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MTV, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and people with disabilities. These are not things one would naturally associate, to say the least. So could any project uniting those disparate forces result in anything other than epic disaster of the angry-mob-with-torches-producing variety, you might wonder? Surprising as it may sound, and against all logic, reason, and odds, yes. Yes it could.
The project in question is "How's Is Your News?," a newsmagazine-style series produced by Parker and Stone that premiered on MTV earlier this month, which features a cast primarily composed of people with mental disabilities who act as roving reporters covering a wide range of subjects.
I know how this sounds. But trust me, read on.
As potentially explosive as all of this might seem at first blush, the show is congenial and surprisingly easy to like. The series is actually the fruition of work begun a decade ago at Camp Jabberwocky on Martha's Vineyard, a camp for the mentally and physically disabled. Video interviews were used as part of the camp's curriculum when it was found to be empowering and have a positive impact on the campers' sense of self; these videos eventually fell into the hands of then struggling would-be filmmakers Parker and Stone, who in 2002 went on to fashion from them an award-winning documentary. Now Parker and Stone, who considered removing their names from the project so as not to taint by association what Stone calls "[a show] pure of heart and pure of intention," have brought "How's Your News?" to a larger, more mainstream audience on MTV.
Here's a representative segment from the first episode of the show:
It's a wonderful and heartening thing -- perhaps a sort of penance on MTV's part for the vapidity that passes for the lion's share of programming on their channel -- to see a show on a popular network bringing disabled persons to the fore in a way that is so utterly winning. The individual "How's Your News?" reporters come across as real and enormously personable, neither "special" nor objects of apprehension and curiosity. Instead, the show presents viewers with an opportunity to connect and truly identify with these men and women, to laugh along with them but not at them, and better still to chuckle at their genuinely funny jokes and smile at their disarming charm and warmth, without even a trace of cloying sentimentality being suggested.
As unbelievable as it sounds, MTV, "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and people with disabilities have together created something wholly positive, uplifting, and yes, genuinely entertaining. You can watch full episodes of "How's Your News?" online at MTV.com, or Sunday nights at 10:30pm on MTV.
What do you think about this series? Is this something you'd consider watching? If you've seen the show, would you agree or disagree with my assessment of it? To the comments, good peoples!
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Tracey, aka Sweetney, writes about Pop Culture & Entertainment at MamaPop, and is now an even bigger fan of Team Parker/Stone.
