I loved this episode!

Posted by: Dman | October 29, 2009 06:54 PM

I liked the way that episode ended. I, personally, was afraid it was going to devolve into Stan embracing whaling (remember "Rainforest, schmainforest?"). I don't think that your retelling captures the sarcasm of the original statement, though.

Sometimes I'm not sure if South Park is for animal rights or against it. It seems like they go back and forth - This episode promoted our cause, "Douche and Turd" was made to make fun of us, and "Fun with Veal" started out as being for us, but then they showed us the ending, which I feel might not be suitable for everyone in this comment section, and now I see that ending being used all the time to make fun of vegetarians. Can anyone figure out what the show is really saying?

Posted by: Jacob | October 29, 2009 07:56 PM

Uh, yeah. That was the message they were trying to get across. It's a satire. Did you really not get it?

Posted by: Tim | October 30, 2009 07:58 AM

You have to understand that Trey Parker and Matt Stone go after everybody. You just have to learn to live with it.
I'm a Catholic. The Church has been a big tartget for South Park for years. When I watch those episodes, I cringe. However, Parker and Stone are so over the top, that you alomst have to laugh.
I think they just wanted to point out that Whale Wars, whether you like it or not, is still a TV show designed for ratings over the safety of whales. Producers tend to make everything dramatic.
I think that is what Parker and Stone were trying to show.

Posted by: Kurt K | October 30, 2009 09:38 AM

Good point, Kurt.

I do think, regardless of your opinion of the Sea Shepherd, the episode nicely pointed out our ethical inconsitencies, i.e. save the cute whales and dolphins but to hell with other animals who feel just as deeply. They do seem to have quite a beef with Captain Paul, but they also brought the issue to a much stronger viewership Whale Wars wouldn't reach.

Posted by: Elphaba | October 30, 2009 02:16 PM

Elphaba,
I'll admit it, I watch Whale Wars. The drama is so intense:)

Posted by: Kurt K | October 30, 2009 04:11 PM

Indeed it is! I think it's pretty cool that a show about direct action for animals is even on cable TV (and top-rated to boot) so I catch it as often as I can to lend my support. I also know a lot of people who watch just to see all the seafaring mistakes the crew evidently makes, lol, but it all adds up to increased awareness about whaling. I actually do appreciate this episode very much--unflattering to the activists as it may be, it still allows their position the moral high ground.

Posted by: Elphaba | October 31, 2009 04:18 AM

By the way Kurt, I haven't been on the blog as much lately but I can't remember the last time I read one of your comments and thought it was just a politely worded d*bag thing to say. It may be because I got to know you a little better, or perhaps we both grew from what became a mostly constructive disagreement though I suspect a combination of the two. Regardless, I wanted to let you know it's noticed and very much appreciated!

Posted by: Elphaba | October 31, 2009 04:23 AM

South Park stopped being relelevant years ago. Trey Parker and Matt Stone use satire to advance their own agenda. They don't go after "everybody". They had the worst president in modern times and didn't make fun of him until the end of his presidency. There are two things you won't see on South Park; critisizm of Isreal and the right wing.

Posted by: SparkyGump | October 31, 2009 07:37 AM

The Japanese are extremely cruel to whales, dolphins, tuna, sharks and all marine species.

Posted by: Brien Comerford | October 31, 2009 08:03 PM

In regard to whether SP is for or against animal rights: the answer is not really. If you watch the commentary, Matt and Trey basically say they think eating meat is fine.

I understand how you can think this episode itself is pro-animal rights, but it's not. It's just an observation. Just because someone supports eating meat doesn't mean he's going to deny it's typical of Americans to slaughter chickens and cows. It's just an honest observation, not a protest.

Posted by: Ryan | November 1, 2009 01:01 AM

SparkyGump,
South Park goes after the right wing just as much as the left. I haven't watched as many episodes in the past few years, but I do remember the episode where all the kids in South Park are getting checked for lice. The whole episode centers around a colony of lice on Clyde's head. The one lice is telling people that the "planet" (Clyde's head) is reacting to their destruction. Basically its a spoof on Global Warming and the only denier is teh Vice-President. That episode made fun of Cheney and the right wing.

Posted by: Kurt K | November 2, 2009 09:43 AM

I don't really think Matt & Trey were saying that they disapprove of the whale hunt. It seems more like explaining that what seems like a travesty to one country is a way of life for another.

Every country has animals they depend on economically and animals that they wish to protect. The truth is what gives one country the right to tell another country what they can and cannot do. Which is the impression I'm given more by the episode.

Even if in the end Stan converts the Japanese to American-ized beliefs, that doesn't mean what he did was in the right. It's a very western ideal to convert the rest of the world to our beliefs... whether it be by religion, socialism, activism and so forth.

In the end it's South Park and they are just poking fun and making social commentary. They are usually pretty neutral in terms of their belief and generally are bashing the extremists.

Posted by: the.maverickk | November 2, 2009 06:47 PM

I think their point is always to simply make people think---then make up their own minds.
At least it is being addressed in popular culture in some way. Maybe the episode will cause a high schooler to look up Whale Wars or learn about the issues. For as serious SP can be, I think they made a statement.

Posted by: Michelle | November 2, 2009 10:09 PM

i love what sp do and i think generally they are fair objective
but they missed the point at the end of this episode you shouldn’t eat a whale for the same reason you shouldn’t eat a tiger because they are endangered. cows and chickens are fine to eat because they arnt endangered. most sensible people have this stance in society so whats sp's point here ??

Posted by: dom | November 3, 2009 07:50 AM

Maverickk,
I tend to agree with what you stated except western societies, at least the US, aren't typically socialists.
We are capitalists! Amercians don't tend to want socialism. Well at least the ones not in the current administration.

Posted by: Kurt K | November 3, 2009 10:43 AM

I think the Episode was brilliant. Im a meat eater but I do have a heart. I think thats what they were saying. Elphaba your an idiot. They don't make fun of republicans because thats too easy. Same way The Daily show is easy on Obama. South Park stopped being relelevant years ago? Why is that its the only show that can write about whats going on now?! They make fun of everyone. Best episode in years!!

Posted by: Danny | November 5, 2009 02:28 AM

What South Park is still on the air? And some people still watch it? Wow.

Posted by: Tahler Thacker | November 6, 2009 11:27 PM

funny episode. my my my poker face. Wow how about combining the extreme western stupidity (lady gaga) with Japanese sensibilities and viola: cultural differences now in perspective. POV

Posted by: Byrun | November 8, 2009 03:46 AM

This a grea idea on how to let people around the world know about what the Japanese is doing to whales and sharks. A lot more people are likely to watch this versus a documentary.

Posted by: Daniel Walter | November 16, 2009 09:07 PM

None of you know what is actually going on in Japan with the killing of dolphin. Everyone needs to watch the movie called The Cove. In Japan, fishermen round up and slaughter hundreds and even thousands of dolphins and other small whales each year. In the small fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into a hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with their blood, and the air fills with their screams. This is the largest scale dolphin massacre in the world and it goes from September to March. They kill the dolphins because the fishermen are saying that the dolphins are killing ocean’s fish and decreasing the fishing industry. The people of Japan need to know about the dolphin slaughter and the mercury-poisoned dolphin meat that is being fed to their children and everyone else in Japan. Japan is paying different countries to vote for them to continue to kill dolphins so that it won’t be regulated by the IWC. If I hadn’t watched The Cove, I wouldn’t know what the episode was talking about. I would’ve thought that it was just another South Park episode that makes fun of different topics across the world.

Posted by: Mitchell Auchmuty | November 16, 2009 10:11 PM

I think that making the issue known to the public through a chartoon that is popular like this one is a good idea. The idea is that everyone learns about what is going on and then they make up their minds for themselves. The people are learning about issues around the world that they may not know about by just watching the t.v.

Posted by: Casey | November 17, 2009 09:12 AM

I think it's good that shows such as south park have some relevance to them besides so called 'comedy' but in order to better understand the seriousness this episode truly represents, you must watch the cove, becuase in Japan, dolphins and whales are being slaughtered at unimaginable rates and not to mention in inhumane ways, very similar to the way south park portrayed it. This isn't really an issue to be taken lightly and laughed off

Posted by: Emily S | November 17, 2009 10:56 AM

I think it was a good idea to show the public this issue through a cartoon because in today's society everyone watches TV. So audiences who watch this cartoon also get a little education on this problem through the show. I would have understood the problem in the show but by watching The Cove I knew alot more about the situation.

Posted by: Janelle | November 17, 2009 12:05 PM

I think that portraying important information through cartoons about the murdering of dolphins and whales is a smart way to educate. More and more people are depending upon television to get the facts, so by putting the information on South Park who puts a humorous spin on just about anything is a smart way to get people to notice. However, to get the real facts, everyone should watch The Cove. This documentary gives hard evidence of the illegal killings of dolphins and whales in Japan. Watching The Cove, it gave me the most information about the situation and i'm now more aware about what is going on.

Posted by: Shelby S | November 17, 2009 12:54 PM

This an interesting way to get the word out about this important issue. I believe it is more appealing versus a documentary to younger generations. However South Park is comedy based. Therefore everyone should see The Cove. It is truly an eye opening uncensored look into the illegal slaughter of dolphins. Its just as alarming to see how corrupt the government is in trying to hide it.

Posted by: Kevin D. | November 17, 2009 02:30 PM

Using South Park as a means of expressing a topic that is this complex and intense would not be my first choice, but it does stretch to a completely different audience than those, primarily teenagers, that might not necessarily have found out that this issue was even occurring. Hopefully, this will spur people to do more research about this issue, and to see the seriousness of it, rather than assuming it is just another topic to be joked upon. The more information that is out there on this subject, the better.

Posted by: Erin Leffler | November 17, 2009 03:43 PM

Even though watching whale wars on south park would not be my first choice, it does express what is actally happening very well. I also feel that using a south park episode to show this, is gettng the word across to teenagers who are the next generation to be able to put a stop to whale wars.

Posted by: Emily Clark | November 17, 2009 04:32 PM

This episode of south park i found funny at first but then i realized that it was a cruel joke. Mass killing of whales is not a joke, and is actualy happening...and its sickening.

Posted by: Whitney Skidmore | November 19, 2009 12:44 AM

The parody of "Whale Wars" gave me a different perspective on the whaling conflict than I expected. Although South Park lacks the finesse of other social conventions, it adds a visual punch to the movement to stop the whaling indiscretions of the Japanese. It touches on the lack of concern in society today with the television appearance of Stan as a new celebrity for a hit TV show rather than his work stopping dolphin killings. It also points out that Stan accomplishes things through violence and that the pacifism of Paul Watson’s crew has gotten them nowhere so far. This might not be necessarily true, but the way to get noticed and get results quickly does seem to be the violent approach as with Earth First and other vigilante groups.

The reasoning for the Japanese slaughtering of dolphins was obviously fabricated, but it laid out a good question. Why are they doing it? There don’t seem to be better reasons than those presented in this ridiculous cartoon. The allusion to it being a hatred started by the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki leads me to think that South Park creators were pointing out that it is America that made the industry so huge. Except the reality of it is, it became huge as a form of entertainment in America and then was taken too far by the Japanese.

Overall, I felt the episode covered the basic premise of the conflict on dolphin slaughter and left food for thought when dolphins were replaced with cows and chickens. The remark that “Now they are normal like us” says to me that the next thing to do is look at our own industries and realize that the dolphin slaughters were only slightly over-exaggerated and that means that our chicken and cow slaughters seem just as ridiculous to other people as the Japanese dolphin genocide does to us. The only real qualm I had with the representation of the issue is the fact that the need to do something stemmed from Stan loving dolphins *in captivity*. This is as bad as simply slaughtering the dolphins and slightly more inhumane because the dolphin suffers longer. That should not have been condoned in the episode because it sends the wrong message about the movement to stop these slaughters in Japan.

Posted by: Ashley Schorkhuber | November 19, 2009 01:41 PM

I think that this episode was a wonderful idea to get the public to see what is going on, but without knowing that this is a real issue no one is going to take action. People will just laugh it off and continue to watch the show for the humor and not the issues they bring up.

Posted by: Kristen Schlatter | November 20, 2009 02:33 PM