How do cartoons like South Park and Family guy dont get sued?
I mean in shows like south park and family guy they always make fun of international contriversies. Like family guy always makes fun of president bush and vp cheney. I love both of those shows i have always wondered that.
Answers:
The First Amendment protects satire and parody as a forms of free speech and expression. South Park, the Simpsons and Family Guy Parody current adult life and are protected by the constitution.
As President Clinton and Bush have found out, citizens can malign, disparage and lampoon public figures. Under New York Times v. Sullivan and Falwell v. Hustler Magazine, speech that is critical of public figures only loses its First Amendment protection if it contains a false statement of fact, the falsehood is uttered deliberately or with recklessness as to its veracity, and the speech ends up defaming and injuring the figure's reputation or intentionally inflicting emotional distress. In other words, speech involving public figures, including parody and caricature, is constitutionally protected unless the speaker is deliberately or recklessly lying about a public figure.
Because satire is a pretty well protected art form.
Easy, freedom of speech.
because (family guy) doesn't hurt the nwo agenda
south park faces a fair amount of shat
they are not real people.
Guess that kinda blows the lib theory on a fascist totatalitarian take- over of their freedoms doesnt it?
they don't, well family guy did and it was taken off the air
but its called freedom of speech and expression and we have that it america. South Park is actually on cable which makes it immune from lawsuits because you have it as a choice because you pay for it. I have no idea about Family guy but maybe because its on fox and fox is just a completely different beast, it is f'd up
easy, nobody takes them for real.
Satire is very well protected, and you are allowed to make fun of public figures all you want. They do not have the same expectations of privacy under the law as you or me.
you know, "freedom of speech"? ever read the bill of rights?
Freedom of Speech and the show's owners, producers, etc... are not republican. If they were, I'm sure the world would come down on them like a bear does to honey.
It is still legal to make fun of people.
well south park is funny
family guy now that should get sued - it just is not funny.
Because they are protected under the parody doctrine, which is an integral part of free speech.
The courts analyze it this way -- will the average person viewing the material automatically assume that the person being portrayed approved or endorsed the message, or would the average viewer take the materials as commentary ABOUT that person being portrayed.
In those cartoons, it's fairly obvious the intent is to comment about the person, and not to say that the person actually did those things or said those things. So, it falls under parody and social commentary protections.
The answers post by the user, for information only, FreeLawAnswer.com does not guarantee the right.
Answer question:
More Law Questions and Answers: