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The Simpsons Reviewed For Unsuitable Nuclear Jokes
Hugh Pickens writes "CNN reports that television networks in several European countries are reportedly reviewing episodes of 'The Simpsons' for any 'unsuitable' references to nuclear disaster, with an Austrian network apparently pulling two episodes: 1992's 'Marge Gets a Job' and 2005's 'On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister,' which include jokes about radiation poisoning and nuclear meltdowns. Al Jean, executive producer of the show, says that he can appreciate the concern. 'We have 480 episodes, and if there are a few that they don't want to air for awhile in light of the terrible thing going on, I completely understand that,' says Jean, citing the example of the 1997 episode 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' that was pulled after 9/11 because it included key scenes at the World Trade Center. 'We would never make light of what's happening in Japan.'"
radical news: someone behaved in a mature and sensible way!
What nuclear meltdown?
CNN fishing for sensationalized fodder.
to make fun of it.
/b/, but it had a macabre humour to it: (to the tune of spongebob squarepants' theme) "who lives in their houses under the sea?" "japanese people"
This probably originated from
They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
They are obviously not talking about ignoring the problem, but about not making fun of people that are actually suffering radiation exposure.
The episode where Homer plugs a leaking reactor with his bare ass could give them ideas on how to address the current leak. I doubt anyone in Japan would be big enough but we could check out some local McDonalds and ship them an American or two.
This story deserves it's own tag. WTFITWCT (What the fuck is the world coming to), or GMAFB. Something like that...
"...there are some things that can beat smartness and foresight. Awkwardness and stupidity can." ~ Mark Twain
And if somehow Death Metal fans managed to take over the world suddenly cartoon network would be under the gun. Where does it end? With the Oblongs of course.
I hear what you're saying, but is it really "making fun" when the episode is filmed years before the disaster? I'm a New Yorker, the Trade Center episode not only doesn't bother me, I still find it hilarious to this day!
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Who? People are probably suffering radiation exposure in Austria at about the same rate as they ever have.
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
Humor is rooted in pain and suffering. Story at 11. and 11. and 11.
You wonder why America consistently makes you the butt of every stupid joke. You practically write them yourselves.
Political correctness is going to destroy Europe.
I'd say this was a joke, but then the EU might moderate it -1 Flamebait.
If anything the Simpsons are a way of becoming more aware of the problem, not making fun of those who suffer for it.
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Japan"...
Uhhh.
Stephen Hawkings, countless celebrities and... Chernobyl [http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Simpsons/Season_19] are fair game though?
Depends on the joke really. And if we're watching Simpsons or South Park.
It seems somewhat over reactive, but I see the idea. It's not like they show bugs bunny nips the nips any more either.
On the flip side, they're allowed to show tits on TV in Austria, and the US has a meltdown when that happens.
Sent from my PDP-11
I loved "The City of New York vs Homer Simpson". Great episode even after 9/11.
People are not able to sensor bad taste and content, jokes or editorial by themselves needing instead gov or industry to do it instead. That day appears to be yesterday, rest our heads in a moment of silence for that day wasted.
It is not ok to joke about nuclear things, but it is ok to take nuclear waste home.
They are obviously not talking about ignoring the problem, but about not making fun of people that are actually suffering radiation exposure.
Says the person posting on a forum with more Hiroshima jokes than all living WW2 vets cubed.
About criticism being mounted when the motion picture version of The two Towers was coming out... E.g. waybackmachine.org/../twotowerprotest.org
It's not like a new episode was banned, is an episode up for repeat and some one decided to play it safe and show another on of the 20 years worth of possible reruns. Lighten up it not big brother censoring the news, or someone setting up a government comity to discuss all the pros and cons, its "hey, I would if this may upset some one? Ah what the heck I'll chuck one of these in instead" as they point to a mountain of VHS cassettes.
...that "King Size Homer" will get pulled in some markets, which is unfortunate because it has one of the best lines in any Simpsons episode.
And S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Fallout are banned too.
Are europeans incapable of switching the channel if they don't like what they see? do their governments have to do everything for them? it's bad enough here in the states. I'm sure the socialists here will mod me into oblivion because they've forgotten that it was free expression that allows them to voice and live by their opinions in the first place. now of course, once they have power, they shut everyone else up, just like everyone else! yes yes, of course, it's for the children, or jesus, or the gays, or allah, or yahweh, or blacks, or latinos, or indians, or whi..err not white males feelings, so that makes it all ok.
In case you haven't noticed, I hate double standards more than just about anything else.
Knife goes in... guts come out...
I appreciate the sympathy, however misplaced it is. I get a bit angry when everyone focuses on the nuclear stuff going on. The whole nuclear thing will affect some people in Fukushima prefecture (mostly economically) and maybe some of the neighboring prefectures. Still let's look at things in perspective: 3 hospitalized (they are fine apart from some 'sunburn') from the Fukushima plant issue; over 20,000 missing or dead from the tsunami plus a multitude more homeless and hospitalized. We aren't suffering from nuclear fallout, people, we are suffering from one of the worst natural disasters to hit Japan in over 20 years. Still that is the nature of the beast, 20,000 is just too large a number for people to internalize and sympathize with. However, we can all imagine our gruesome death at the hand of deadly radiation. We all know that these episodes aren't being censored out of sympathy. I just hope they don't replace the episodes with a tsunami episode.
This is ridiculous. The front page of my local newspaper (California, near the coast) is abuzz with "nyookulurr" concerns as well. Why don't they edit out the episodes having to do with, y'know, earthquakes and tsunamis, seeing as that's the brand of disaster Japan is facing right now. It seems to me that the situation with the power plants is being handled professionally and safely. If it wasn't for the public's irrational and uneducated fear of glowing green radioactivity, the nuclear power plants that we do have wouldn't be stuck at 1970's-level technology.
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It seems somewhat over reactive, but I see the idea.
"over reactive"... that's one of those pun things, isn't it?
On the flip side, they're allowed to show tits on TV in Austria, and the US has a meltdown when that happens.
"Meltdown", too? You're really on a roll tonight!
This is horrible! It's not like there are many other Simpsons reruns they could show instead.
Property is theft.
I dont see how this is more painful than the media people trying to make money out of the situation.
Somehow, I feel the risk they try to avoid is making people think the nuclear plants are operated by "Simpson like" personnel. Meaning... a real good-bye to public being opened to even listen arguments about nuclear energy being needed.
Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
cant people distinguish the difference between reality and a cartoon ? this is similar to the south park debate some while back. nice to know that television networks are further censoring what we get to see. really dont see the issue here as these episodes were from the 90's way before recent events even occured.
Editing out scenes that had the old WTC was stupid, and so is this.
Stop being oversensitive nutless wonders and expecting others to be the same.
Let's not overreact because god forbid a television network decides to show a shred of sensitivity of their own accord. Do you think anyone is telling The Daily Show not to make jokes about Japan? No. They are choosing not to. Right now some people might not find it amusing. This isn't censorship. It's called decency. If your point is that the show was written ten years ago, then calm down, it will be funny again later.
Are they also going back and wiping any reference to earthquakes and tsunamis? So far, tens of thousands have been confirmed to have died to those events, but we don't feel the need to be sensitive about that. But a nuclear accident that hasn't killed anyone is worth rewriting history of a comedy cartoon? It's not like the jokes were made at the expense of the current situation, being that they have existed for years.
I never did understand the removal of the twin towers from things either. Do we really want to show our respect to those that passed by trying to erase any mention or footage of the buildings?
"but about not making fun of people that are actually suffering radiation exposure"
So, what you are saying in effect is that you can not make jokes about (note the difference between jokes about and laughing at):
the Japanese nuclear disaster?
the Japanese tsunami disaster?
the Japanese quake disaster?
the 2004 quake disaster?
the 2004 tsunami disaster?
the New York 2001 Sep 11 disaster?
the New York jews disaster?
the Holocaust jews disaster?
the Holy Chair disaster?
the Holy Cow disaster?
dairy cows?
farmers?
lumberjacks?
gays?
Why not nuke the Monty Python too?
Sorry, wasting core time on dead-on Japanese nuclear seppuku jokes probably will be around for some time. Hmmm, wonder what the half-life of those jokes will be?
Lisa (playing guitar):
We'll fight day and night
By the big cooling tower
They have the plant,
but we have the power
Lenny: Now play classical gas!
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
How is airing episodes of Homer's misadventures at the plant making light of what happened? Did the writers see into the future and use it as an opportunity to piss on the Japanese? **** no.
I see that as something Seth MacFarlane would do, actually.
I've watched Simpsons since it was a short on Tracey Ullman, and they have once offended me enough that I turned it off. In fact, I turned the TV off for the night and went in the other room. In syndication to this day that episode makes me emotionally tighten up. I never filed a single complaint, wrote a single letter or missed an episode out of spite. If you watch that kind of series, you sign up for your ox getting gored occasionally.
I'm willing to bet that some retarded german politician will see a relation between "Duke Nukem Forever" and nuclear power and issue a ban on it before it's even released.
If it was ok to joke after Chernobyl, it should be ok to joke after Fukushima. People are so freaking uptight. It's a fucking cartoon. IT'S NOT REAL.
Doesn't the opening credits to every episode make fun of nuclear safety when Homer carelessly fumbles a radioactive rod around? As if exposing this material to the atmosphere is a humorous situation and not a serious one?
A little sensitivity is understandable, but this is absurd.
The half-life would be a graph hole. You know, considering it will never degrade... :P
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That's fine, but it would still have been insensitive and in bad taste to have aired that episode on 9/12. When bad things happen it's customary to be aware of the feelings of those who might have been impacted by it as a sign of respect. Stand-up comedians get away with it because they're supposed to be disrespectful and outrageous, but this is a TV station. If they're still banning the episodes next year at this time then I'd argue they're going to far.
This isn't "censorship" (a grossly misused term on this site). It's discretion.
The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
I never did understand the removal of the twin towers from things either. Do we really want to show our respect to those that passed by trying to erase any mention or footage of the buildings?
It is sympathy for those who directly experienced the incidents. The towers only fell once. People have only been exposed to deadly amounts of radiation a handful of times in the last 100 years (more or less).
As horrible as it is, people die in earthquakes and tsunamis regularly. It happens. And one incident doesn't necessarily evoke another. It's just part of life on Earth.
I'm a reasonably well adjusted adult with a reasonably sane outlook on life, and I am glad that the WTC was erased from popular media for a time, because I knew a lot of people who died there. Seeing the towers during that time in a fictional or humorous way would just bring me to tears for my friends who died.
If you are far removed from these traumas, that's fine. You can still watch these episodes on dvd or similar. And they will probably air them again in a year or so. And that's fine.
There aint no pancake so thin it doesn't have two sides.
"Pepe, It's not nuclear, it's nucular." - Homer Simpson
I feel i need to even things out, so here is a Simpsons clip with the irradiated Curies destroying a Japanese looking city.
http://vimeo.com/21402842
I'm of two minds. First I agree with you in theory and I don't find this type of thing offensive. Though technically I don't find things offensive pretty much while they're going on and people are making fun of them. Humor is one of the ways we cope with bad things. That said, I'm aware that there are people in the world who are much more sensitive than me and prone to offense and what I would characterize as overreacting and relishing the victim role and extending it beyond the actual bad thing to anyone who mentions the incident with anything but the gravest concern. While I personally think these folks are fools who would do better to worry about the actual bad thing than the world's attempt to soften it with humor, I recognize that they're out there and I can see where you wouldn't want to offend them just out of a sense of general decency (or even pragmatism if these people were your paying customers)
Reminds me of the time during the Katrina crisis, where many US radio stations stopped playing The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking". As long as it's for a limited time, then I'm ok with a people trying to tread lightly while others are having a tough time. As long as things go back to normal after a bit...
Exactly. It's the owner's (Mr. Burns aka TEPCO) cavalier attitude towards safety that got them into trouble in the first place. Mr. Burns hides nuclear waste in trees, makes his employees eat the stuff(it's the TEPCO employees, not the managers, that are really going to suffer from this incident), bribes safety inspectors to look the other way etc, sort of like TEPCO did. If anything these episodes are needed more than ever to point out the flaws in the human side of safety management. Namely greed will often trump safety if there isn't real, impartial oversight.
Monstar L
Are they also going back and wiping any reference to earthquakes and tsunamis? So far, tens of thousands have been confirmed to have died to those events, but we don't feel the need to be sensitive about that. But a nuclear accident that hasn't killed anyone is worth rewriting history of a comedy cartoon? It's not like the jokes were made at the expense of the current situation, being that they have existed for years.
In the show, Homer Simpson works at a nuclear power plant, in an (intentionally poorly-defined) area of the United States that is not particularly near any ocean. There are plenty of jokes about nuclear power, but I don't recall any about earthquakes or tsunamis. If there are any, of course it makes sense to temporarily suspend airing them as well.
Looking for jokes about nuclear power in The Simpsons doesn't mean earthquakes and tsunamis are OK to joke about in light of current events; it means earthquakes and tsunamis were never funny to begin with and The Simpsons probably doesn't joke about them.
Orwells would be so proud about now-a-days. Just like out of his book 1984. Past has been corrected and thus WTC never really existed and those who remember it must be swiftly reeducated in the room 101.
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Sorry, meant khlav kalash
This is pretty common place. Most of not *all* broadcasters will pull 'insensitive' content around a major event. For example, no AirForceOne during a 9/11 remembrance.
So we have to wait the mandated 22.3 years (as established by South Park) before we may make jokes about nuclear disasters again? At that rate we may as well never be allowed to again, or at least only in a very small window of about 3 years between incidents.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Oh, meltdown. It's one of those annoying buzzwords. We prefer to call it an unrequested fission surplus.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Talking about it, "Homer, defined" is not on the list? It clearly is an episode of a meltdown almost happening as the core plot device.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Considering that we're talking about the national broadcasting service that's funded by a mandated fee (akin to what Brits pay for the BBC, but at least they get some decent documentaries for their quid) and a network that has been accused of being the mouthpiece of the government for the longest time, I'd say we're as close to censorship as we get without actually getting a law for it...
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Is that people fear radiation because it is the monsters of childhood imaginations made real. Deadly, invisible, unstoppable, and, well, evil (from their perspective). They don't understand it, they can't see how it works, yet it can kill. With an explosion, a fire, a wave, you see what is happening, what caused the damage, and you see the problem coming even if you can't avoid it. It is easily knowable and understandable.
So because it is invisible and unknown (I mean to the people, not to everyone) it generates a deep, visceral, fear. It scares them like nothing else does and hence all the over reaction.
Heck in the US pharmacies across the nation sold out of Potassium Iodide. Never mind that even if Fukushima melts down there is no significant risk of any kind to the US, never mind that KI is only useful against one very specific problem (thyroid cancer caused by too much radioactive iodine), people are fearful and doing the only thing they can think of.
Hence you get stupid reactions like censoring nuclear Simpson's episodes.
For me, I worry very little about reactor, and not at all for my personal safety. I find it extremely unlikely it will cause any widespread harm in Japan. I worry about supplies, heat, and medical care for those still alive. The disaster is bad enough already but can get much worse. There are plenty of people who have not died, but who are not safe. They are who I have concern for.
Not everybody has the same (lack of) sensitivities as you. Some people do take offense to such things.
The question is why you'd get your panties in a bunch just because they choose not to air those episodes for a couple of weeks or months. Chances are that the episodes weren't even scheduled to air during the period anyway. It's not like this is a permanent ban on the episodes. it's not like you're missing out on anything; you'll just have to wait a bit longer for the re-re-rerun of those episodes.
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What does a cartoon show have to do with real life? Nothing. People get offended by something that doesn't affect them yet again, and it is their own fault. The fact that something similar happened in real life does not mean that the joke is not 'funny' (subjective) or that it's 'bad' (subjective). It's irrelevant. People should, in my opinion, focus on real life, not on cartoons. I don't care if it's a joke about 9/11 or what have you. It is illogical to censor it. It has no affect on real life.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
I don't care if they were being made fun of. Why are people so easily offended? It is a cartoon that has no impact on their life.
"Bad taste" is subjective. "Funny" is again subjective. There should not be a few people, or even many, that decide the definitions of these for everyone else.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
How is it mature and sensible to retroactively censor a TV show? Seems more Minitrue to me.
Those shows will probably be back on TV in a few months/years. Right now, with that disaster happening, it seems a little distasteful to laugh about such matters, don't you think?
Although your local news agency might have lost interest, the disaster is still happening right now, and it might affect millions of people.
where you wouldn't want to offend them just out of a sense of general decency
I wouldn't waste my time not trying to offend them. Anyone can, in theory, be offended by anything. Too bad for them. They should either stop being so easily offended (taking offense to something is their own doing) or just ignore it.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
The question is why you'd get your panties in a bunch just because they choose not to air those episodes for a couple of weeks or months.
I care because it's illogical. They get offended by things completely irrelevant to them (like cartoon shows). That is their own fault. A better question would be: if they're so offended, why don't they just not watch it instead of ruining it for everyone else? Or, alternatively, they could realize how pointless it is to get offended in the first place and that it is their own fault.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
You're equivocating. The options aren't "do not air for 22.3 years" and "air with indiscretion". There's a happy medium, probably in the neighborhood of 6 months at the earliest in this case, assuming the disaster doesn't significantly increase in severity. Considering the number of Simpsons episodes (nearly 500) they could air two episodes M-F and not repeat an episode until sometime next year without having a problem.
Shouting this behavior is somehow outrageous when it's entirely possible to do what they're suggesting in a totally reasonable manner is disingenuous. They're not being ridiculous and saying they should ban the program permanently because of the fuel rod in the opening sequence. Give them some credit and benefit of the doubt, and then when they screw up for doing something actually ridiculous you won't be considered a quack and a lunatic for raking them over the coals.
The road to tyranny has always been paved with claims of necessity.
Mountain Dew or Crab juice?
Ewwwww, jeez! 0_0 I'll take the crab juice!
which is totally what she said
You have to admit, it is kind of offensive how some people get so easily offended.
which is totally what she said
When an issue is sensitive, discussing it may be the best way to deal with it so that it does not happen again. Making fun of tsunamis or earthquakes would be very poor right now, but making fun of evil builders who use cheap materials in 3rd world countries would be much more appropriate especially when the topic is hot and vivid in the collective memory.
Granted, this particular move is mainly thought as a sensible precaution towards those 3 who have suffered problems from nuclear poisoning and related accidents at the Fukushima plant, but the Simpsons episodes around nuclear power are mostly centered on the dangers of incompetence and greed and not on making fun of the victims.
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TV License == £145.50 :p
which is totally what she said
If Fox ever decides to finish The Simpsons I can't think of a better way than destroying Springfield with an earthquake, a tsunami and a meltdown, all in one episode.
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I think after enough time has passed, showing the WTC is completely appropriate. The WTC towers may be gone, but it'll live on in movies and art/photography that was created when it was still around.
In that regard, digitally erasing the WTC buildings from the final print of a movie is kind of like destroying a memory. Justifiable, maybe, but still a little weird.
I never did understand the removal of the twin towers from things either. Do we really want to show our respect to those that passed by trying to erase any mention or footage of the buildings?
Obviously the US Government is guilty in the lead-up to and actual hijacking of the commercial aircraft which were flown into the World Trade Centre in New York City. Therefore, the need to censor episodic television, particularly cartoons, to remove references to "distasteful" events. The real story is the media neglect reporting to real disaster - a natural phenomena called a tsunami and an earthquake. The nuclear "crisis" has been handled reasonably well by the Government of Japan and the workers at the affected nuclear power plants.
This further censorship would encourage me to stop watching The Simpsons - if I hadn't done so when it stopped being funny 10 years ago.
Won't somebody please think of the children!?!
"remember, whatever you say can hurt a sensitive muslim, gay, or fat person, so please be as scilent as you can"
we have all been processed by this rather cruel fucking evolution, so how come that the only thing left seems to be overly sensitive people and morons?
Whether it's illogical or not, the fact is that stations have to be careful what they air at times like this or face spending and/or losing real money as a consequence. It might not be logical for people to complain, but it's entirely logical for the stations to anticipate complaints and circumvent them in this way. Besides, we all have our own eccentricities - I would hope that, by being sensitive to the needs of others, it might encourage them to return the favour some day, it's not like it's costing you or hurting you in any way.
I'm easily offended, you insensitive clod!
Maybe I'm just an insensitive clod but I don't find cartoons involving nuclear themes inappropriate or offensive at this point in time. Yes, I find it quite okay to poke fun at the reasons and the issues making this a lot worse than it ought to be. I mean, building nuclear plants in one of the Earth's worst earthquake zones... utterly stupid. Not maintaining them properly for 40 years... even worse. Especially considering the limitless and easily accessible thermal energy in the area. It's completely pollution free, CO2 neutral, no waste issues and as I wrote - practically limitless. I mean, the thermal energy of the Earth could easily power all the needs of a multi billion population using energy like the US does it currently for eons to come, and it would not even have a measurable effect on the available energy.
"For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
It's kind of arrogant to assume you can predict who will be offended by what.
I mean, maybe they good use a good laugh about it, and if not then don't watch.
I'd also quibble the "decent documentaries" part, too. Panorama, our "grown up investigative journalism" programme almost always has a blatant agenda and skews all the information to support it, our "science programme" Bang Goes the Theory is like a dumbed down Mythbusters (if you can even imagine that), and everything else is just a CGI-fest, like a really expensive screensaver. Most truth on TV these days seems to come from satirical comedy shows like Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You, or else it's buried away on one of the non-mainstream channels (BBC3/4) where six people might watch it. </rant>
There is no call for such foul language.
which is totally what she said
Well, in the case of the Simpsons NY episode there's also the unfortunate coincidence that the brochure with the travel offer on it spells out 9/11 with the price and the twin towers. Many kooks have taken this to be a NWO / Illuminati ritual magic "here's what we're going to do" thing. Despite the ridiculousness of this, it has strengthened the association between the episode and 9/11 in the popular conciousness.
Whether it's illogical or not, the fact is that stations have to be careful what they air at times like this or face spending and/or losing real money as a consequence.
I understand this, but it's not what I'm arguing against. I'm arguing against the act of being so easily offended.
Besides, we all have our own eccentricities - I would hope that, by being sensitive to the needs of others
That's just it. There are no "needs" present. They are offended because they let themselves be offended. They do not need to be. And, in fact, it would be better if they weren't. That just leads to what I believe is irrational behavior, such as what we see here.
it's not like it's costing you or hurting you in any way.
The same could be said of them. Just don't watch it. But, really, it is preventing the people who would like to watch it on television from watching it. I wouldn't say that equates to harm, but it does prevent enjoyment. I would say that no action needs to be taken at all. No censorship. Not anything. But that could only be done in a world not ruled by money.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
It is sympathy for those who directly experienced the incidents.
And it doesn't make sense. What good does erasing things from fictional material do? They need not be offended by it, and indeed, if they are, it is their own fault. Nothing forces them to be.
As horrible as it is, people die in earthquakes and tsunamis regularly.
Ah, I see. So if it happens regularly, the event is no longer a 'bad' thing and can be presented in a humorous manner? Some would likely disagree.
sane
Subjective.
Seeing the towers during that time in a fictional or humorous way would just bring me to tears for my friends who died.
That's quite illogical. It's a 'shame' that it happened, I believe, but if it bothers you so much (which I think it shouldn't), then don't watch it. Don't expect people to censor everything because you're sensitive.
You can still watch these episodes on dvd or similar.
And they can just not watch them at all.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
I totally agree that this is censorship. I live in Venezuela and the government considered the Simpsons inappropriate for a morning show so it got replaced by Baywatch. The official reason was "Televen (the network) presumably could infringe the broadcasting prohibitions during said schedule with messages that are a threat to the integral formation of children and teenagers." So I guess it's alright to make you stupid and have all the girls have a perfect role model of how breasts should be, but having a little humor is way out of line. Besides the funny part of it all is that kids are actually at school at 11 AM so the law is completely absurd.
You do realize that drilling for geothermal power is one of the few human interventions which are actually believed to possibly trigger earthquakes, right? (If this wasn't the specific type of geothermal you meant, you should be more specific.)
No? You missed this in your false-dichotomy-fantasy-world? Try to see things in shades of gray, it's much more entertaining. You can then see that nuclear power has both advantages and disadvantages, just like everything else (like geothermal), and pretty soon you might even hit the eureka that there's even more than one way to generate nuclear power and each specific reactor design has its own specific advantages and disadvantages!
Excuse me while I'm off to investigate whether there's been new advances in geothermal power which I missed. And whether geothermal power, which is based on long underground tunnels, would be as devastated as I think it would by a nearby major seismic event.
South Park being the show which consists entirely of, "Poop! Pee! Shit! Fuck! I said fuck! Simplistic stereotype! Guys we really hope with this show you'll see why libertarianism is so great. Poop!"
And, apparently, you let yourself be offended by all this.
You can't rationalize human emotions.
Just because you don't share their particular needs, is that a reason to ignore their needs?
You yourself seem to have a need to watch old Simpsons re-runs on TV in the original order and without exception, which seems quite irrational to me. Does your need outweigh the needs of the people who request a temporary hold on a few episodes?
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And, apparently, you let yourself be offended by all this.
What evidence do you base this assumption on? Because I posted? That's just a false dilemma. I could have posted because I like arguing, because I like posting, because I, as you said, was offended, or for another reason entirely.
You can't rationalize human emotions.
No, but you can speak out against the ones that lead to the most illogical behavior: anger and sadness.
Just because you don't share their particular needs, is that a reason to ignore their needs?
Yes. Especially if it is something like this. Them taking offense to this is their own fault. What about other people's needs? What if they wish to watch the show on television? Why don't these people just not watch it? They have that choice, do they not? The people who wish to watch it on television no longer have their choice.
Second of all, they have no "needs." This is not a need. They will be fine even if it doesn't happen. What they have is wants and desires.
Furthermore, should we censor everything simply because a small group of people wishes it to be so? What if people took offense to the fact that other religions existed? What if people took offense to the word "the"? Are we simply going to dismiss these people and say they are being irrational whilst tending to the desires of others? Who makes those decisions? Why? The default solution, I believe, should be to not censor anything and let those people that take offense to it either analyze the situation logically, or just not watch it.
You yourself seem to have a need to watch old Simpsons re-runs on TV in the original order and without exception
Yet another assumption. I do not even watch the Simpsons.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
Do you find these episodes hilarious?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caCX4dEqD9E
"I assumed blithely that there were no elves out there in the darkness"
O look, a case of severe butthurt. Dude, what, you're a scientologist? an offended minority? a devoted Republican or Democrat?
I can assure you it is reality, I've seen their house! http://rathausartprojects.com/blog/tag/architecture/
You probably believe the Matrix isn't real, either.
This offends me and my religion more!
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
How many episodes have you watched to judge it so poorly and full of anger?
Might I recommend episodes like "The mystery of the urinal Deuce", "Douche and Turd" or "Rainforest Schmainforest" as an experiment to see if you maintain your views about the show?
"Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. " - Asimov.
i want to kill this peaple they are slowing humanity down
i do not like porno(just to make a point) but this does not mean i must do everything i can to stop it
and if i want to lagh at a joke about nucliar disaster, then a lagh and show it to my fends
(i do not make associations to real life when i see a yellow family living the american dream)
STOP DECIDING FOR ME
my brother died tripping, so i want all jokes of people tripping band from television
Fuck these people, really, fuck these people who sanctimoniously decree how we ought to express ourselves at every turn. When the Japanese disaster occured, I immediately donated a quarter of my last paycheck to the Red Cross. Japan always fascinated me and I studied their culture quite a bit. But I also laughed at the jokes Gilbert Gottfried was making about it on his twitter feed (and now fired from Aflac for it).
Why? Because they were funny and I had the full knowledge that the victims wouldn't see the jokes because they likely had no TV/internet, and were WAY TOO BUSY putting their/other lives back together to pay attention.
The people who worry about this shit are the little do-gooders who have more interest in exerting their will and power over other people than actually helping the victims out.
FUCK THEM!
FUCK THEM!
FUCK THEM!
I've found that most people that hate South Park probably have only viewed episodes from the first couple seasons, where it was strictly toilet humor. They likely haven't watched the newer episodes.
I recommend 'Smug Alert!'.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
The time to discuss critical views of risks is precisely when the majority of the public is talking about a real episode that shows the nature of the risk.
If people don't want to watch _The Simpsons_ because its jokes will upset them, they don't have to watch. If publishers want to protect those people, the episodes can include a message that they make fun of the very not funny current disaster unfolding in Japan. The vast majority of people in Austria and elsewhere don't need Daddy protecting them from decade old jokes about somewhere else that are still true about Japan today.
Preventing public discussion of problems when the problems hurt most is one of the biggest reason we never learn from the problems and avoid them in the future.
--
make install -not war
Really? Look at "The City of New York vs Homer Simpson" -- it was off the air for several years, and was only allowed to return after an editing pass to cleanse it of offensive materials.
So, yeah....
and I closed all three of my eyes.
The offensive thing about that episode is the comic book cover.
No one's making fun of anyone. Satire can have dark bits, but there has been a honest attempt at exposing the problem in the Simpsons for years, unlike the media that forgets about those things until they are the flavor of the month. And most of all, it's a cartoon. You need to take it with a grain of salt.
Someone really just wants an excuse to get paid to have a Simpsons marathon.
Well, the nuclear thing just gets everyone fired up, since it's a critical technology in all the developed world. CNN's having a blast with making a big deal out of this, for instance.
The tsunami? Not so much, it didn't even make a splash over here. It drowned in a sea of news about the nuclear issues and local problems.
(Yep, going to hell...)
I love the Simpsons and have watched every episode since their birth on Tracy Ulman's show. Year's old jokes about radiation or tsunamis wouldn't bother me, but I'm not in Japan.
What did bother me was the (probably unintentionally) mean-spirited joke they made about the star of "Precious" on last Sunday's episode. Did anyone else find Bart's comment about her only hope of another movie roll being as a new Death Star to be offensive? Quite a mis-step IMO.
Otherwise I find the show's skewering humor to be generally on-target. Just my semi-relevant 2c.
They are not ignoring a problem. The simple fact is, the anti-nuke crazies have been extremely effective at scaremongering. Its in everyone's best interest to mitigate the public anxiety about current events.
The simple fact is, nuclear isn't going anywhere. The more anti-nukers make it impossible for newer, safer reactor designs to be built, more likely this is to happen again in the future. Thusly, the anti-nuke idiot scaremongering isn't fed, the better off everyone is. Even better, it helps ensure lower energy prices and a stable energy markets.
Ignoring a problem is not the same thing as making an effort to not feed morons.
Becuase at the start he throws the nuclear fuel rod in to the street
Someone with a sense of humour?
The associated video is pretty fun. The logic is, it must be true because why else would they center text, as is commonly done in print. That logic really is funny and yet, sadly, I'm sure some dope, somewhere, actually believes that garbage.
Just remember, next time you hit that center text button in Word and OO, you're killing a kitten! Oh no! Text is centered again...the world is ending!
Homer Simpson has been working at a Nuclear Power plant for 22 years! Shit people get a fucking sense of humor.
It's a cartoon. And overly-sensitive types do not have to watch it.
You grossly misused both the terms. Censor's discretion is called censorship.
Your anger is misplaced. The reason they are removing these jokes is because Homer is an inept nuclear safety officer and therefore there are a large number of jokes in there. If he was a "tsunami safety officer" I'm sure they'd do the same thing.
I'm a little confused. The Simpsons episode with the World Trade Center shows Homer outside them, going to the top floor of one tower to use the bathroom only to find out it's out of order, then he goes to the top of the other tower to use the bathroom and see's his car get ticketed from the top. That's it. No terrorists. No mention of any violence.
Since 9/11 do we have to pretend the World Trade Center never existed? We can't have any pictures or cartoons of it on a TV show? What the hell?
Meanwhile, the news program that runs before it had no problem showing many replays of the towers getting destroyed (and still run them from time to time) and there are commercials that run during the show selling the World Trade Center attack commemerative coin.
Selling a worthless coin commemorating the WTC attack? Fine. Showing the video of the attack? Completely acceptable. Showing the WTC as a building not being attacked or threatened? Offensive.
This sentence no verb.
We got way too sensitive. If we don't nip this thing in the bud quickly, the next thing you know, people on the street will be smiling at you for no reason and asking "how are you", like they do in America. And the next thing you know, there will be large men wearing heels, carrying tampons in their purses, like they do in America...
To be fair, the episode titles don't help your case much.
I'm surprised there is no reference to 1995's "King-Size Homer", in which Mr. Burns rewards Homer saying, "you turned a potential Chernobyl in to a mere Three Mile Island."
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
I love how temporarily opting to avoid showing a handful of episodes that a chunk of viewers won't find funny is the same as rewriting history.
I have a horrible realization for you, but feel that it will be better for you to know in the long run. Broadcasters don't generally broadcast every rerun of a show in order. The more popular episodes get played more frequently and the least popular may be rarely or never played. This is especially true of shows that have been around for many seasons. This is simply updating the list while a portion of their viewer base is overly sensitized.
(Yes, the people are illogical and ridiculous. It is still in the best interest of the broadcaster to plan around it.)
Douche and Turd is an inspiring commentary on the two-party political system currently in place in the US.
"Lack of speed can be overcome. In the worst case by patience." --Znork
believed to possibly
Good enough for me, lets ban it and any cartoon references to it.
"Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
yet, sadly, I'm sure some dope, somewhere, actually believes that garbage.
Sadder still, that dope also probably believes in ESP, but wouldn't apply a subconscious premonition as an explanation, because believing the Simpson's cartoonist was a spook is more scary.
Someone had to do it.
It's not like a new episode was banned, is an episode up for repeat and some one decided to play it safe and show another on of the 20 years worth of possible reruns.
But they are showing Simpson episodes out of order! How can we follow the narrative of the story arc?
"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die."
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
because believing the Simpson's cartoonist was a spook is more scary.
Of course! Everyone knows South Korean cartoonists make the scariest international spooks!
Homer: I don't see Barney "Let's crash the space shuttle into the whitehouse and kill the President" Gumble...
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
"Butters Bottom Bitch"
Instantaneous classic.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
If taste is going to be the criterion for what's allowed and not allowed to air on television now, I demand that every reality TV series be removed first.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Since it'll be awhile before you get to hear these gems again, here ya go:
(After Homer vents gas from a nuclear reactor and destroys crops of corn)
Farmer: Oh no, the corn! Paul Newman's gonna have ma' legs broke!
Mr. Burns: Homer, your bravery and quick thinking have turned a potential Chernobyl into a mere Three Mile Island. Bravo!
(After Homer causes a nuclear meltdown in a simulator)
Nuclear Safety Engineer: I don't understand it! There wasn't any nuclear material in that van!
Remove all references to nuclear meltdown from popular culture, lest the public be shocked at how a simple cartoon managed to project tragedy so perfectly into the future, yet the brightest brains in the industry are standing around a smoldering ruin (but not too closely mind you) wondering what the hell went wrong/is going on? Whocouldanode? Enjoy.
This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway This is the road to hell
You're all missing the real significance of this: somebody's getting paid to watch Simpsons episodes!
What you want people to actively cool the core of the planet?
That way the core can solidify. The magnetic field can subside. The solar wind can strip the planet of its atmosphere and we turn into Mars!
Is that what you want!
Your killing the planet! Think of the children! OMG Puppies!
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
Of course slash dots are for this are great majority of you seem to hate freedom in any form including speech, unless its assan, and you like being told what you can and can not do. Isn't that what your 2nd grade teacher told you and obama?
...is the one where Homer threatens someone with the model of a nuclear reactor. The reactor has a switch that is labeled as (in that order):
Low / Nuclear Holocaust / High.
The goggles do nothing!
I know. That was kind of the point. You look at those "childish" titles and might instantly belittle them because of it but, just like you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, you shouldn't conclude the quality of a South Park episode based on a couple of bad words.
South Park might have low spots and dark humor but it's nowhere near what Hazel Bergeron described.
"Science can amuse and fascinate us all, but it is engineering that changes the world. " - Asimov.
You wish to speak out against anger and sadness?
Well, I wish you'd die horribly and with great pain. Your family won't even be sad or angry, because you've taught them to not be so illogical, right?
We barely knew ye!
-Dave Haynie
No, it's censorship. A powerful entity has determined what someone within their control can o can not see. It's censorship.
You do NOT need to be a government to censor. You just need to be a powerful enough group. Government, Church, Large Corporation.
The ignorant idea that only a government can censor is hurting you.
It's one of the worst kinds of censorship; whitewashing the past.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
It didnt even have offensive materials. Oh no the twin towers! WE MUST BAN THIS. I could understand if it had 2 planes flying into the twin towers, even then imo it should be left as is. You dont pay respect to something by wiping out all traces of it from all forms of media.
That would be for the best. It would do them no good to get angry or sad in the first place.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
I hate south park. It's generally pretty stupid and only exists because it has momentum to exist.
It's like MASH.
The douche bag of the universe episode was moderately funny.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I find it ironic the amount of sensitivey people show when other people try and be sensitive to other peoples feelings.
"Damnit I'm offended your offended and you should stop being offended so I don't get offended!"
Stay classy, eurofriends. Nobody's going to deny the holocaus^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hthe dangers of nuclear power.
Actually, Cartoon Wars would be a more germane example.
(I'm no longer watching South Park because the Comedy Network apparently lost its licensing rights to have the current and back episodes online in Canada, so I no longer have a legal way of watching them--and more importantly, linking to them. If I ever feel like watching South Park again, I'll have to find some illegal way to access them)
- RG>
Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
I have not seen anyone addressing the most important point of this article- someone has been given the job of watching every episode of The Simpsons. How did I miss out on this?
Also, how long will it be before they ban every show with a nuclear family?
I've watched every episode.
The trashy humour relaxes me.
And the primitive political messages humour me.
I'm not sure whether Parker and Stone are pro-libertarianism or just trolling libertarians by giving them a warped sense of legitimacy while everyone else regards them as political neonates. Every "message" in South Park is cringingly simplistic and formulaic.
Children, there's a time and a place for everything. It's called college.
I drank what? -- Socrates
When filling up my water bottles at a local water filtering place here in Cali, the guy mentioned that all the iodine tablets were sold out.
I was beside myself at how selfish and completely scared everyone is.
Japan is 10+ hours by flight away... and folks here are spending money on iodine tablets because of the "radiation cloud". W. T. F.
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
But, but, I like Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery. It's kinda' funny.
I drank what? -- Socrates
having jokes in the Simpsons about nuclear catastrophes does not ridicule victims of nuclear catatrophes but rather people not taking the seriously enough. Deleting this jokes makes it sound like nobody ever thought about the possibility of such a thing, thus making the position of the people who do not take it seriously enough stronger.
"We would never make light of what's happening in Japan - but, kids, look what's happening in Libya! Hey hey!"
you're an "idiot."
Not surprised that the Simpsons show in general are what appears to be fining for attention. That show has gone crashing down hill sense season 12 or so. Doesn't shock me that they're likely just working on shock value.
I miss the old days were the Simpsons didn't try to force some current event or lame pop-culture into their shows in a half-baked lame ass way.
Is that the half-life for a Simpson's episode?
Why not 7? Or 5 months and 26 days? Everyone will have a different opinion, therefore it's impossible to please everybody, therefore it's futile to do it at all.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Last time I checked the news the disaster was earthquakes and waves that killed many many thousands of people. The reactor has not even come close to being on the same scale.
Why are they not censoring earthquakes and waves in Simpson episodes? There the cause of the loss of life.
But there's always somebody who'll be upset by something. Aww, puppies, how cute! Well my puppy just died, you insensitive clod!!!!!
I'd say that messing around with schedules actually hangs a lampshade on it.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Farnsworth, don't take this personally, but at some point you simply have to get over it. My joke above is pretty tasteless, but it doesn't mean I didn't love my mother, we were very close. But at some time you just have to move on. Hiding from the issue only extends it.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.