The project I am proposing is a documentary about the sacrifices bodybuilders take in order to prepare for a show. I will be focusing on my brother Matt Partington as he prepares for his competition in late April/early May. It currently has a working title of 'Matt Partington: The Iron doesn't lie'.
It will be predominantly aimed towards a sports audience. however, I hope with the theme of sacrifice and dedication it will be able to rope in a larger audience who enjoy being inspired to challenge themselves.
The documentary will follow my brother as he approaches his show. So you will see development and improvement in his physique whilst he discusses how he is feeling at different stages, and gives an insight into the diet he has to undergo.
Thursday 25 November 2010
Friday 7 May 2010
Group Project: Liam Richards The Making Of A Fighter
Liam Richards - The Making Of A Fighter from Simon Partington on Vimeo.
Above is the completed documentary on boxer Liam Richards by me and Edem King.
I'm proud of this piece of work because I think it has a professional feel to it as we took inspiration from shows such as Sky Sports 24/7 and UFC Primetime as well as All Access. Through doing research on programmes and documentaries on sport we quickly noticed similar shots that all directors like to use. There are a lot of slowed down shots and close ups of the fighters faces so we wanted to include this in our piece.
24/7 is also very good at showing fighters personalities in the feature, this makes more entertaining viewing and allows the audience a chance to get to know the fighter better. We were very keen for Liam to be himself on camera and let his personality come out. You can see that in the documentary in the parts were he is looking into the camera and blowing kisses. In the interview he comes across as very natural and relaxed, which is a big positive as we didn't have to retake any questions or even edit down his answers as everything he said was relevant to the question and interesting.
I think we use the soundtrack well. In this kind of programme instrumentals are usually used so you can intercut with soundbites or voiceovers, which is what we did with the former. Without lyrics in the track it makes the viewer focus more on the image on screen, which is ultimately the most important part.
It was a shame that we couldn't have more control over the lighting as we shot all in one day. In hindsight it would have been better to try and get Liam in the gym by himself when we could have experimented with the lighting around him to get some different shots and nice cutaways.
Another way we could have improved is again really down to time management. If we had filmed for example 3 sessions we would have a lot more footage to play with and could have varied the shots more.
A disappointing point is when accidentally used the same cutaway twice in questions following on from one another. We didn't notice this when we proof watched it and it only became apparent when we were writing the DVD.
I really like the mix of still images with video footage, it breaks everything up nicely and offers variation. Plus the images from his last fight were taken brilliantly by Patrick Bethel and fitted in perfectly with the theme of the piece.
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Sky Sports 24/7 research
To help out with the group project Edem and I are doing, we researched '24/7' which is a show on Sky Sports which build up to the big fights in boxing. I was first drawn to 24/7 in the build up to the Hatton vs Mayweather superfight in December 2007.
I like this video a lot, it is an inspiring piece of work and in less than 4 minutes really establishes the mentality and differences of both fighters and holds your attention.
I like the idea of a voice-over as it matches up with the images and music very well. The inter-cutting of the fighters own interviews and comments with the voice-over also works really nice.
The change in speed of shots is very effective. For example when the fighters are preparing with their hand wraps the images are slowed then which builds tension with the voice-over. Then images which show each boxer's speed such as skipping, speed ball and target pads are put back to normal pace. The change in tempo of the piece is very effective as it keeps you guessing as to what will happen next making it more interesting.
Before I comment on the music of the promo I would like to discuss it in comparison with this one.
In the first video the music is very much in the background and it works nice as it doesn't take focus off the fighters and it works well with putting the interview and voice-over in. I like the fact that the music is an instrumental piece as well as, again it does not take focus off hearing what the fighters have to say.
The second video (Floyd Mayweather training compilation) has a very loud and dominating soundtrack which immediately gives a different feel to the video. The second video is packed with a lot more energy due to the soundtrack even though some of the images are still slowed down.
Both soundtracks work and I think after watching both videos a blanace of each would be nice to add variation to our video.
I like this video a lot, it is an inspiring piece of work and in less than 4 minutes really establishes the mentality and differences of both fighters and holds your attention.
I like the idea of a voice-over as it matches up with the images and music very well. The inter-cutting of the fighters own interviews and comments with the voice-over also works really nice.
The change in speed of shots is very effective. For example when the fighters are preparing with their hand wraps the images are slowed then which builds tension with the voice-over. Then images which show each boxer's speed such as skipping, speed ball and target pads are put back to normal pace. The change in tempo of the piece is very effective as it keeps you guessing as to what will happen next making it more interesting.
Before I comment on the music of the promo I would like to discuss it in comparison with this one.
In the first video the music is very much in the background and it works nice as it doesn't take focus off the fighters and it works well with putting the interview and voice-over in. I like the fact that the music is an instrumental piece as well as, again it does not take focus off hearing what the fighters have to say.
The second video (Floyd Mayweather training compilation) has a very loud and dominating soundtrack which immediately gives a different feel to the video. The second video is packed with a lot more energy due to the soundtrack even though some of the images are still slowed down.
Both soundtracks work and I think after watching both videos a blanace of each would be nice to add variation to our video.
Friday 19 March 2010
Sound & Vision: Individual project proposal
In sound & vision our 7th entry into our portfolio is a 5-8min individual video project, the proposal had to be completed by the 17/3/10. Here is mine.
For my individual project I aim to do a video montage of football tricks and skills.
The montage will be set in various locations around West Wiltshire and will essentially follow the ball all the way. The ball will always enter from the left of the screen and exit to the left, this is to give the impression that the ball is on a continuous journey throughout the montage.
It will be set to music which I will compose using Logic. I aim to produce a samba style music piece as skills and tricks are notoriously associated with Brazilian football.
I have a huge interest in football so it will be an opportunity to express one of my loves in a artistic manner. Football is also a worldwide language therefore it is a popular topic to produce a video on.
I hope people will enjoy watching the video, but I also hope it will give them confidence to attempt some of the tricks themselves as it the video aims to show you don't have to be a pro or even a football freestyler to put the 'beautiful' in the beautiful game.
For my individual project I aim to do a video montage of football tricks and skills.
The montage will be set in various locations around West Wiltshire and will essentially follow the ball all the way. The ball will always enter from the left of the screen and exit to the left, this is to give the impression that the ball is on a continuous journey throughout the montage.
It will be set to music which I will compose using Logic. I aim to produce a samba style music piece as skills and tricks are notoriously associated with Brazilian football.
I have a huge interest in football so it will be an opportunity to express one of my loves in a artistic manner. Football is also a worldwide language therefore it is a popular topic to produce a video on.
I hope people will enjoy watching the video, but I also hope it will give them confidence to attempt some of the tricks themselves as it the video aims to show you don't have to be a pro or even a football freestyler to put the 'beautiful' in the beautiful game.
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Storyboard for Maisy and Jim
Last Friday we were instructed to create a storyboard for a scene involving 2 characters. Edem, Mandy and I went to the location and took pictures of each shot we wanted to get.
It was a lot harder than I thought and certainly gave me more respect for film makers and directors as they are so many issues to consider when getting a shot. The position of the camera has to reflect who is the main person in the scene and the 180 degree rule is also a big factor to keep the shots consistent.
You also have to consider objects in the background of the shot especially windows. Also for the first time we were having to choreograph characters movement to give us a better idea of shots. This is difficult becase there has to be a reason behind each movement a character makes to add something to the story.
Below is a quick time video we made of our shots.
Embedding isn't working so click here for link.
It was a lot harder than I thought and certainly gave me more respect for film makers and directors as they are so many issues to consider when getting a shot. The position of the camera has to reflect who is the main person in the scene and the 180 degree rule is also a big factor to keep the shots consistent.
You also have to consider objects in the background of the shot especially windows. Also for the first time we were having to choreograph characters movement to give us a better idea of shots. This is difficult becase there has to be a reason behind each movement a character makes to add something to the story.
Below is a quick time video we made of our shots.
Embedding isn't working so click here for link.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
Research into fight scenes
For our short movie 'Fightback' we will be using fight scenes to open and end the movie, so I decided to do some research to see what makes a successful movie fight scene
300 fight scene - unfortunately the embedding option has been disabled.
In the 300 scene the use of sound and speed of the images creates a heroic atmosphere. The sound is slightly distorted apart from the sound of the sword which is very clean and stands out. This immediately establishes the sword holder (King Leonidas) as the hero in the scene and shows him as the one with the power.
I like the way certain parts of the scene have been slowed down. it is especiialy effective at 1:00 to 1:07 as it is then speeds up with the movement of the sword.
The Rocky 4 fight scene is one of my favourites. The first thing you notice is the cheesy motivational music which is a key feature in all the Rocky films. We all know that the music is corny yet cannot help but be inspired by it and get carried away with the fight. The choice of shots is also interesting.
I like the shots of the corner teams breaking up the fight as well as the shots of the audience. It allows you to feel like you really are part of the Rocky corner as they show the same emotions you are feeling.
The crowd noise is also apparent in the scene. It really reflects whether or not Drago or Rocky are on top in the fight, and then the change of the crowd cheering Rocky is allied by the commentator to give it extra affect.
The round changes are also presented well with a weak transparent board showing the changes. This allows the audience to know how long the fight has been going on for without breaking up the flow.
For use in the final fight scene in Fightback we could use distorted sound and make the gloves and punches stand out above crowd noise. We could also slow down part of the scene before the knock out and possibly emphasise a heartbeat to increase the tension and hook the audience.
In Taken the camera shots during the fights interest me. Most of the fights have close up camera shots. Although this limits how much of the fight the audience can see, it gives the effect of being involved. The audience have to work hard to keep up with the fight and it shows the true realities because the choreography is not as obvious than if if it was film as a MS or WS.
This video is interesting as it gives an insight into how fight scenes are made. Obviously in creating a short movie with limited (or no) funding and time constraints we cannot take crash courses in martial arts or use green screens as they do in book of Eli. However, we can see how much work goes into creating the scene. It is important to run it through slowly a number of times before shooting the scene in normal time. We could always shoot the scene slower and speed it up in post production, this could make the picture seem jumpy though and may not be the effect we want. If possible I would prefer to shoot the fights in real time, but understand this will take spot on choreography and plenty of practice to do it safely.
300 fight scene - unfortunately the embedding option has been disabled.
In the 300 scene the use of sound and speed of the images creates a heroic atmosphere. The sound is slightly distorted apart from the sound of the sword which is very clean and stands out. This immediately establishes the sword holder (King Leonidas) as the hero in the scene and shows him as the one with the power.
I like the way certain parts of the scene have been slowed down. it is especiialy effective at 1:00 to 1:07 as it is then speeds up with the movement of the sword.
The Rocky 4 fight scene is one of my favourites. The first thing you notice is the cheesy motivational music which is a key feature in all the Rocky films. We all know that the music is corny yet cannot help but be inspired by it and get carried away with the fight. The choice of shots is also interesting.
I like the shots of the corner teams breaking up the fight as well as the shots of the audience. It allows you to feel like you really are part of the Rocky corner as they show the same emotions you are feeling.
The crowd noise is also apparent in the scene. It really reflects whether or not Drago or Rocky are on top in the fight, and then the change of the crowd cheering Rocky is allied by the commentator to give it extra affect.
The round changes are also presented well with a weak transparent board showing the changes. This allows the audience to know how long the fight has been going on for without breaking up the flow.
For use in the final fight scene in Fightback we could use distorted sound and make the gloves and punches stand out above crowd noise. We could also slow down part of the scene before the knock out and possibly emphasise a heartbeat to increase the tension and hook the audience.
In Taken the camera shots during the fights interest me. Most of the fights have close up camera shots. Although this limits how much of the fight the audience can see, it gives the effect of being involved. The audience have to work hard to keep up with the fight and it shows the true realities because the choreography is not as obvious than if if it was film as a MS or WS.
This video is interesting as it gives an insight into how fight scenes are made. Obviously in creating a short movie with limited (or no) funding and time constraints we cannot take crash courses in martial arts or use green screens as they do in book of Eli. However, we can see how much work goes into creating the scene. It is important to run it through slowly a number of times before shooting the scene in normal time. We could always shoot the scene slower and speed it up in post production, this could make the picture seem jumpy though and may not be the effect we want. If possible I would prefer to shoot the fights in real time, but understand this will take spot on choreography and plenty of practice to do it safely.
Thursday 25 February 2010
Fightback - Location
Today I went to Contender Gym in Trowbridge to take photos of one of the locations we are looking to use in our short film. This was done to give us an idea of possible shots we could use when it comes to filming and will save time as we will not have to familiarise ourselves with the layout of the gym and get get right into filming.
From these photos you can see the range of equipment the gym has to offer, and also with a full size ring it opens up the opportunity to not just do training montages here, but also the end fight scene.
All the equipment is well positioned which allows us plenty of scope to set up the shots, and with the room being in a 'L' shape it allows us to experiment with different camera angles.
The photos on the wall are a nice touch, and will add character and a genuine feel to the scenes. The Gym itself is relatively new, being use for around about a year. However, it still has a traditional feel to it which makes it ideal for 2 Kings of the old school way, Stocky and Apollo to train in.
One potential drawback is the positioning of the ring, with 2 windows behind it. This has obvious implications for the light that will be coming through, so we may have to block out the windows or adapt to lighting conditions by filming in the evening.
There are also mirrors situated in the gym, and although there is not many we will need to set up our shots carefully so you don't catch a glimpse of any crew or cameras in the mirrors. This shouldn't be to much of an issue as they are positioned in the corner of the gym. It does also offers us the option of doing a section in the montage on 'stance work' were Stocky and Apollo check theirs in the mirror.
From these photos you can see the range of equipment the gym has to offer, and also with a full size ring it opens up the opportunity to not just do training montages here, but also the end fight scene.
All the equipment is well positioned which allows us plenty of scope to set up the shots, and with the room being in a 'L' shape it allows us to experiment with different camera angles.
The photos on the wall are a nice touch, and will add character and a genuine feel to the scenes. The Gym itself is relatively new, being use for around about a year. However, it still has a traditional feel to it which makes it ideal for 2 Kings of the old school way, Stocky and Apollo to train in.
One potential drawback is the positioning of the ring, with 2 windows behind it. This has obvious implications for the light that will be coming through, so we may have to block out the windows or adapt to lighting conditions by filming in the evening.
There are also mirrors situated in the gym, and although there is not many we will need to set up our shots carefully so you don't catch a glimpse of any crew or cameras in the mirrors. This shouldn't be to much of an issue as they are positioned in the corner of the gym. It does also offers us the option of doing a section in the montage on 'stance work' were Stocky and Apollo check theirs in the mirror.
Friday 19 February 2010
Character Personalties and Traits
In this post I will be exploring the traits of our lead characters Stocky and Apollo. It is important to establish personalities of characters before we start filming as the relationship between the 2 is essential to the story and the humour of the film.
Character profile - Stocky Bullboa:
Stocky Bullboa is the former heavyweight champion of the world, following a defeat by the widely feared 'Intimidator'. Stocky is single and not close with his family, the only person he had any sort of relationship with was his former trainer Mike Johnston. Unfortunately Mike passed away before the fight with The Intimidator, leading Stocky to take on the fight with no corner man. Stocky grew up in Wigan and joined Mike's boxing gym when he was 8 years old and pulled himself up to be World Heavyweight Champion. Now at 34 years of age following the defeat to The Intimidator many experts believe he is past it and should retire. Stocky also at times struggles from a lack of motivation, which can often be seen in his training.
Stocky has an orthodox stance and is famed for his hooks to the body. However, speed, general defence and technique have been his downfall.
Character profile - Stocky Bullboa:
Stocky Bullboa is the former heavyweight champion of the world, following a defeat by the widely feared 'Intimidator'. Stocky is single and not close with his family, the only person he had any sort of relationship with was his former trainer Mike Johnston. Unfortunately Mike passed away before the fight with The Intimidator, leading Stocky to take on the fight with no corner man. Stocky grew up in Wigan and joined Mike's boxing gym when he was 8 years old and pulled himself up to be World Heavyweight Champion. Now at 34 years of age following the defeat to The Intimidator many experts believe he is past it and should retire. Stocky also at times struggles from a lack of motivation, which can often be seen in his training.
Stocky has an orthodox stance and is famed for his hooks to the body. However, speed, general defence and technique have been his downfall.
Outline for 'Fightback'
This is mine and Edem's outline for out short movie 'Fightback' - Parody.
Scene 1 (Apollo office): Hear radio commentary of Stocky's fight with the Intimadator, Stocky KO. Zooms out to reveal Rocky and Apollo listening to radio, decide to work with eachother.
Scene 2 (Stocky's house): Stocky and Apollo watching real Rocky clip, get inspired.
Scene 3: First training montage, Stocky messes up all excercises.
Scene 4 (Outside Stocky's house): Doorstep Stocky - Intimadator claim "I will crush him" Belittleing Stocky, raises the stakes.
Scene 5: Newly motivated Stocky and Apollo do second training montage (success)
Scene 6 (Dressing room): Apollo motivational speech
Scene 7 (Ringside): Intimadator and Rocky square off, fade to black and hear commentary of end of fight.
(Possible final scene): Rocky and Apollo sparring session
Scene 1 (Apollo office): Hear radio commentary of Stocky's fight with the Intimadator, Stocky KO. Zooms out to reveal Rocky and Apollo listening to radio, decide to work with eachother.
Scene 2 (Stocky's house): Stocky and Apollo watching real Rocky clip, get inspired.
Scene 3: First training montage, Stocky messes up all excercises.
Scene 4 (Outside Stocky's house): Doorstep Stocky - Intimadator claim "I will crush him" Belittleing Stocky, raises the stakes.
Scene 5: Newly motivated Stocky and Apollo do second training montage (success)
Scene 6 (Dressing room): Apollo motivational speech
Scene 7 (Ringside): Intimadator and Rocky square off, fade to black and hear commentary of end of fight.
(Possible final scene): Rocky and Apollo sparring session
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Documentary Making
For Tuesdays session we have been asked to research documentaries, particularly how they are made and what is involved in the content.
Below are videos I found on YouTube which cover key areas such as subject matter, equipment, music and working within your budget. They give a good outline as to what to do to make a successful documentary with Kevin Lindenmuth giving examples from his own documentary work to support his ideas.
4001 Presentation
Plan for presentation - 20 minutes.
Issues of race in animation - Disney, Warner Brothers, Family Guy, South Park
South Park -
Vulgarity and depiction of racism
The show further lampooned the controversy surrounding its use of profanity, as well as the media attention surrounding the network show Chicago Hope's singular use of the word "shit", with the season five premiere "It Hits the Fan".[25][26] A counter superimposed in the bottom left corner of the screen tracked each of the episode's utterances of the word "shit", which was said 162 times without being bleeped for censorship purposes, while also appearing uncensored in written form.[26][27][28] The backlash to the episode was mostly limited to 5,000 disapproving e-mails sent to Comedy Central.[29]
The PTC also criticized the show for its excessive use of the racial epithet "nigger" in the season 11 (2007) premiere "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson".[30] Despite its 43 uncensored uses of the word, the episode generated relatively little other controversy, as most in the black community and the NAACP praised the episode for its context and its comedic way of conveying other races' perceptions of how black people must feel when hearing the word.[31][32] While some in the Jewish community have praised the show's depiction of the character Eric Cartman holding an anti-Semitic attitude towards fellow student Kyle Broflovski as a means of accurately portraying what it is like for a young Jew to have to endure bigotry as an ethnic minority,[33] other Jews have blamed South Park and Cartman for having found themselves surrounded by "acceptable racism".[34]
Self-censorship of the depiction of Muhammad
Main articles: Cartoon Wars Part I and Cartoon Wars Part II
The season 10 episodes "Cartoon Wars Part I" and "Cartoon Wars Part II" feature a plot in which the Fox network plans to air an episode of the animated show Family Guy that contains an uncensored cartoon depiction of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. Residents of South Park panic, fearing a terrorist response and a repeat of the real-life violent protests and riots that occurred worldwide after some Muslims regarded the prophet's cartoon depiction in a Danish newspaper as insulting and blasphemous. The first episode had a cliffhanger ending instructing viewers to watch part two to find out whether the image of Muhammad would be shown uncensored. In the second episode, Kyle persuades a Fox executive to air the Family Guy with the image uncensored, while echoing Parker and Stone's sentiments regarding what should or should not be censored of "[either] it's got to all be OK or none of it is".[2] Within the universe of the episode, the Family Guy episode is aired uncensored, despite a retaliation threat from Al-Qaeda. However, the actual South Parkbroadcast itself ran a black screen that read "Comedy Central has refused to broadcast an image of Mohammed on their network" instead of the scene containing Muhammad's depiction, which Parker and Stone say was neutral and not intended to insult Muslims.[2][25]
Parker and Stone note the contradiction in being allowed to feature a profane depiction of Jesus, while being forbidden to feature a purely benign depiction of Muhammad, but claim they harbor no hard feelings toward Comedy Central for censoring the scene, since the network confessed to being "afraid of getting blown up" rather than claim they refrained from airing the scene uncensored out of religious tolerance.[2][49] Parker and Stone claim the only regrets they have over the incident was that their mocking of the show Family Guy in the episode generated more attention than its commentary on the ethics of censorship.[69] Previously, Muhammad was depicted uncensored and portrayed in a heroic light in the season five (2001) episode "Super Best Friends", which resulted in virtually no controversy.[2] Muhammad also appears among the large crowd of characters gathered behind the main characters and "South Park" sign in the some of the show's previous opening sequences
Gerald and Sheila Broflovski
Gerald and Sheila Broflovski are an upper middle-class married Jewish couple who raise their nine-year-old son Kyle and three-year-old Canadian-born adopted sonIke in the fictional town of South Park, Colorado. Gerald is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and Sheila was originally voiced by Mary Kay Bergman and is currently voiced by Mona Marshall. Their first names are derived from the first names of Stone's parents, Gerald and Sheila Stone.[citation needed]
Though they are named for Stone's parents, Gerald and Sheila's characters are not largely inspired by the couple. While Stone's mother is Jewish, his father is a gentile of Irish descent, and Stone says they raised him in an agnostic household. Stone decided to portray the character of Gerald as recognizably Jewish, stating that doing so "creates more opportunity for comedy".[34] Gerald grew up in South Park, and met Sheila while they attended college.[35] The two moved back to Gerald's hometown when Kyle was younger because Sheila wanted to raise her children in a small town environment,[36][37] but briefly moved to San Francisco when Gerald felt that South Park wasn't "progressive" enough.[30] In a few instances, Sheila indicated displeasure with Gerald's indulgent and hypocritical behavior,[38][39] and Gerald occasionally displays subdued annoyance with his wife's meddling in others' lives. Their marriage has been portrayed as more stable than those of the other prominent adult couples in the series, and the couple once overcame a temporary setback in their sex life when Gerald briefly suffered from erectile dysfunction.[17]
Gerald and Sheila have been referred to as Serbian Jews,[40] and they mutually share a strong devotion to their Jewish religion, while expressing deep concern during the multiple times Kyle's faith in Judaism becomes enervated. The couple tend to showcase liberal viewpoints, having protested the 2003 invasion of Iraq[7] and supported Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race.[8]
Gerald made his first appearance in episode "Starvin' Marvin". He is a lawyer who also serves on South Park's council as the city attorney,[5] and his role in this profession has been put on display in episodes in which a trial or legal issue plays a large part in the plot.[38][41][42] He commonly wears an olive-green jacket over a purple shirt and forest green trousers. He sports a contemporary beard and separated mustache, and is almost always seen donning a pink yarmulke. When not wearing the yarmulke, Gerald is shown to have male-pattern baldness. He is a generally kind, amiable person, though at intervals he has been shown to assume a snobbish attitude that disaffects his friends and family. Gerald was once seen to have a repressed gambling problem,[43] and prior struggles with a fictional form of inhalant abuse known within the show as "cheesing".[38]
Sheila made her first appearance in the season one episode "Death" (where she was originally named Carol), and she exhibits several traits commonly associated with those of a stereotypical Jewish mother. She wears her hair in a beehive, and typically wears a midnight blue suit jacket over a light gray blouse, with a dark red skirt and gray stockings. She speaks with a New York Jewish accent, is overweight, and appears to be of less-than-average height relative to the other female adults on the show. Apart from being briefly appointed to the fictional federal position of "Secretary of Offense" under the Clinton Administration, Sheila is a stay-at-home mother. As a result of hearing something shocking or inappropriate, she is often heard exclaiming "WHAT, WHAT, WHAT!?", saying each word in rapid succession and putting more emphasis on the last "what". Sheila has been depicted as being a huge fan of Barbra Streisand.[44]
In earlier seasons, Sheila would often protest against things she deemed harmful to children or to the Jewish community. She led a group to New York City to protest Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian comedy duo whose television show's toilet humor is what she believed to be a negative influence on Kyle.[45] Her outrage escalated in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut when she further protested Terrance and Phillip by forming "Mothers Against Canada", which eventually instigated a war between Canada and the United States. After a failed attempt to execute the two, she directly kills them by shooting them in the heads.
Upon seeing Kyle taking part in a school play which involved a nativity scene, Sheila pleads with the mayor to ban the use of any religious imagery within the town that could perceived as offensive to those of different beliefs.[46] In addition to her ethnicity, Cartman also despises Sheila's activism, which he perceives as an attempt to inhibit anyone's ability to have fun. Cartman has even expressed his hatred for Sheila by singing a song entitled "Kyle's Mom's Is a Bitch".
Racial stereotypes
South Park often makes use of racial stereotypes for the sake of humor and satire. The show criticizes the notion of racial essentialism, or the idea that belonging to a specific ethnic group bestows inherent characteristics. In "Cherokee Hair Tampons," the politically correct idea that Native Americans possess inherent, mystical medical knowledge superior to that of medical science is heavily criticized as a racist stereotype.
One of the show's longest running bits is Cartman's rampant, over-the-top antisemitism. Numerous episodes, such as "The Passion of the Jew," Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow," and "Jewbilee" address this specifically, although Cartman's bigotry toward Jews is a constant character trait.
With the exception of "Krazy Kripples," which focused specifically on inner city black gangs, all people of African descent on the show, including Chef's parents, Token, and numerous black celebrities in the episodes "Here Comes the Neighborhood" and "Douche and Turd" are shown as affluent and well-spoken.
In "Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000", Cartman was declared a racist when he described Token as "...the black kid that goes to our school." Cartman, who had assaulted Token, was accused of a hate crime, when in fact Cartman's misdeed was inspired by loathing of Token personally, not because of his race.
Latinos who speak perfectly good English, yet revert to a Hispanic accent for the sake of appealing to other Latinos are occasionally satirized. Ignorant assumptions about the English-language limitation of Latinos on the part of native speakers of English are also mocked. In "Fat Butt and Pancake Head", Cartman's impression of Jennifer Lopez involved the heavily overpronounced key words "tacos and burritos". Latino reporters on the show speak perfect English, sounding exactly the same as reporters of other ethnicities, until they pronounce their names with heavy Hispanic accents, mocking the tendency of real-life television reporters to do this. In the episode D-Yikes a group of poor Latinos are shown numerous times willing to do any job for little money. The Latinos do each job exceptionally well and even manage to teach the kids something when they were substitute teaching, something Mr. Garrison is [generally] shown as incapable of doing.
Occasionally, the show touches on the idea that stereotypes are often based on reality, represented by a fictional stereotype when Kyle actually does appear to carry a bag of "Jew Gold" around his neck in "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow." The town's lone Asian, Tuong Lu Kim, is based on a real life City Wok owner that Parker and Stone used to call just to hear his accent for the sake of modeling it.
In the episode Christian Rock Hard, Cartman starts a Christian rock band in order to win a bet against Kyle, and, in doing so, requests the help of Token. Cartman tells Token that he can automatically play the bass guitar because he's black, and, though Token has no prior experience playing it, he does so perfectly in the episode.
Protected groups
The show exhibits equal-opportunity treatment of groups traditionally immune from criticism or mockery, such as those with disabilities, minorities, and women.
This issue was also tackled in "Chef Goes Nanners," when the children of South Park failed to see what was offensive about the town's flag, which depicted four white people hanging a black man. The children only saw the image as four people committing an act of violence on another person, regardless of color.
Those with disabilities are represented through Timmy and Jimmy. The wheelchair-bound Timmy was originally opposed by Comedy Central, as they feared bad publicity from having a handicapped child on the show. Parker and Stone argued, however, that Timmy being treated like a normal kid would be a good moral statement. Two episodes later, they made an entire episode revolving around Timmy, entitled "Timmy 2000" in which he becomes the lead singer of a popular rock band. Later, another student, Jimmy Vulmer, was added to the cast to represent those with physical handicaps. Jimmy, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, is portrayed as one of the most popular, well-liked students at South Park Elementary. Both students are treated as equals, playing and bantering with the other kids at school. The only time the other students decide to "stay out of it" is when Jimmy and Timmy fail to understand that the Crips are not a society for the handicapped in "Krazy Kripples."
Homosexuality
Early on, South Park depicted that homosexuality is natural, most notably in "Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride," in which Stan's homosexual dog, Sparky, helps the children realize that homosexuality is not something that can be changed through force of will. In "Follow That Egg!", gay marriage is supported by deconstructing the idea that homosexuals are incapable of being loving, supportive parents. While most treatments of homosexuality on the show address gay men, lesbians have been represented sympathetically, as in "D-Yikes!".
The show has gone to great pains to differentiate between homosexuality and perversion. In "Cripple Fight", the creators take the position that the Boy Scouts of America should not have been forced to allowhomosexuals to be Scoutmasters, while at the same time mocking the Boy Scouts for trying to exclude homosexuals from the organization, as there is no scientific correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia. While homosexuality has been treated as normal by the show, the sexual perversion of pedophiles was heavily criticized in "Cartman Joins NAMBLA."
South Park has not refrained from mocking individual people who happen to be homosexual and also ridiculous, specifically in the character of Mr./Mrs. Garrison. In The Death Camp of Tolerance, Chef proclaims that"there's a big difference between gay people and Mr. Garrison" and later refers to Mr. Garrison as a "sick queer"; this leads Chef to being punished, despite the fact that this statement is true, drawing a difference between the idea that queerness creates mental illness and the idea that a person can be a queer who happens to be demented.
[edit]Transsexuals
"Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" touches upon transsexual sex-reassignment surgery, and the ethics of radical plastic surgery. Mr. Garrison is reassigned because he feels he is a woman trapped in a man's body. Kyle and his father, wishing to become something they are physically not, have surgery to become tall and black, and a dolphin, respectively. The show concludes with Mrs. Garrison comfortable with her new gender and Kyle and his father realizing that mutilating their bodies was a selfish and inappropriate choice that showed they did not accept who they truly were. Three seasons later, in "Eek, A Penis!", Mrs Garrison is unhappy with her decision and manages to get a sex change back to being a man.
Family Guy -
Allegations of anti-religious bigotry
The group Answers in Genesis accused the show of being anti-Christian for mocking creationism in the episode "Petarded".[63] Also, Entertainment Weekly TV critic Ken Tucker criticized the show for perceived anti-Semitism.[64] L. Brent Bozell III expressed in a column of his written in 1999 that he felt that the episode "Holy Crap" promoted anti-Catholicism.[65]
In addition, the Parents Television Council has criticized Family Guy over its run, perceiving negative treatment of religion on the program,[66] concluding in its 2006 report Faith in a Box: Entertainment Television and Religion 2005-2006 that "mockery of God is a constant" on the show.[67]
On October 3, 2007, the Bourne Company publishing house, sole owner of the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", filed a lawsuit against the makers of Family Guy, claiming copyright infringement over the song "I Need a Jew".[68] The suit claims harm to the value of the song due to the offensive nature of the lyrics.[69] On March 16, 2009, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts ruled that Family Guy did not infringe copyright when they transformed the song "When You Wish Upon a Star" for comical use in an episode.[70]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
