It's been nearly 10 years since "South Park"'s pilot episode aired on Aug. 13, 1997. The politically incorrect creators of the show, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, are infamous for their tweaked vision of American culture seen through the eyes of their four young protagonists, Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny, who hail from the "quiet little white-bread redneck mountain town" in Colorado.
During the 10 seasons of its existence, "South Park" has broached countless controversial subjects, including gay marriage, abortion and pedophilia in the Catholic Church, just to name a few. In what was probably their boldest move, they featured a clip of Jesus and George W. Bush, among others, defecating on each other and the American flag.
In the premiere of season 11, entitled "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson," Randy Marsh, Stan's father, drops a racially derogative term on national television in his attempt to win "Wheel of Fortune." The category was "People Who Annoy You," and with only one letter left to complete the correct answer of "naggers," Randy blurted out his completely inappropriate answer.
Upon his return, Randy tries to make amends to the African-American community by kneeling over and kissing Jesse Jackson's behind. Nonetheless, he is still ostracized.
Meanwhile, South Park Elementary welcomes a guest speaker with dwarfism, Dr. Nelson, who is there to teach the children about sensitivity and tolerance. Unfortunately, Cartman cannot help but break into hysterical laughter at the sight of him, which interrupts his lecture. The two continue to butt heads as Dr. Nelson vainly tries to cure Eric of his evil ways.
The episode parodies Michael Richard's incident at the Laugh Factory in Nov. 2006, where he burst out into inappropriate racial slurs during his performance. Afterwards, the comedian met with Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to offer his apologies for his remarks.
In the middle of Wednesday night's episode, Richard shows up with Mark Fuhrman, a detective in the O.J. Simpson case accused of planting evidence and making racist remarks, to defend Randy against a group of rednecks who were chasing him in a pickup truck.
While this is happening, Stan tries to reconcile his friendship with Token, the only African-American boy in South Park, by explaining that his dad is "not racist, just stupid."
"South Park" frequently mimics current events in an effort to satire American culture, which gives the show an unparalleled quality that allows us all to have a good laugh at the ideals, stereotypes and taboos of our country.
The creators of the show have been known to make changes at the last minute so that they can keep episodes up to date. In season 9, they aired "Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow" shortly after Hurricane Katrina so they could include the controversy surrounding the government's incompetent response.
Another recurrent tool in "South Park" is the flagrant use of irony. In Wednesday's premiere, Randy tells a room full of African-Americans that they couldn't possibly know the damage that a word can inflict.
Along the same lines, Randy is hunted by angry rednecks sporting the Confederate flag who resent his racist comments on "Wheel of Fortune." The reversal of roles that comes up in numerous episodes is one of the many tricks up the creators' sleeves to keep audiences laughing hard.
"With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" may not be the greatest episode, but it kicked off season 11 with the same wit and ridiculousness that makes "South Park" the best show on television.
Cynics across America will be pleased this year as Trey and Matt show no signs of backing down.
