#south park critical

[medusasea]

South Park Has too Many Characters

Don't get me wrong, most of the characters are good or at least decent, but there are tons of characters who don't get as much screen time as they deserve or they are downright underdeveloped.

I feel for instance like the show didn't give Wendy enough screen time, but she is one of the lucky characters, since she often has an important compared to most other recurring characters.

Heidi however is pretty much a background character now. However, she is also one of the lucky ones since she got quite a long arc and character development.

Damien on the other hand has only one episode. He is never seen interacting with his father Satan, even though the latter frequently appeared.

There's also Kevin Mccormick, who has always just been there since the show's beginning. They then gave Kenny a little sister in the season 9 episode "Best Friends Forever", where she was just a background character and I didn't even notice her during the first viewing. She only became relevant six seasons later and her only role since then is to be taken care of by Kenny. Adding her didn't even make it easier to give Kenny the spotlight more often, since she was rarely used. Not to mention that if they wanted Kenny to take care of someone, there were already plenty of other characters he could've helped. Sure, his friends aren't nearly as vulnerable as Karen and it wouldn't make any sense for him to pretend being their guardian angel (I'd argue it doesn't even make sense for him to pretend being Karen's guardian angel, but that's a story for another day), but they are not indestructible either. The show frequently puts these kids in danger, it has supernatural elements. Writing Kenny as the one needing help/rescue more often would've also been better than adding Karen just to waste her, since with Kenny they bother giving him legitimate character development and agency. Karen was only relevant in 2 episodes and 1 game segment. If instead of adding her, the writers had Kenny take care of any other character or had him be the one needing help, it wouldn't be nearly as jarring, even if those plots were mediocre or even bad.

Speaking of Kenny, many people complain he doesn't get enough relevance either. I pretty much agree with this, but I don't think it's too big of a problem for the same reason I don't mind it that much Wendy didn't get more screen time.

I am not expecting them to develop every single character or to give all of them the same amount of relevance. Most minor characters should stay like that. As I mentioned, I can cut them some slack for underusing a character that already had plenty development and multiple appearances. Though it highly depends both on the character and the story overall if I consider them underused. For instance, I dislike not getting at least a few interactions between Damien and his father, but I don't mind Gary being used only once, since he was pretty much there for the Mormon theme of the episode and not very memorable in comparison to other South Park characters. He's a good enough character and I wouldn't have minded if he appeared more often, but I don't really miss him either. There are some fans who wanted him back badly and it's totally fine if you also want that.

This is pretty much all I have to write for this post. I don't think it's possible for the creators to perfectly write every single character and I can accept underused characters to a certain extent, but in South Park's case the problem feels to big for me.

[southpark-analysis]

Karen's Guardian Angel Makes no Sense

If you are a South Park fan, you probably know that Kenny poses as Karen's guardian angel with his Mysterion alter ego. While it's sweet of him and all, it doesn't really make any sense if you think about it. Let me explain.

I will start with the most egregious problem, that being that Mysterion already revealed his identity in front of the whole Town. There's no way this didn't become the talk of the town, how would Karen not heard about this at school or on the streets? Furthermore, though not quite as nonsensical, wouldn't she also have also seen at school other kids calling her "guardian angel" Mysterion and calling him a superhero instead of, well a guardian angel? Wouldn't she also have questioned this?

Now, Kenny also used his Mysterion alter-ego to deal with his parents and they also didn't recognize him long after he revealed his true identity. However, the South Park adults are not the sharpest tools in the shed and Kenny's parents in particular are often drunk or high, so they were probably too disconnected from reality to understand when other people were talking about Mysterion's true identity or they did understand that, but they brushed it off as a drug-induced hallucination. Matt and Trey probably didn't think about an explanation, but I still can't think about possible explanations to why Kenny's parents don't know who Myterion truly is. However, this is not the case with Karen, who doesn't consume drugs nor alcohol and who wasn't established as stupid.

I don't even think it's in character for Kenny to hide behind an alter-ego to cheer someone he loves up. Kenny is perverted, highly hedonisitic, reckless and tough. Of course, he also has a selfless, heroic side, which is sometimes shown in his superhero alter-ego. Sure, he is a good person deep down, but he is also a very straight forward person. I don't recall him ever sugarcoating what he says or does. I don't recall him not having enough self-confidence to hide his true self from other people. I don't recall him ever hiding his true identity to make someone feel safe, besides Karen. Sure, he hides things from other people, but that was when he didn't want to get caught doing illegal stuff like cheesing. Sure, he used his Mysterion alter-ego to hide his true identity from the whole town, but that was so that villains and the police wouldn't know where to find him in private, not to make himself look more powerful than he truly is. I can buy him being more resposnible around his sister, but why wouldn't he just take care of his sister as his true self? Alternatively, why not tell her it's him in the costume? Does he not trust her to keep his secret? Does he think he's not enough for her? Does he think she's too sensitive to trust him as his true self?

They clearly added this plot point just so that the agnostic foster parents would get pissed at the other foster kids for referring to Kenny as a guardian angel.

Now you might be thinking, "Who cares it doesn't make sense? South Park is a very surreal and raunchy comedy. It's best material comes from jokes that are unrealistic/don't make sense.". Yes, their JOKES don't have to make sense and those jokes are often even effective as plot points. Kenny's interactions with Karen however are meant to be taken seriosuly, for the most part at least. If they are meant to be taken seriously they need internal logic or at least they can't be too jarring. Now you might be thinking: "Who cares if it's meant to be serious? It matters how it makes you feel, not if it makes sense.". To that I reply that we can't choose how we feel. I can't choose to feel touched by a giant plot hole and serious out-of character moments. Furhtermore, the show didn't even use Karen much, nor she get any development besides very superficial stuff. I must admit, that I felt touched by "The Poor Kid" at first, but the more I think about it, the less sense it makes and the more I realize how superficial Kenny and Karen's relationship truly is. The irony is that Kenny already had way better developed relationships with his friends and even with one-shot characters like Tammy and Kelly. So Kenny and Karen's dynamic isn't only nonsensical and superficial, it's also redundant. It's nonsensical even from a writing perspective. What is the point of creating Karen if all you end up doing with her is using her as a plot device that needs constant care so that another one of your characters gets the spotlight, when you already have plenty of developed characters that could also serve Karen's role sometimes? Sure, Stan, Kyle and aren't nearly as fragile as Karen, but they are not perfect or untouchable. It can't be THAT hard to imagine them being incapacitated from time to time and Kenny having to rescue or comfort them. It certainly can't be harder than creating a new character. There's also Butters who is one of the more fragile characters, he could use some more help from Kenny from time to time. In fact, he and Kenny had shown great chemistry (In the sense that their relationship is entertaining, as I see their relationship as platonic. No offense to Bunny shippers.). It also goes without saying that Butters already has way more development and agency than Karen.

They could've also had Kenny help some other recurring characters, like Wendy, Craig, Tweek, Jimmy and many more.

They could've even had Cartman fulfill Karen's purpose. Sure, he's often the villain, but he's not pure evil and he can get along with others, especially Kenny. He also seems to have improved in later seasons, though how far he'll go or if this will even last is something we'll have to wait and see.

Sure, it would make even less sense for Kenny to pose as any other's guardian angel than it does for Karen, but the mere concept of adding Karen just so that Kenny has someone to take care of makes no sense, so him being Karen's guardian angel feels redundant regardless.

There's also the fact that, of course, Kenny doesn't need to be constantly helpful to get more spotlight. No, don't get me wrong, he's not a Mary Sue, he's not even close to it, but since South Park already has tons of interesting characters, said characters have potential to contribute to a plot with Kenny.

[pheonixkenny]

All right, since this is a South Park blog I’m going to attract South Park fans on here, and they may be pissed off, but here we go. I actually feel really bad about being in this fandom and the brainrot that has consumed me and makes me think about this show so goddamn much. Because here’s the thing, there’s a lot I dislike about it. I don’t like all the slurs casually being tossed around (curse words like fuck are ok, slurs are not.)I don’t like all the fat jokes thrown at Cartman. I don’t like a majority of the political opinions. I don’t like how offensive/cruel it can be sometimes. I consider myself a very progressive person who is trying hard to make the world a better place and to care about others. So I feel bad that I still like a lot of this show. It has characters that are a lot of fun to play around with in fanfics and stuff, a lot of it is written well, I love wacky cartoon shenanigans, and yes, it makes me laugh. Basically I really only like the episodes (and video games since SOT and FBW fall into this too.) where the kids are acting like kids (Free Wilzyx, Casa Bonita, Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers, etc.) and not any of the political satire. (Though that can work as long as it’s focused on the kids. Like Best Friends Forever or Cupid Ye. You don’t need to know what exactly the episode is satirizing in order for it to make sense on it’s own.) I skip a lot of the episodes that I know will just piss me off, But is it still bad for me to watch the show at all if I don’t agree with a lot of its morals/messaging? Am I a hypocrite? Am I a bad person?

[quietmtntown]

remember the transphobic ep m/t did : Board girls? I member wasn't a fan.. jus contributed to more harmful stereotyping and we can't even excuse it as saying its an old ep when it came out like what 5 years ago..

[blinkthinks]

Someone please help pull me out of my group chat with my relatives where they're making fun of BoJack Horseman when one of them's a South Park fan and the other's a Hazbin Hotel fan

[doodler16]

That “ive been influenced by Seth Rogen amd South Park comedies” isn’t a gotcha she thinks it is. South Parkade an episode that makes viv point moot, it was about using swear words over and over again, how stale and boring it gets and no one gives a fuck. I don’t mind the swears in HB or HH, it honestly not a big deal, it’s inorganic just how the voice actors swear that’s annoying, they just sound so whiny and trying too hard to sound funny. Matt and Trey make satire episodes especially about censorship, “either all of it is ok or none of it is ok” and they go to dark places, something HH is too scared to do and is just safe edge. Seth rogen has been in alot of comedy movies and special comedies that isn’t just “fuck is funnee hehe” he does a lot of satire, mainly to influencers infiltrating Hollywood. Matt, Trey and Seth have things to say, they have a voice. Viv doesn’t. It’s also funny how cis men like Trey, Matt and Seth have made better queer stories, let that sink in for a minute. They actually treat gay men with more respect

Nobody has a problem with Vivziepop using swears but it’s kind of impressive how she abuses and overdoes it. Western Energy is a good example of that, it’s like we get it Vivziepop, you can stop it now. Like you said Anon, it’s very stale and also lost its touch too.

[capricorn-season]

[flowermist7432]

Ive wanted to do cool fun youtube commentary videos for years but ive never really had the motivation to do all that especially since im so unknown by most of the creators community; but if one thing has particularly gave me great interest- it's this strange little phenomenon that I too have and will continue to participate in but much more...carefully moving forward.

Its something im still tryina figure out a name for but as of now im calling "Frankenstein's-inspo", which is The act Of;

"Media by creators who have taken a liking to one or more other inspiration-facets and decide to add them to their work without examining why it worked in the original beyond "its cool". Often creating a disjointed uncanny feeling of a media thats confused of itself or generally lacking in anything concretely original." (To a lesser extent, this also can include medias that while not overtly taking from other sources, also still has a mismatched issue of tone, tropes and plot ideas that they arent willing to part with to make a coherent story. However these issues are also frequently prevalent in the first.)

Now I know this, because its me- sort of. I am someone who takes pride in taking inspirations and soaking it in! Nothing inherently wrong with doing it. But I take heed nowadays with how it can be implimented very poorly. Key Examples being Rwby, Yandere simulator, High Guardian Spice, and to a lesser extent but still notable Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel.

I implore you guys to check out Hbomberguy's video on Rwby as a great example of this! Its a long watch but its a fantastic one and implore you to dive into it!

[almacambiondaughterofsaleos]

picture if South Park mocks Viv. either the boys watch seens of it making fun of it. or the boys make india show that more bigger. and viv shows up throwing a fit. stans would say south park failed at parodying.

South Park would so do it and I would love it for them and even mock it saying that she doesn't even know how to properly do what they do.

[justyourtypicalwriter]

BRO STYLE IS LITERALLY PERCABETH ANYONE WHO THINKS DIFFERENT IS INCORRECT

[theonlymadmanonmars]

Oh this is going to piss some People off.

[medusasea]

South Park Younger Siblings

South Park creators, you have Ike from the very first episode, you give him tons of development and scenes and even make him unrealistically badass for his age.

Well done! Ike rocks.

You also had plans in Starvin Marvin to give Kenny a sister, but you decided not to, only to add her many years later after all, even though her existence doesn't make sense. Now, the South Park timeline doesn't make sense, but since the other children barely aged, it looks like Karen popped out into existence, since she is 6 years old. To be fair, the show sort of has selective continuity. It's not like Avatar The Last Airbender, where such a decision would be horrendous. I still would've been more invested in Karen if she was from the beginning or at least if her existence didn't break story rules, but if you write her well I can forgive it.

What is Karen's role in the show? Kenny saves her and takes care of her. Sure, she is nice, but she didn't really help anyone or herself either, not on-screen at least.

She barely even showed personality traits. We know she is shy, sensitive, naive and does not like conflict. She is close to her mom and brother Kenny. She likes dolls. In the fractured but whole we learn she doesn't often get to socialize with others besides Kenny and thus she joined the vampire kids only to later realize how fucking lame they were and to join the Goth kids. Later she is no longer a goth with no explanation and no further character development. The show does not even use her in the Karen episode, but it makes Randy a Karen.

South Park creators, if you just wanted someone Kenny takes care of, he was already helpful and even heroic towards both his friends and strangers. Spoiler: He was even willing to die forever for his friends in the Coon trilogy. Did you plan for Karen to just be someone who Kenny takes care of even in Starvin Marvin, where you decided not to add her? You are capable of giving Ike tons of development, what is stopping you from giving Karen a little more development and importance?

Karen is barely more than a damsel in distress. The damsel in distress trope is not inherently bad, I only hate it when a competent character does something extremely stupid just so that they can become one or when the character in question has little to no personality and agency and is more a plot device than a character. About the latter, when I say the character needs agency, I am not saying they need to save themselves or others, but they should show skills or at least attempt to do something, otherwise they come across as unbelievably weak. The only exception where I don't care about this is if the characters overall don't get much development, like most old fairy tales or certain video games where the gameplay is more important than the story or characters. However, this is not the case with South Park. I used the term damsel in distress, but this can apply to any character regardless of gender, though it is more prevalent for female characters, in older stories at least. While South Park often underuses female characters in my opinion, it also underuses plenty of male ones too and most female characters have a fair share of development and agency even if I think they don't appear as often as they should. However, I can't help but find it fishy that out of the main characters' younger siblings the girl is reduced to a damsel in distress while the boy gets tons of development and relevance. It was probably not intentional, but it reminds me of the sexist world view of women being inferior to me and needing constant protection.

[hyperray]

It's very ironic Viv uses South Park as inspiration for writing in so many curse words, considering they made an episode about why that's a bad thing.

So we remember that Twitter post Viv made to snap back at the criticism of her making her characters say a ton of swear words, that it's being reduced to "Haha they say fuck a lot" and she tries to tell what she does is normal because she's also been inspired by Seth Rogen's and South Park's style of humor, with the difference between how she uses swearing and how South Park does it is because SP puts them in the context that what is happening is ridiculous and that the few swearing makes it fit, while Viv uses them as if they were words used casually in normal conversations. You know, it's REEAAALLY funny she takes South Park as inspiration, because they made an episode explaining why the overusage of swear words is a bad thing. In Season 5 Episode 1 "It Hits the Fan" is about the network allowing people to use the word "Shit" uncensored, with this new thing everyone get's hooked to see where it goes, and a lot of people then use it excessively to the point they can't stop saying it and a lot of people throw out their guts because of it but that part is kinda unrelated. The the network uses it a ton more to get more people hooked into watching their shows, and when the show get's interruped by the "Knights of Standarts and Practises", the head of the network throws a tantrum in defiance, saying he is the head an can say it as much as he wants, which he does, and then it summons a giant purple dragon from Hell but it's defeated and unrelated unless I'm overseeing another metaphor here. The episode ends with the message that it's fun to use swear words a few times, but using them too often takes away the meaning and fun out of them, that they'd just become bring words and that like with the show SP using them only at the right times will amplify the humor, using them too much just makes people desensitized. What do you think? Honestly I can see the South Park creators watching Hazbin and Helluva, being aware of Viv being inspired by them, and basically do a sequel to S5E1 where they make fun of Vivziepop for how she generally acts around criticism, her writing, and usage of swearing, while also having the opportunity to explain their original message better.

[gokupowers]

Bay area stuck (Asian HCs)

[viktoriaashleyyx]

Okay fine ACOTAR can be animated but it has to be animated by the guy that does South Park.

[myplushheart]

okay yeah no now we've gotten actual incest that's played for laughs but just makes me wanna actually puke. just let me know if my f/os are in it or something. I don't think I can stomach the new episode just from that alone.