South Park sets out to save the whale
Its not the first time the satirical show South Park have addressed the issue of whale conservation, but the latest episode treats this subject with their usual direct in-your-face attitude.
It's a measure of how the issue of the drive hunts in Japan is reaching out to new audiences. One of the amazing things I noted about people who saw the film the Cove when it was shown in Japan was that many Japanese people were not even aware that their country was actually killing whales. That's one of the problems when the Japanese media will not talk about the issue. Why? Maybe they don't wish to upset the Government: maybe they don't believe they have a responsibility to do so. Whatever the reason, democracy and debate is the thing to suffer when the media avoids an issue - as well as the whales suffering of course.
This representation by the South Park guys is not, of course, a true example of all Japanese people and indeed may cause offence to some people, be they Japanese or not, - but it does show what the issue of whaling and dolphin killing means for the way Japan can be perceived in some quarters.
Come on Japan, don't let the world think that all Japanese support their Government's policy on whaling.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that the captive display of dolphins and the increasing number of shows that include public interaction, is one of the reasons Japanese dolphin hunters use to justify their catches. So next time you think about visiting one of these facilities maybe think about the dolphins that are dying to supply this industry.
That dolphin smile may be hiding a multitude of horrors - and not just because some hairy guy wants to give them a kiss.
In the USA I think this episode airs this evening (Wednesday 10pm PST) and on Friday in the UK. Sorry I don't know about other countries, but if anyone wants to let me know, I'll post dates here.
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creating and stimulating discussion over this serious topic is a good thing, not whether the humour is political correct. The reality is that right now pilot whales have been driven into THE COVE in Taji and face death, as do hundreds of other whales and dolphins the coming weeks. I myself have seen THE COVE - which obviously made the Southpark gang produce this episode - and can just highly recommend to go and watch it. It is eye opening!
It is a serious issue and SP is uniformly offensive, but spot on about SS. For the many people who work tirelessly w/o recognition to change policies and ensure whale protection- Watson represents everything that is reprehensible and tabloid about reality TV- SS does NOT represent conservation. I want a Watson-Turd t-shirt. Think they will make them?
I am definately not a South park fan or viewer. Way too offensive. And whaling is not a matter to laugh at and make fun of. For the sake of a few ratings points. Whaling is a serious and cruel problem. And I am so glad I did not watch the South park program. You go Captain Watson and Sea shepherd. I am behind you all the way. Thanks for caring, brave heroes! I agree with what Richard said above. The cove film did not come to my town though. Can't wait for the video on December sixth!
Did some one called Jim post a comment here?
Jim, I could read your name but the message was scrambled. Do you want to repost?
Chris
I do not understand as a peorsn how people can talk down about a bunch of people going out to try to save an endangered species. The hump back is endangered and the whaling fleet is taking 50 a year. This mean's my kids may never have a chance to see them. All for money' Is it right for us to kill off a hole species and leave nothing for our kids? All for money that will be spent long before the next generation is here. Do people not understand we are killing the world for Paper we made up how stupid can humans be something we made up is worth more to us then the world we live in and the Whales who do not hurt us in anyway. All they do is bring a smile to the face of every peorsn who see's them. But for some reason some people will sit on the Internet doing nothing and talk down about people who are trying to stop it. In this instance the boat from Japan clearly turns. This is not good when a boat there size hits a boat as small as the Addy they could have killed the crew and are damn lucky they did not do so. I find it funny how you all talk about what happened in the last seconds. The Addy was in the same spot for a long time and watched all the other ships go by the boat that hit them was the last boat to pass there is no reason for them to even come anywhere near that close to a boat sitting in the water doing nothing almost out of fuel. Watch the whole show. The boat from japan could have turned away 500 yards before impact but no they went right at them. I guess the same people who sit on there computer talking trash about people trying to make a diff in the world cannot think more then just what the Video shows them. What a Surprise that is. I love when people compare Whales to cows and such things that we control the population of and say it is the same thing. Or say it is a part of there culture well in the USA we could say there culture is slavery .SWo is it ok to have slavery today? Hell no. Some things in cultures should be learned about in school and that's it.Fact of the matter is they are killing a massive amount of whales in the name of research for profit and someone has to stop it. To tell you the truth the peorsn who said a peorsn life should always come before that of a whale; you really have to sit back and think about the world we live in .Whales are not destroying the Earth. We are. Whales are not killing off whole species. We are. I wish there was something out there that would hunt humans just for a bit to show people what it would be like to have your whole world taken away for nothing. Whales will swim towards boats and come play in front of you. They're massive, smart and gentle. Shooting a harpoon that explodes on impact into it and making it suffer for up to an hour trying to get away as it drowns on its own blood is just plain wrong. I truly hope someone sinks their ships and everyone involved dies right there in the oceans as the whales play around them. A peorsn lives on average 65 years and has a huge impact on the world around them and in most case's it is a bad one. A whale can live over 150 years and has little to no impact on the world around them and we think we are superior. Time to get our heads out of the sand before it is too late.