Revisiting now is sometimes uncomfortable, and occasionally revelatory. On June 24, every episode of South Park arrives on HBO Max, with its warts, genius, and all else that comes with it. “With Apologies” was later praised by the NAACP-connected group Abolish the “N” Word, whose cofounder said, “This show, in its own comedic way, is helping to educate people about the power of this word and how it feels to have hate language directed at you.” That isn’t to say that Parker and Stone haven’t successfully walked a fine line on sensitive issues on occasion, however: The Season 11 episode “With Apologies to Jesse Jackson,” which was made in response to comedian Michael Richards shouting racial epithets at Black hecklers, featured 42 uncensored uses of the N-word. South Park as a whole has never been adept at addressing racial issues-the fictional town’s lone Black student is named Token Black, and that’s just one of the show’s many offenses. Eric Cartman is racist and xenophobic to his core, and while his ignorance is supposed to be the butt of the joke in many cases, writers dating back to David Margolis in 1999 have argued the popular character has helped normalize anti-Semitism. Garrison, transitioned early in the show’s run, and mocked trans athletes as recently as 2019. The show has handled gender issues clumsily since the boys’ teacher, Mrs. That approach has not been without controversy. It’s not surprising that Stone once said, “I hate conservatives, but I really fucking hate liberals.” But we’re wrong, for the right reasons.” In Parker and Stone’s world, everyone has a point, or perhaps no one has one at all. Look no further than the Season 9 episode “Best Friends Forever” to see their nihilistic views on display: After Kenny’s umpteenth death sparks a right-to-die debate that echoed the Terri Schiavo case-the episode aired hours before Schiavo passed away-Kyle declares “Cartman’s side is right, for the wrong reasons. Seemingly no one and nothing has been exempt from Parker and Stone’s sometimes savage satire. That’s a result of the show’s famously nimble approach, which allows it to produce some episodes in as quickly as three or four days. The show has been praised and condemned in equal part for its handling of current events and social issues ranging from Scientology to China to Osama bin Laden to virtually anything that’s appeared in the headlines in the past two decades. South Park, however, aims to be more than kids being kids and unearthing new obscenities (though that was certainly a large part of its early appeal). Robin Williams, an Acid Trip, and Moral Panic: The Story of “Blame Canada” at the Oscars But they’re just 10 years old, and South Park consistently reminds us of that, whether it’s through their love of World of Warcraft, or Stan getting his heart broken for the first time, or their inability to understand words best suited for the bedroom. They’re often the smartest people in a reactionary town frequently visited by vapid celebrities. (Of course, the episode’s title, “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe,” also signaled much of what was to come.) The children are our eyes into the bizarre, titular Colorado town, which series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone use to dissect the world we live in. In the nearly 23 years since that pilot debuted on Comedy Central in August 1997, 306 additional episodes of South Park have aired, most blending the pure and profane in a way foreshadowed by that opening minute. But it doesn’t stop them from throwing the word around. The boys-with the possible exception of Kenny, who’s muffled by his trademark orange hood-have no answers. They’re interrupted by Kyle’s brother Ike, whom Cartman calls a dildo. After the brief theme song performed by Primus and a gonzo credit sequence, we’re introduced to four crudely animated third-graders-Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and, of course, the demagogue child-tyrant Eric Cartman-as they sing “School Days,” an innocent song from 1907 about an older couple looking back on their youth. It’s all there in the opening scene of the first episode of South Park.
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