Cartman Sucks
Encyclopedia
"Cartman Sucks" is episode 1102 (#155) of Comedy Central
's "South Park
" and the second episode of the show's 11th season. It originally aired on March 14, 2007. The main plot deals with Eric Cartman
's efforts to recover an incriminating photograph that may call his sexual orientation
into question, whereas the subplot, which focuses on Butters Stotch
, explores childhood gay conversion therapy.
has developed a hobby of getting Butters
to spend the night at his house and taking degrading photos of him as he sleeps. Examples include placing a tampon in Butters' mouth, a Dirty Sanchez, and Cartman mooning him from different angles. Cartman then shows Stan
, Kenny
and Kyle
a photo of him with Butters' penis
in his mouth, hoping to portray Butters as a homosexual. However Kyle points out that a male who performs oral sex on another male is the one who will be perceived to be the homosexual, thus making Cartman the homosexual. As a practical joke, Kyle then convinces a horrified Cartman that taking a similar picture with his and Butters's positions reversed would "reverse the gay polarity".
Cartman goes over to Butters' house, blindfolds him, and instructs him to open his mouth. As he is about to insert his penis into Butters' mouth, Butters' dad, Stephen, walks in on them and panics. After Cartman flees, Stephen declares that Butters is bi-curious
. When Butters asks him what that means, Stephen explains that it means that Butters is "confused", which Butters readily admits. Stephen takes him to a Christian
conversion therapy camp, whose organizers repeatedly reinforce the idea that the boys there are "confused". Throughout the episode Butters never realizes that homosexuality is the issue of discussion, and accepts everything cheerfully.
At the gay conversion camp, the boys are miserable and suicide is common. Butters befriends his roommate and "accountabili-buddy", Bradley, and when camp authorities find Bradley's 1979 male underwear catalog they are both punished. When Bradley realizes that he has a crush on Butters, he comes to the conclusion that he is beyond hope and contemplates ending his life. Butters and the staff of the camp find Bradley on the outer ledge of a bridge and try to convince him to come down. When Butters finds the staff to be unsympathetic, he excoriates them, telling them that he and Bradley are perfectly normal the way they are and that the staff's assertions of "confusion" are simply a projection of their own confusion. Encouraged by Butters' expression of confidence and pride, Bradley decides not to commit suicide. Seeing that Butters is happy being bi-curious, Stephen admits that he's bi-curious as well and that he enjoys his curiosity. The statement prompts a shared laugh between the two, but Butters then concludes that he is now even more confused.
Meanwhile, Cartman convinces himself that Kyle has stolen the photo of him with Butters' penis in his mouth in order to show the picture at school during show and tell. Kyle's attempts to convince Cartman that he has not stolen it are unsuccessful, as are the other avenues through which Cartman attempts to recover it from him. Resolving to prevent Kyle from having the satisfaction of showing it off, Cartman himself shows a copy of the photo to the entire class during show-and-tell, attempting to pass it off as an artistic statement against the War In Iraq, but even Mr. Garrison is shocked. To make things worse, Mr. Mackey comes to the classroom and relates a message to Cartman from his mother: she found the original photograph under his desk at home. Cartman's humiliation is complete as Kyle simply glares at him with a look of bored disdain.
rated this episode 9.0 outstanding and said:
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
's "South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
" and the second episode of the show's 11th season. It originally aired on March 14, 2007. The main plot deals with Eric Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
's efforts to recover an incriminating photograph that may call his sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
into question, whereas the subplot, which focuses on Butters Stotch
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
, explores childhood gay conversion therapy.
Plot
CartmanEric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
has developed a hobby of getting Butters
Butters Stotch
Leopold "Butters" Stotch is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by series co-creator Matt Stone and loosely based on co-producer Eric Stough. He is a fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town...
to spend the night at his house and taking degrading photos of him as he sleeps. Examples include placing a tampon in Butters' mouth, a Dirty Sanchez, and Cartman mooning him from different angles. Cartman then shows Stan
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, Kenny
Kenny McCormick
Kenneth "Kenny" McCormick is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is one of the four central characters along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Eric Cartman. His oft-muffled and indiscernible speech—the result of his parka hood covering his...
and Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
a photo of him with Butters' penis
Penis
The penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
in his mouth, hoping to portray Butters as a homosexual. However Kyle points out that a male who performs oral sex on another male is the one who will be perceived to be the homosexual, thus making Cartman the homosexual. As a practical joke, Kyle then convinces a horrified Cartman that taking a similar picture with his and Butters's positions reversed would "reverse the gay polarity".
Cartman goes over to Butters' house, blindfolds him, and instructs him to open his mouth. As he is about to insert his penis into Butters' mouth, Butters' dad, Stephen, walks in on them and panics. After Cartman flees, Stephen declares that Butters is bi-curious
Bi-curious
Bi-curious is a term used to refer to people of a heterosexual or homosexual identity who, while showing some curiosity for a relationship or sexual activity with a person of the sex they do not favor, distinguish themselves from the bisexual label. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad...
. When Butters asks him what that means, Stephen explains that it means that Butters is "confused", which Butters readily admits. Stephen takes him to a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
conversion therapy camp, whose organizers repeatedly reinforce the idea that the boys there are "confused". Throughout the episode Butters never realizes that homosexuality is the issue of discussion, and accepts everything cheerfully.
At the gay conversion camp, the boys are miserable and suicide is common. Butters befriends his roommate and "accountabili-buddy", Bradley, and when camp authorities find Bradley's 1979 male underwear catalog they are both punished. When Bradley realizes that he has a crush on Butters, he comes to the conclusion that he is beyond hope and contemplates ending his life. Butters and the staff of the camp find Bradley on the outer ledge of a bridge and try to convince him to come down. When Butters finds the staff to be unsympathetic, he excoriates them, telling them that he and Bradley are perfectly normal the way they are and that the staff's assertions of "confusion" are simply a projection of their own confusion. Encouraged by Butters' expression of confidence and pride, Bradley decides not to commit suicide. Seeing that Butters is happy being bi-curious, Stephen admits that he's bi-curious as well and that he enjoys his curiosity. The statement prompts a shared laugh between the two, but Butters then concludes that he is now even more confused.
Meanwhile, Cartman convinces himself that Kyle has stolen the photo of him with Butters' penis in his mouth in order to show the picture at school during show and tell. Kyle's attempts to convince Cartman that he has not stolen it are unsuccessful, as are the other avenues through which Cartman attempts to recover it from him. Resolving to prevent Kyle from having the satisfaction of showing it off, Cartman himself shows a copy of the photo to the entire class during show-and-tell, attempting to pass it off as an artistic statement against the War In Iraq, but even Mr. Garrison is shocked. To make things worse, Mr. Mackey comes to the classroom and relates a message to Cartman from his mother: she found the original photograph under his desk at home. Cartman's humiliation is complete as Kyle simply glares at him with a look of bored disdain.
Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
rated this episode 9.0 outstanding and said:
Whenever South Park builds an episode around Cartman's misdeeds, it's bound to be good. One of the best examples of this being "Scott Tenorman Must Die." In that classic episode, Eric's naivety got him in trouble. The same happens here, as he plays a prank that has unintended consequences – and gets in even bigger trouble when he believes Kyle's reasoning behind "canceling it out".
External links
- Cartman Sucks Full episode at South Park Studios
- Cartman Sucks Episode guide at South Park Studios