This episode of the show South Park by Matt Stone and Trey Parker makes some of the arguments that are present in The Cove. “Whale Whores” addresses some of the problems surrounding the issues of Japanese whaling. Stone and Parker mock both parties; the whalers and the activists who seek to stop them.
It starts with Stan’s birthday treat, Sea World. The trainer calls the dolphins names as they enter the arena; “Trigger, Dolly, Bubbles” (Do we always give dolphins silly names?). He urges the small group huddled around the dolphins to kiss these “whimsical creatures.” (Which brings up what we mentioned in class today about the proclivity of people to put dolphins in the ‘cute and cuddly’ category.) This magical birthday gets ruined, however, when the Japanese appear out of nowhere screaming, “Fuck yew, dolpheen!” and start viciously stabbing the dolphins.
“Sorry your birthday got ruined by the Japanese… Japanese don’t really like dolphins very much, certainly not as much as us normal people do.”
Throughout the episode the Japanese are shown randomly killing dolphins and whales at aquariums and parks; even going so far as killing the football team, the Miami Dolphins.
A conversation between the young cartoon boys; Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny illustrates the general mentality of America (also discussed in The Cove). An attitude that revolves around the idea that we can’t do anything, and don’t care enough to even try. We are too “busy.”
Stan: “Look, I really think that it’s time for us to do something. This is all getting out of hand… I’m talking about the Japanese killing whales and dolphins.”
Kyle: “Dude, they’ve been doing that for a long time.”
Stan: “So don’t you guys care? We have to do something.”
Kyle: “What are we going to do, Stan? It’s not like we can change the way an entire country things. I don’t like it but it’s just the way they are.”
Stan: “It seems like everyone has an attitude of that’s just the way they are, that’s just the way it is. Nobody likes it but everyone is too busy to do anything about it.” Cartman: “I’m not too busy, Stan. I just don’t care at all…. Me and Kenny don’t give two shits about stupid ass whales.”
Stan: “You know when all the whales and dolphins from this world are gone, people are going to wish that at some point they had taken a little time to care just a little goddamn bit!”
Stone and Parker are also critical of the activists who try to stop whaling, specifically targeting the reality show, Whale Wars. A show on Animal Planet in which Paul Watson and his crew on various boats harass the Japanese whaler ships off the coast of Antarctica. They accuse these protesters of not actually accomplishing anything; calling them “vegan pussies,” and Paul Watson a “media whore who thought that lying to everyone was okay if it would further his cause.”
Throughout the episode South Park points out America’s insensitive/lazy mood towards whaling and the need for a change but the kicker is at the end when the Japanese true reason for the murder of dolphins and whales come out.
Stan, Cartman, and Kenny are shown a picture of the plane that bombed Hiroshima. A whale and a dolphin are pictured as the pilots.
Japanese Official: “The Americans were nice enough to give it to us the day after the bombing. We were so thankful for the picture that the next day we ended our war with America. We will never forgive. Never rest until they are all wiped out. Fuck you. Fuck yew, dolphin and whale!”
Cartman: “So that’s what this has been all about…”
To solve the problem, Stan gets Kyle to doctor the photo and presents them with a revised photo.
Stan: “The real bombers feared retaliation so badly that they simply pointed the finger at somebody else…dolphins and whales were just framed by the real bombers… a cow and a chicken.”
Upon their discovery of cow and chicken’s treachery the Japanese are shown viciously slaughtering a herd of cows. Stan’s father Randy congratulates Stan; “Great job, Stan. Now the Japanese are normal like us.”
South Park always brings up things that people should know about! I mean, it's terrible that it's so funny, but it's actually a really informative show.
ReplyDeleteI remember the time I learned about Mormons on South Park...I've never forgotten the facts that they said in that episode haha!
This episode of South Park seems like one of those “awareness episode”; you know the episode Family Guy or The Boondocks would make to give an example of something stupid that people do, but don’t realize how stupid it is until they see it. It’s funny how times have changed & people are actually allowed to play episodes like this on tv.
ReplyDeleteI actually couldn't help but think about this South Park episode while watching The Cove. I'm a huge South Park fan and as soon as I started watching the movie visions of Japanese people running into Sea World and stabbing all the dolphins and whales came rushing into my mind.
ReplyDeleteI really do think South Park is a smart show in the sense that it addresses a lot of issues that are highly debated in today's society, such as the episode about Medicinal Marijuana and the one about the U.S. invading Iraq. Also, I feel like it's pretty unbiased because it doesn't just focus on one side of the argument, it successfully makes fun of everyone and everything involved with the issue at hand.
I only remember seeing the end of this episode when they blast the whale off to the moon! I am going to go back and watch it now for sure! When a humorous show like this addresses real issues I think it is a genius idea because it appeals to audiences who maybe otherwise would have overlooked the subject.
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