It doesn't deserve credit for influencing these cartoons, but it helped pave the way from the perspective of the network.

I know, I'm talking about the more 'adult' oriented cartoon stuff (FG, Simpsons, SP, Futurama, etc.). I dont think Ren & Stimpy really fall under that category. It wasn't satirical like Beavis & Butt-Head.
The Simpsons and B&BH laid the groundwork for adult oriented satirical cartoons. The Simpsons more for the general idea of it, and B&BH more for the cursing and 'controversial' aspects.

I grew up with Beavis & Butthead too and in no way do I believe it deserves any credit for being controversial, at all. I don't remember any sort of controversy regarding the show as I was growing up. What I do recall was people dissing the show for being infantile and just overall stupid, but not controversial. I mean, it wasn't really offensive to anyone. Cursing in cartoons was hardly a novelty, and even less a significant issue, since other shows like The Simpsons had already shown cartoons could be just as directed towards adults as they were towards children.

South Park, on the other hand, was pretty bold in their approaches, satirizing everything imaginable from the celebrity world to religion to violence to political views, and did it with heavily equipped material, which could very well be taken as offensive by the more purist people, since they were strongly elaborate parodies. The incessant cursing here actually contributed in making these satires have a really deep impact, too. People start taking satires on religion a lot more seriously when strong language is used in the process, for instance, so that was really the point where people started having a different outlook at cursing in cartoons, I believe. It was also a much better show, having excellent writing and being able to create the most unimaginably out-of-this-world characters and situations, while maintaining their satirical approach. Trey and Matt are nothing short of geniuses, and it's precisely the way they made a critically acclaimed, well-crafted show with such strongly controversial topics that gives South Park all the credit for paving the way for more outrageous and ambitious cartoons in terms of what they could include in their episodes.

Beavis & Butthead, while generally well-received, was not nearly as successful as South Park in this aspect. Its premise was a lot more simplistic, so, while I do find an entertaining show, I really don't think it deserves any sort of label such as groundbreaking or spectacular in any way, unlike South Park.

One question though, why is this being discussed in the American Dad thread?

I'm not sure where you grew up, but it was constantly being criticized by parents, teachers, etc.
The big thing was they thought it was leading to destructive behavior from adolescents, and just generally a bad influence on younger people in society. Kind of a 'brain wahsing' thing, that's the kind of stuff they were bashing it for.
I remember, plain as day, an actual newspaper article about how some kid started a fire and burned down his house, after watching an episode of the show.
I remember a lot of stuff like that. The show was controversial and really ahead of it's time.



But Beavis & Butt-Head was such a brilliant satire of the 'immature young misfit' concept.
I also think they satirized those exact things you cite South Park for.



Elaborate? South Park? Talk about a contradiction in terms, imo...
Could you explain that one a little more? I'm just curious because I think you're one of the smartest posters we have on DDD.
Remember our classic 'Jaws/Exorcist' debate?
(You won though, bastard... )

Negative Creep is right on this.

People said similar things about the fucking Teletubbies.

Then show me an article where a child did something very dangerous because he saw it on Teletubbies.

Is it enough to say I remember one "plain as day"?

What, am I supposed to have saved the article from 15 years ago?

I'm teasing. I don't doubt you saw that article, as I've seen similar nonsense in newspapers over the years. The reason I brought up Teletubbies is because both drew criticism from parents and educators for being bad influences and neither are inherently controversial.

I don't, for the life of me, understand how Teletubbies could possibly be considered a bad influence. On....anyone.

And yeah Beavis And Butt-Head wasn't intended to be controversial, but it had an effect nonetheless.

Oh yeah, just HOW MANY fucking people imitated that Great Cornholio schtick?
It got to a point where that was just annoying (and I never found it that funny to begin with).

Steve: "You come near me and I'll swallow everything in the medicine cabinet! Uppers, downers, stool hardeners, stool softeners....my stool won't know what to do!"

Just die already.

"A Jones For A Smith" has got to be the funniest episode in the series. Stan as a crack-head is just too much...

I told you, I don't need love! I need crack!