Something tragic has happened. In my eyes, not since the fall of Rome has the decline of society been so evident. This event is the release of the Southpark movie. The crude depictions of internal organs, sexual members, children swearing like people sailors avoid, and an amazing array of general vulgarity have shocked much of the public. That is not the problem. The problem is that underlying everything is a degree of artistic perfection rarely achieved by anything, especially the blatantly "artistic." It is going almost completely unnoticed.

       It strikes me as odd that graphic cardboard violence could cause such a stir in a society self-described as desinsitized to real violence. The fact is that almost nobody in the world is desensitized to violence; furthermore, most who think they are desensitized have never really been exposed to any. Why was Littleton so shocking? Less than 20 deaths. Try living in London during the Blitz; see how well your desensitization does you there. "But Bomber Monkey, those two boys were absolutely heartless! That's whats so shocking!" If they were truly heartless, they would not have killed themselves. Think about it: why could they not have died fighting the swat teams? Chances are they just came down from their killing high and suddenly realized what they had done. Face it. You are pathetically sensitive to violence, and so were they.

       Ok you pseudo-intellectuals, now its your turn. Those of you who claim that the movie is trash on the grounds of its foul language and profanity have a lot of explaining to do. Those who call the movie "a shining example of what's wrong with America today" have more accurately described yourselves. For the sake of amusement, lets compare Southpark to a randomly selected work of "The Bard." I've heard it done before, but not by anyone who knew anything about the slang of the era, nor by anyone who even faintly understood Shakespeare. This comparison is irrelevant to the cause of intolerance, prudism, and censorship when done properly, because Shakespear can, on average, match Matt and Trey innuendo for innuendo, and then have enough left over to make up for the fact that "fuck" had not been invented in his time. The concept of "profanity" itself is a relic of a society that decided that the human body was disgusting and flawed, despite the fact that it was made in their own god's image. Seriously, if you do not want to fuck pigs, then do not. If it seems unnatural to you, then do not watch someone do it. But understand this before you act: there are so many ways of understanding every single thing that there can be no single right one. What you believe will draw you to a particular view, but there are also so many possible beliefs that yours are similarly not the only right ones. Even if you are a die hard christian, and only christian beliefs can be right, there is an almost infinite number of possible interpretations of your own religion.

       Another surprise arises from this movie. People with arts degrees are supposed to be "professional artists," meaning that they are supposed to be capable of immaculate self expression. One would think that this would enable them to understand the more subtle points of other people's expression. If that is so, then why is it that they cannot grasp the not-so-amazingly-subtle deeper point of this movie? Matt and Trey sort of slap you across the face with a very serious point: when the blood of the innocent (being those who express something that isnt understood) is spilled, Satan will come to earth and rule. I suppose that not many of the people who will see this will have read 451 Farenheit by Ray Bradbury, and if I recommend that you read it I will probably lose half my readers right here. This book describes the reign of Satan to which Southpark's creators are alluding. For the ignorant: the book takes place in a world completely controlled by the government, which bans any self expression which provokes thought or stirs controversy; this includes all books except trash novels. Pornography is allowed because it makes so many people happy (yeah right). I am an engineer and I spotted this! Why have so many "artists" overlooked it? I was personally disappointed that they made it this obvious, but I guess any degree of subtlety would lose all but a handful of people.

       While I'm on this topic of art, I should point out that the art scene has not changed in atmosphere considerably since since the end of the renaissance. At this point, art became esoteric and the expression became obscure to the untrained. Those who made art which was understandable to a slightly larger group were panned critically and the skill of their art was not seen until much later, and never fully appreciated by any but a small group. Shakespear himself is an example. Most of his fans are simply "paying homage to art" by seeing his works; they have no real understanding. Oddly those that I know with the ability to understand Shakespeare best are also those that love Southpark for "obscure reasons." Those who have been involved with the art scene have always been immersed in a feeling of being unique, with their own thoughts and an ability to express them. By and large, this is bullshit. The art scene has always been a few original bright stars in the midst of a sea of thoughtless imitators. And almost without exception, these "open minded" artists have panned the works of those who expressed beliefs divergent from their own or used a style that was divergent from their preferences. Here at the close of the milennium, there is a small artistic trend towards true open mindedness, and a small few people are actually giving a closer look to other beliefs and styles. It is promising, so some figure of authority will soon act and declare it "evil."

       Unfortunately, this amazing work of art is probably doomed to obscurity like that suffered by Salvador Dali and Gabriel Garcφa Mßrquez. That is, widely unknown gems, doomed never to be household names like the often less worthy Shakespeare and Beethoven.

"As if this great outburst of anger had purged all my ills, killed all my hopes, I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world. And finding it so much like myself, in fact so fraternal, I realized that I'd been happy, and that I was still happy. For the final consummation and for me to feel less lonely, my last wish was that there should be a crowd of spectators at my execution and that they should greet me with cries of hatred."