTF was the editor of that video thinking? It starts fine and then becomes like a nightmare of overlapping audio streams.

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    44·
    7 months ago

    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.

  • Dr. Coomer@lemmy.worldEnglish
    43·
    7 months ago

    Southpark isn’t sued as far as I know, but they have received massive criticism and even death threats from terrorists organizations.

  • Nollij@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    23·
    7 months ago

    It’s a very fine line they would have to walk. It must be believable to the average person that the claims are true. It must not actually be true. It must be done with (the appearance of) malice. It must not be done as a criticism/satire of the target and their actions.

    And on top of that, their publicist/PR must think a lawsuit will get them more than they lose. Once it’s aired, it is out there forever. It could then be the one that everyone seeks out and shares with friends, as “the one that Tom Cruise sued to get rid of”. This is known as “The Streisand Effect”.

  • RegalPotoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    20·
    7 months ago

    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

    • RobotToaster@mander.xyz
      10·
      7 months ago

      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.

      • imaqtpie@lemmy.myserv.oneEnglish
        15·
        7 months ago

        Nobody said the US doesn’t have a class system? Also the person you’re responding to appears to be a kiwi, not an American.

        Non-Americans making fools out of themselves while trying to casually denigrate the US is one of my favorite internet traditions. It’s especially entertaining because there are plenty of valid criticisms, but people often seem to go for the most lazy, inaccurate generalizations and reveal their ignorance.

      • BakerBagel@midwest.social
        10·
        7 months ago

        Our class system is based entirely on how much money you have. The UK still has a legal aristocracy based on how much land your direct ancestor owned 800 years ago.

      • Skua@kbin.social
        1·
        7 months ago

        Spitting Image seems like the most immediately obvious one. It’s older, of course, but I think the point stands

    • Nollij@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      5·
      7 months ago

      In Penn & Teller: Bullshit, they did something similar. They pointed out very early they would be more vulgar than most people expect. This is because words like fraud, quack, scammer, etc were specific allegations that could land them in court. But words like asshole were not, and were much safer.

    • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      7 months ago

      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

      I never wanted to see a hypothetical show as badly as this

  • daltotron@lemmy.world
    4·
    7 months ago

    Hijacking this, but, do people actually watch south park? My friend showed me a couple episodes, one was about cartman having a kanye on his shoulder that made him antisemitic, and the whole episode was pretty stupid. Also showed me a… parody? Of multiverse stuff, maybe? Had some sort of willy wonka figure and imaginationland and a bunch of off brand characters, and then they all died in a big war, that one was pretty stupid. Also showed me a one about the being evil and killing jesus on christmas, or something like that, which was also pretty stupid. Other friend showed me a dog the bounty hunter parody, also struck me as pretty stupid. They were all just really dumb, there was nothing really insightful about any of this subject matter in particular, it was just like I was watching whatever they were making satire of, but if it was decroded by like a couple IQ medians.

    I dunno, most other adult-oriented animated comedies are also pretty bad and hacky, and also feel the need, a lot of the time, and especially in their “cultural commentary” episodes, to have something at the end which ties everything into a takeaway for the viewer, totally unironically. Like a children’s book that needs to have a moral or message. In south park, it’s always an extremely writer’s-POV here’s your takeaway “I am talking directly to the audience”, kind of way, which I find, just straight up pretty bad most of the time. I dunno, I really don’t understand how people watch this shit. It’s like a show that would come on inside of some other show as a shorthand that the people watching it are really dumb.

    • Tylix@lemmy.world
      19·
      7 months ago

      Yes people watch south park, and have their entire lives.

      Is the show always good? No, some of the more recent stuff has been pretty downright terrible actually. Will I keep watching it? Yes. Crack Baby Basketball was probably the best commentary ever on why players at the college level can’t be paid. Do I always agree with them? Nope. I don’t know how you didn’t like the Kanye episode though, Cupid Ye was hilarious, and they were pretty much just straight making fun of him and immortalizing his breakdown.

      They were blatantly wrong about climate change, which they addressed with the return of ManBearPig and Al Gore. They did trans issues almost a decade before anyone else did with Mr. Garrison’s Fancy New Vagina.

      South Park has always been about fighting censorship, without them, it’s fair to say that we would not have had a ton of TV moments, largely because they cleared the way for others.

      It’s fair if you didn’t like them, not everyone is into watching Santa do coke with Jesus and Randy. The whole show is basically about offending people and there have even been episodes I can’t get behind because it’s my turn. But to me, South Park will always be entertaining because sometimes they’re just plain silly, and sometimes there’s a deeper context.

      The BP oil spill episodes, Crack Baby Basketball, Nascar is for Poor People, and episode 200 and 201 are all excellent commentaries on different issues. For just random hilarity, Die Hippie Die, Scott Tennorman Must Die, and the most recent Christmas Special are just silly episodes.

      And if you don’t like it, that’s fine, not everything is for everyone.

    • Nomecks@lemmy.ca
      16·
      7 months ago

      To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty. The humour is extremely subtle, and without a solid grasp of theoretical physics most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer’s head. There’s also Rick’s nihilistic outlook, which is deftly woven into his characterisation- his personal philosophy draws heavily from Narodnaya Volya literature, for instance. The fans understand this stuff; they have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realise that they’re not just funny- they say something deep about LIFE. As a consequence people who dislike Rick & Morty truly ARE idiots- of course they wouldn’t appreciate, for instance, the humour in Rick’s existential catchphrase “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub,” which itself is a cryptic reference to Turgenev’s Russian epic Fathers and Sons. I’m smirking right now just imagining one of those addlepated simpletons scratching their heads in confusion as Dan Harmon’s genius wit unfolds itself on their television screens. What fools… how I pity them. 😂

      And yes, by the way, i DO have a Rick & Morty tattoo. And no, you cannot see it. It’s for the ladies’ eyes only- and even then they have to demonstrate that they’re within 5 IQ points of my own (preferably lower) beforehand. Nothin personnel kid 😎

  • email@sh.itjust.works
    2·
    7 months ago

    In the other country that starts with US you would be tortured and then send to a camp for political prisoners