In the mix

JACK MYERS

Editor, Media Village.com

The one thing that stands out to me just happened a couple of weeks ago and that’s the “South Park” episode on Scientology. “South Park” took on Scientology, ripped into the church, mocked Tom Cruise, who was joined by John Travolta in the closet and refused to come out, and basically challenged the church’s lawyers to take legal action. To me, that’s just such an interesting, appropriate and incredible example of how entertainment can impact and influence culture and reflect culture and educate. And I think this is happening in animated television more than anyplace else on the cultural entertainment landscape, where you have some of the most biting, relevant, entertaining commentary going on in the world today.

The whole concept of celebrity has become so enmeshed with society, where so many people are looking for their 15 minutes of fame. At a time when we’re so immersed in this cult of celebrity, this episode really called it all into question, educating people in a very entertaining format, and one that could not have been done in any comparable way by a “60 Minutes” or a “48 Hours” or a documentary. It really symbolizes how creative television can be at its best.

Also, because such a huge story this year has been the FCC’s indecency efforts, by being able to deal with these issues in a cartoon is again just a demonstration of how society ultimately manages to express its freedom, and how media can continue to be an outlet for free expression of views.