Random Times South Park Actually Made A Really Good Point (15 items)

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  (#5) "Stunning And Brave" Points To The Issues Of Unrelenting Political Correctness

  In the first episode of Season 19, which aired in September 2015, South Park introduced a brilliant new character, PC Principal. PC Principal is not just a social justice warrior, he’s the social justice warrior. However, it truly is problematic when social justice warriors take the political correctness fight too far because it can kill dialogue and discourse. And that’s the point that PC Principal makes so hilariously in his debut.

  In this episode, the world is still abuzz about Caitlyn Jenner’s transition, oozing with admiration for how brave she was. And she was. But that does not inoculate her from criticism for her pre-existing narcissism and other less-than-admirable personality traits she possessed before her transition. Kyle makes this point in the episode - or at least, he tries to. 

  PC Principal and his PC frat bros will not even entertain discussion on the matter: Caitlyn Jenner is a hero because she transitioned publicly - any word to the contrary will be met with violence, even if it’s a valid and salient point. Ultimately, to avoid public backlash, Kyle must state that Jenner is a hero despite his beliefs. Thus, South Park brilliantly highlights how zealous and strict overuse of PC results in no discourse, which stunts society by refusing to hear valid counterarguments.
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  (#13) "Go Fund Yourself" Tears Down The Washington Redskins And Crowdfunding At The Same Time

  In case you live under a rock, the name of the professional football team based in America's capital is a racial slur. With each year, the pressure on owner Dan Snyder to change the team's name ramps up. He has stood steadfastly against such a change because he's a proud racist (honestly, there's no other reasonable excuse). Season 18's premiere episode, "Go Fund Yourself," aired in 2014 and lambasts the absurdity of Snyder's position while also managing to attack crowdfunding. 

  Cartman decides to make money by starting a company that does nothing and running a crowdfunding campaign for it. The Washington Redskins lost the team name's trademark so Cartman snatches it up. Snyder comes to Cartman to beg for him to stop using their name out of decency (hah), to which Cartman replies, "We can’t just change the name of our company because it’s, like, super-hard. But, hey - from one Redskin to another, go f*ck yourself." And, just like how the title takes a jab at crowdfunding, Cartman's four-point business model highlights the absurdity of such a method in one easy chart. 
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  (#11) "My Future Self N' Me" Takes A Legitimate Look At Marijuana Use

  There's no doubt that, for some, marijuana and South Park go together like bread and butter. In the episode "My Future Self N' Me," Stan and Butters are visited by their future selves to warn them against using drugs, as they will turn into sad, old men, if they do. Things start to fall apart, however, when they realize these future selves are in fact actors hired by their parents to scare them into good behavior, and hijinks ensue.

  While the episode has plenty of trademark ridiculous moments, even including a stunt with poor "future Stan" getting his hand chopped off in a peak of improvisation, it manages to come together with a surprisingly real and honest statement from Randy Marsh on the topic of the day: 

  "Well, Stan, the truth is marijuana probably isn't gonna make you kill people, and it most likely isn't gonna fund terrorism, but... well, son, pot makes you feel fine with being bored. And it's when you're bored that you should be learning some new skill or discovering some new science or being creative. If you smoke pot you may grow up to find out that you aren't good at anything."

  By finally being honest about drug use, Stan and his dad were able to have a productive discussion about marijuana which made some very valid points – it might not be lethal or fund terrorism, but it can have an adverse effect on a person's future.
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  (#1) Trapped in the Closet

  • TV Episode

  First, it must be said that the Church of Scientology is litigious. However, South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone held no such reservations when they wrote “Trapped in the Closet,” arguing that Scientology masquerades as a religion, but is really nothing more than a money-making scheme. In "Trapped in the Closet," which aired in 2005, the Church of Scientology decides that Stan is the reincarnation of their founder and prophet, L. Ron Hubbard. The church president and various celebrities of Scientology ask Stan to continue Hubbard’s writing, so Stan obliges.

  What follows is a hilarious episode satirizing the Scientology religion. It has Hollywood celebrities that are part of the church, like R. Kelly, Tom Cruise, and John Travolta, run into Stan's closet, refusing to come out. Stan then starts arguing with the president of the church, saying that the church shouldn't be charging money to help people. The president reveals that that is the entire point of the Church of Scientology. In Stan’s final 'doctrine,' he admits he is not the reincarnation of Hubbard and that "Scientology is just a big fat global scam." The episode ends with the church threatening to sue Stan.

  The central focus of the episode revolves around the institutions of religion. Here, South Park highlights issues of money, for-profit-like behavior, and a none-too-subtle questioning of said celebrities’ sexualities in the Church of Scientology. 
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  (#3) "You Have 0 Friends" Gets Real About The Problems Of Social Media

  It's no secret that Facebook has wildly changed the way we interact with one another, and naturally the creators of South Park had to put in their two cents on the matter; fortunately, they managed to make a legitimate but hilarious commentary on the pitfalls of social media in the process. In "You Have 0 Friends," Kyle goes against the grain and friends loner Kip Drordy, which has the adverse effect of causing Kyle's social cache to plummet. Meanwhile Stan, who wanted nothing to do with Facebook in the first place, winds up getting sucked into the machine and has to digitally battle for his own survival in the real world. The fact that Cartman goes out of his way to create a "Mad Friends" podcast, which keeps track of who in town is worth friending and who is a newly minted social pariah, only adds to the dichotomy experienced between the friends and their relationship with Facebook. 

  Whether they want to or not, everyone in South Park is drawn into Facebook one way or another.
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  (#14) The Passion of the Jew

  • TV Episode

  "The Passion of the Jew" unpacks the antisemitic themes of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ by using South Park's resident sociopath and antisemite, Eric Cartman. In this episode, which aired in 2004, Cartman recognizes the film's message as expressing "the horror and filthiness of the common Jew," and he rallies Christians to his cause. They fill the streets, goosestepping and chanting, “Achtung,” and, “Juden,” led by Hitler's Mini Me.

  Kenneth Jacobson, the Associate National Director for the Anti-Defamation League, approved of the episode, saying, "The basic message of the show is: Gibson’s movie is no way to teach Christianity." The episode is ludicrous, over the top, and still manages to portray offensive stereotypes of Jews, as is South Park's way. Ultimately, it makes a salient point about Gibson's work. 

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