--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hearing that the same men who brought us…" description: "\"Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of Mormon,' we were tempted to turn away, as from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png" --- # Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were… ![“Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of Mormon,' we were tempted to turn away, as from an inevitable massacre.” quote by James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png) > “Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of Mormon,' we were tempted to turn away, as from an inevitable massacre.” [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prejudice can cause us to reject art before experiencing it. **In simple terms:** Prejudgment blocks appreciation. Key Takeaway Stay open to new works. Themes prejudice art culture media Mood skeptical curious Type cultural critical When to use this quote - theatre criticism - media consumption - cultural dialogue Key Concepts sociology psychology Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions shape your reactions? - Can you separate creator from work? A Different Perspective Bias may be rooted in deeper social tensions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Book Of Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book-of-mormon/) [Massacres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/massacres/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mormon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mormon/) ## Related quotes > [And what could be a hotter ticket than the improbable triumph of 'The Book of Mormon,' the musical-comedy moon shot of the season? Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/and-what-could-be-a-hotter-ticket-than-the-improbable-triumph-of-the/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [It's funny because 'The Book of Mormon' is 'The Book of Mormon' now. When I was doing it at the very beginning, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-gad/it-s-funny-because-the-book-of-mormon-is-the-book-of-mormon-now-when/) [Josh Gad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-gad/) > [ A good analogy \[Charlie Hebdo\] in lots of ways is "South Park" - the hugely popular American cartoon show - and the things that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/a-good-analogy-charlie-hebdo-in-lots-of-ways-is-south-park-the-hugely/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [I was in a Broadway musical called Big Time Buck Wright.The play didn't make it but I was a success. It lasted six days…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/i-was-in-a-broadway-musical-called-big-time-buck-wright-the-play-didn/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [I have a musical called Goodbye and Good Luck, based on a Grace Paley short story. I also have King Island Christmas, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-friedman/i-have-a-musical-called-goodbye-and-good-luck-based-on-a-grace-paley/) [David Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-friedman/) > [In 1969, I wrote a musical called 'Mother Earth.' It was a rock musical with an ecology theme. We did it at the South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-tennille/in-1969-i-wrote-a-musical-called-mother-earth-it-was-a-rock-musical/) [Toni Tennille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-tennille/) > [I was doing a Broadway musical called 'Smile' with Howard Ashman and Marvin Hamlisch in 1984/5 when it abruptly closed. Howard was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-benson/i-was-doing-a-broadway-musical-called-smile-with-howard-ashman-and/) [Jodi Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-benson/) > [I was doing a Broadway play, and I was really new to this business. The Broadway play was my first job, literally. The play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krumholtz/i-was-doing-a-broadway-play-and-i-was-really-new-to-this-business-the/) [David Krumholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krumholtz/) > [We've been working for four years on a musical called 'Annette' and we met the French director Leos Carax at the Cannes Film Festival…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-mael/we-ve-been-working-for-four-years-on-a-musical-called-annette-and-we/) [Russell Mael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-mael/) > [We did a musical called 'The Wind in the Willows Christmas' in Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. I played an otter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-escola/we-did-a-musical-called-the-wind-in-the-willows-christmas-in-two/) [Cole Escola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-escola/) > [I was actually in a children's musical called 'Honk' that is super iconic. That was actually one of my favorites. I love that show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-madix/i-was-actually-in-a-children-s-musical-called-honk-that-is-super/) [Ariana Madix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-madix/) > [I remember really getting into 'The Wiz' and an old musical called 'Purlie,' which Melba Moore sang. I liked those roof-raising shows because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norbert-leo-butz/i-remember-really-getting-into-the-wiz-and-an-old-musical-called/) [Norbert Leo Butz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norbert-leo-butz/) > [Now 'South Park' - they are interested in blasphemy. They're interested in creating offence for its own sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baddiel/now-south-park-they-are-interested-in-blasphemy-they-re-interested-in/) [David Baddiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baddiel/) > [I watch cartoons a lot. I'm a big 'Rick and Morty' and 'South Park' fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-garratt/i-watch-cartoons-a-lot-i-m-a-big-rick-and-morty-and-south-park-fan/) [Jack Garratt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-garratt/) > [You know that everyone thinks that in order to do South Park we must be wild, crazy, rock and roll stars. But the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-parker/you-know-that-everyone-thinks-that-in-order-to-do-south-park-we-must/) [Trey Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-parker/) ## More by James Fenton > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' The alternative is a plague of doves, or a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/love-is-so-short-of-perfect-rhymes-that-convention-allows-half-rhymes/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Lyric poetry is, of course, musical in origin. I do know that what happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/lyric-poetry-is-of-course-musical-in-origin-i-do-know-that-what/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [At somewhere around 10 syllables, the English poetic line is at its most relaxed and manageable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/at-somewhere-around-10-syllables-the-english-poetic-line-is-at-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-rap-as-in-most-popular-lyrics-a-very-low-standard-is-set-for-rhyme/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The Italian word 'stanza' means 'a room', and a room is a good way to conceive of a stanza. A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) [Explore all 72 James Fenton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of Mormon,' we were tempted to turn away, as from an inevitable massacre.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Fenton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us-south-park-were-mounting-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us-south-park-were-mounting-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/james-fenton-9438_book_hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us_1950275.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of…” — James Fenton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "James Fenton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hearing that the same men who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us-south-park-were-mounting-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/hearing-that-the-same-men-who-brought-us-south-park-were-mounting-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```