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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 22, 1997)
EDITOR Paula Lavigne OPINION EDITOR Matthew Waite EDITORIAL BOARD Erin Gibson Joshua Gillin Jeff Randall Julie Sobczyk Ryan Soderlin • i . si>r; Our VIEW ‘You bastards!’ Thank the Internet for ‘South Park’ Disclaimer: The following editorial contains graphic language and adult situ ations, and therefore should not be read by anyone. Comedy Central is trying to kill “South Park” on the Internet. You bastards! For the unfamiliar (most of whom have probably been living in a cave for the past few months), “South Park” is an animated series that has taken the television world and the Internet by storm. And although the series may have been a hit on its own, the abundance of “South Park” sites on the Web has undoubtedly con tributed to the series’ success. In other words, without the Internet, “South Park” could have been just a cult favorite, rather than the four-assed beefcake of a show it is now. But let’s not put the Cartman before the horse. The cardboard cutout world of Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman first saw the light of day in the form of a four-minute short enti tled, “The Spirit of Christmas.” Co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone created the short as a video Christmas card for a television executive, and “The Spirit of Christmas” was never intended for broadcast. But some of the recipients of this “card” ip.which Jjgsps and Santa Claus Rattle for 'lj^pimerfci#Sg^ep&5§- pbstedThe 53^ “ megabyte fire on the Internet, and a craze began. Soon, “The Spirit of Christmas” was all over the Internet like rats on Kenny’s life less body. And when the announcement was made that “South Park” was about to make its tele vision debut, new sites sprang up every where. The series, with its amateurish anima tion and toilet humor, became one of the most widely hyped phenomena the Internet has ever seen. “South Park” became Comedy Central’s highest-rated original show ever. And now, Comedy Central wants to take “South Park” back from the people who helped make it a success, the Webmasters whose unofficial “South Park” sites encour aged people to watch the show in the first place. Copyright infringement on the Internet has been a popular source of debate lately, and Comedy Central may be well within its rights to demand that “South Park” not be rebroadcast without their permission. But in the case of “South Park,” a show that the Internet helped build, it seems as though Comedy Central is biting the hand that has fed it Snacky Cakes. Perhaps Comedy Central should leave the Internet alone in this case. Or, as Cartman might say, “You get your bitch-ass back in the ■--- : . cuiiunii riDCi Unsigned editorials are the opinions of the Fail 1997 Daily Nebraskan. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, its employees, its student body or the University of Nebraska Bo^rd of Regents. A column is solely the opinion of its author. The Board of Regents serves as publisher of the Daily Nebraskan; policy is set by the Daily Nebraskan Editorial Board. The UNL Publications Board, established by the regents, supervises the production of the paper. According to policy set by the regents, responsibility for the editorial content of the newspaper lies solely in the hands of its student employees. ■ Letter Policy The Daily Nebraskan welcomes brief letters to the editor and guest columns, but does not guarantee their publication. The Daily Nebraskan retains the right to edit or reject any material submitted. Submitted material becomes property of the Daily Nebraskan and cannot be returned. Anonymous submissions will not be published. Those who submit letters must identify themselves by name, year in school, major and/or group affiliation, if any. Submit material to: Daily Nebraskan, 34 Nebraska Union, 1400 R St. Lincoln, NE. 68588-0448. E-mail: letters@unlinfb.unl.edu. 4 Haney’s VIEW ntwp 'e#\ oiet Muhw/ boModjJ RAfe Agg lo fetfAMP lifc X&fr fences. DN LETTERS Goodbye The death of Dr. Robert Miewald represents a tragic loss to the Department of Political Science and to the entire UNL community. He was a gifted teacher who found a way to effectively bring the importance of government and the responsibilities of citizenship alive to his undergraduate classes. ' Along with sharing his talent and dedication as a teacher to his under graduate students, he gave a special gift to all of his graduate students, both pre sent and past. From North Dakota, to California to Texas, his former students are mourning the loss of a mentor. His depth of insight as a scholar and humanist will serve as an inspiration throughout our own careers as acade micians. May we as teachers do justice to his teachings and serve his memory well. Pamela Imperato University of North Dakota Grand Forks Put your Dukes up , This is referring to Todd Munson’s comments about the Dukes of Hazzard show. It appears that Todd doesn’t know what really went on in Hazzard County. Bo and Luke were far from being criminals. In fact it was the authorities, Boss Hogg and Roscoe R Coltrane, who were always up to trouble and breaking die law. They were always set ting up Bo, Luke, and the rest of the Dukes. That’s why Bo and Luke were in jail so often. The Dukes were the good guys. They worked with other people to catch the bad guys. And what’s this about incest? Daisy, the only lady I know who wears hose and heels with jean shorts, was being pursued by one of the Hazzard County police officers. Todd obviously hasn’t seen die last episode. > ■ What we really need, Todd, are more people like the Duke family: hon est and hardworking. Next time pay a little bit more attention to the'show r—"■■ ” ■ when it is on. Do you even know the name of their car? Heather Swanson junior nursing Dukes of Hazzard watcher The Tace’ of television In response to Todd Munson’s col umn, “Clash of the Titans,” I would just like to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” Despite the fact that I am a fan of both “Dukes of Hazzard,” and “CHiPs” vehicular mayhem, they are both inferi or programs. Even though the masters of disaster did not begin their powerful reign until the ‘80s, both of die lader shows combined cannot even hope to overcome the awesome godly powers unleashed by the one and only “A Team!” So show some respect because “I pity the fool who does not respect the ‘A-Team.’” Tim Lawler senior undeclared More Duking it out You know, I don’t really have any thing against CHiPs, but there’s just no reason for you to go around Dukes bashing. When CHiPs debuted, it was a new low for television. Together, Ponch and John showed us a cardboard front of life in California so utterly fake it made Lost in Space look like a NASA docu mentary. Two highway patrolmen who never had to draw their guns in years on the job? Anyone living in L.A. naive enough to turn their head in the direc tion of CHiPs’ “positive message” for longer than a second or two was proba bly mugged or shot in the back. In 1979, “Dukes of Hazzard” hit the airwaves. In America, it seems, we simply have to have a group of people we can all feel superior to. But by 1979, most of the usual targets had been able to stand up for themselves. Lucky for us, though, there was the American South, which hadn’t stood up for itself ever since the Civil War. It was clearly the Dukes, and no doubt the rest of the South, that undid the next generation’s sense of respect for police, their par ents, and authority in general. Certainly it had nothing to do with the cultural rot brought upon us in the last 30 years by the Yankees in Hollywood and the rest of urban America. And even if it was n’t, who was going to stop us from say ing so? A bunch of hillbillies with Confederate flags on the cars they were using to outrun the idiot police they have in the South? Hardly. Yes, the Dukes made a safe target, or at least, so it ought to have been. But it turned out that everyone loved the show, especially Southerners. It was all fake, just like “CHiPs” and everything else in Hollywood, but it was the right kind of fake, the kind of fake that makes a truly great TV show. It was a story just for fun, not an absurd farce. The Dukes weren't running from The Law, they were running from Boss Hogg and Roscoe. Now, some people might not understand the difference there (one guy comes to mind real fast), but as the Nielsen ratings showed us for six years, most of America did under stand. The Dukes always got away, and there was nothing wrong with that. So it really is no surprise that UNL is a “Dukes of Hazzard” school. Most of the people you meet here are friend ly, easy going, and hip to a truly great TV show, not too different from the Dukes themselves. But watch out for the other kind of students, busting through stop lights and running over bicyclists. They must have been trying to beat their deadlmes attheDN. Brian Linnell sophomore, music