South Park Says Goodbye to Chef

http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/chefs-grisly-exit-is-a-south-park-hit/2006/03/24/1143083957683.html

As a fan of the television show South Park, I have spent many an hour laughing histarically at the antics of chef, the source of advice and song for the South Park elementary students. I was deeply disappointed by the news that Isaac Hayes, the voice of chef, had left the show. However, my disappointment quickly evolved into disgust as I discovered the reason behind Hayes departure from the show.

When I discovered that he had been angered by the episode dealing with Scientology I could not stifle a confused, "what?!". The word hypocracy bounced in my brain and danced on my tongue. Of all of the years that South Park has aired, it has made fun of almost every religion, politician, celebrity, media figure, and knews story imaginable. I found it hard to believe that Hayes failed to take offense when other people's religions were being satirized, but quit the show when his religion of scientology was made fun of.

I feel that Haye's selective intolerance is insulting. For him to believe that only certain groups should be spared from satirization is a kind of descrimination.

As a Roman Catholic, my religious beliefs have been satirized many times on the show. I do not always agree with the way my religion is portrayed, however, I realize the importance to be able to laugh at your beliefs in some cases. No belief system, person, or istitution is un-flawed, and to be able to sometimes laugh at those flaws is important to our survival in an often dark and serious world.

We are living in a time when the world is constantly pushing for censure of "insulting" material in the printed and televised media. Isaac Hayes is another example of this kind of push. I believe that it is important to hold strong to our freedom of speech and expression, whether we are insulted by other's un-represed speech or not. I say ,"long live South Park", and its unrepressed expression.

The Purpose of Prayer

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13184b.htm

While driving to work on Sunday morning, I was intrigued by a section of MPR Radio devoted to spirituality. This week they were focusing on prayer, its purposes, its origins, etc. This presentation led me to think of my own experiences with prayer,what it has meant to me, and my global out-look on how it affects the world.

Being a Roman Catholic, I am most experienced with Catholic prayers, most especially the Rosary. Having been raised in the Baptist Church, I was only vauguely familiar with Catholic prayers. When I transfered to a Catholic highschool to begin my Sophomore year, I was itrigued by the process. I can remember going to early morning mass, before school started, and sitting in the very back of Saint Mary's. I would sit and listen to the early rising parishoners as they chanted the Rosary. Later, as my confidence grew, I moved up a few pews and began to say the Rosary with them. The Rosary itself can seem very intimidating, complicated, and even a bit archaic. However, I later learned that the prayer was not a vessel of simple repetition for repetition's sake, it is actually a kind of mantra.

I found that saying the Rosary was a way to seperate myself from the world, and place all of my attention on to matters of the soul. It enabled me to go to a quiet place in my head and reflect. The general goal of the Rosary is indeed to allow you to focus all of your attention into one focal point, God. This may seem as to be a closed minded way to pray, however, that depends on what your view of God is. I think of God as a source of insight and peace; when I have questions, quandries, restlessness or dissatisfaction, I find that prayer is a wonderful way to calm my spirit...to come closer to answers. Prayer helps me to find small moments of peace that help me endure. It almost has a healing quality to it.

I think that any sort of prayer has divinity in it. Whether it be Christain, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc., it has the power to do many things. I do not even think that religion neccissarily has to be involved to produce meaningful prayer. I do not think it matters what kind of reality or spirituality you believe in; prayer or focused reflection can be helpful to anyone. I think we all need moments to seperate ourselves from our often hectic lives and have a moment of silence...a moment of peace.

The Literary Art of Persuasion,

And Those Who Do It Poorly

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/25/BUSH.TMP

Our current commander and chief is making a wave of speeches with the purpose of convincing the U.S. and the world that our mission in Iraq is not a failure. He is fulfilling his duties as a politician...he is persuading...but very badly.

There are few people in the world with the gift of oratory. Interestingly enough, you can easily find this sparse population in one particular profession: politics. There are politicians that could tell you that your green sweater was blue, and you would absolutly believe them. Master orators, especially in politics, can smooth over any situation. War, scandal, anything at all that could cause ratings to go down, can be erased by the power of mindful persuasive speech.

I certainly believe that oratory gifts are wonderful things. To this very day, my father can tell me a story so vivid and belivable that I am left speachless. It is so powerful that in a sense, a story lacking very little truth, becomes real. The stories become unforgettable...ones that my children will tell to theirs. There is somthing very beautifle about the mind of an orator and the stories that they tell.

However, such gifts are often squandered. As I have referenced, many politicians use this gift to hide things...to decieve. Such practices are a perversion of a priceless gift.

I find that I am often disapointed with the oratory skills of our current president. I was certianly not surprised to see that Mr. Bush failed to convince the world that everything is okay in Iraq. He does not have the gift to hide or decieve. I have spent many hours watching the president give speeches...many hours cursing at his horrible grammer...many hours wondering why such an oratory oaf could be our president. Today, when I watched him unsuccessfully try to convince our nation that Iraq is not a failure, I was glad he is an oratory oaf. I was glad that he is not the kind of person who has the ability to decieve. I was glad that because of his oratory failures, we have been able to see truth...or at least some of it.

Fantasy Television

The Counter Movement to the Reality Show Era

http://www.realitytvworld.com

http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/lost/

http://www.abc.go.com/primetime/invasion/

http://www.nbc.com/mediun

During the past decade, America has become a "reality TV culture". This is not surprising. We have been primed for such a culture by game-shows for decades. Early on, we were able to feel the twinge of the excitement of the "un-scripted and un-predicatable" nature of reality television as John and Jane battled it out on "The Wheel of Fortune", or "Who Wants to be a Millionare". This gameshow background paired with the dawning MTV's "The Real World" opened the floodgates for the "reality TV era".

We, as a nation, are bombarded with "reality" television on every channel. Based on its popularity, every major network has birthed some form of reality vice. They come in every color, shape, and size. Today there are reality television shows about movie stars, singing careers, modeling careers, survival, the corporate ladder, cooking, home building, home re-modeling, home-cleaning, motorcycles, young adults, personal makeovers, dating, nannies, losing weight, etc. The listings go on and on. The television market has become entirely saturated with reality television and the false illusion of what reality is.

As the market for reality television has grown, television networks have been placed against each other in a competition for viewers. Only the most bedazling and intruiging shows will survive. Because of his competition, television networks have made the push for "racier" reality TV. In the process, these reality shows have been tweeked, prodded, and scripted to add excitement, initially killing the reality in reality television. However, we as a nation have failed to descipher the difference between the illusion of reality television, and actual reality.

The reality television monster has terrorized us for too long. People are beggining to tire of reality and thirst for things that go beyond reality. Fantasy genres have begun to infiltrate the major networks as a kind of counter balance to reality television. These networks have made a genius decision. They are using our growing weariness of reality television to fuel the popularity of the "novel" and "refreshing"counterbalance to reality television, as a means of re-boosting their ratings. Shows like ABC's "Lost" and "Invasion" deal with mystery and sci-fi aspects, while NBC's "Medium" covers the grounds of the supernatural.

These major networks are simply using lessons from history to predict how people will react to certain genres. They know that eventually we will tire of one and crave a genre that differs entirely from the one we have grown bored with. You could say that it is a modern day movement from TV "realism" (although it be a twisted form of it) to TV Romanticism.

News Media Mockery

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/index.jhtml
http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml

In a world where the Serious News Media is king, something new is on the rise. Now, you can get your laughs and news all at once. This opportunity has been granted by Comedy Central. Their show, "The Daily Show", has made the news interesting. Not only does it inject moments of humor, but it also brings to light things that serious news stations do not. This show masterfully uses satire to say all of the things about world news and politics that serious conglomerations cannot. Such a presentation of news is refreshing in the serious world that we live in. This show was so popular in fact, that it spawned an even more revolutionary spin on the daily news. This smash hit goes by the name of "the Colbert Repor".

This new show, featuring Steven Colbert, takes a different approach than that of the "DAily Show". The Colbert Repor is less of a mockery of world news and politics, and more of a mockery of the serious news media itself. Steven Colbert plays the role of the serious, conservative, closed-minded news anchorman. He is hillariously arrogant, immitating beautifully a number of serious news anchorman whom I will not mention.

These two shows are wonderful forms of catharsis. They help us release our feelings of hatred, disgust, and disdain towards the ever present media. It is amazing what a little intelligent comedic release can do for the average media bombarded American.