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Raisins (South Park episode)
Encyclopedia
"Raisins" is episode 110 of the Comedy Central
series South Park
. It originally aired on December 10, 2003.
when Bebe tells Stan
that his girlfriend Wendy has decided to break up
with him. Stan obviously cares a lot about this, as he has liked Wendy ever since the first episode
. The other boys tell Bebe that Stan does not care, which upsets her.
Stan tries to get Wendy to be his girlfriend again, asking Kyle
and Jimmy to talk to her for him. Jimmy's speech impediment worsens the situation when Stan suggests calling her a "continuing source of inspiration for him [Stan]". Instead, Jimmy stutters on the word "continuing", only managing to repeat the first syllable ' onMouseout='HidePop("65995")' href="/topics/Cunt">cunt
") which Wendy mishears as an insult.
Stan starts to withdraw from life, and all he thinks about is the breakup. In an effort to stop Stan from thinking about Wendy, the boys take him to Raisins, where all of the employees are young preteen
girls, no older than the boys themselves, who enjoy wearing heavy make-up
. The waitresses are named after luxury car manufacturers (Porsche
, Mercedes
, Ferrari
, etc.). Being taken to Raisins does not help Stan with his problems and, if anything, only makes things worse. Meanwhile, Butters
falls in love with one of the waitresses (named Lexus), and obsesses over her throughout the episode and fails to see and understand her fake interest in him (even when she asks a bouncer
to keep Butters away from her when he tries to give her a present and calls her on the phone later on).
Stan realizes he can not get his friends to get them back together; he needs to get Wendy's friends to do it. So he asks Bebe to talk to Wendy, but she tells him to do something romantic to show Wendy how he feels. Stan then asks Bebe to explain it further, and she tells him to "Stand outside her window, and play Peter Gabriel
" . Stan does so (choosing the rather unromantic "Shock the Monkey
"), only to find Wendy at the window with Token.
Stan's miserable mood is intensified by this discovery, especially as this also inflicts damage on his friendship with Token. Kyle angrily says that, if Stan is so depressed
, then he might as well hang out with the Goth kids. Stan takes the advice literally and does become friends with the Goth kids, who are obsessed with non-conformity, while ironically forcing Stan to conform to their ways, and also listen to industrial music
like Skinny Puppy
. Stan is also seen wearing Nevermore
t-shirt while drinking coffee in Diner with his new Goth friends.
Butters runs out of money because he has spent it all at Raisins. Butters' parents, delighted that their son did not turn out gay
(Stephen Stotch won a bet from his wife for this), decide to come with Butters to meet his "girlfriend". However, they realize that Lexus does not really like Butters when they arrive at Raisins, and tell him that the Raisins girls know that they can make men do whatever they want by flirting
, and thus do this for a living. Butters does not believe his parents and angrily (albeit pathetically) tells them to go to "heck
". He then offers to stay with Lexus and even wants to live with her, but Lexus bluntly explains to Butters that she does not want anything to do with him. She leaves to deliver curly fries.
Butters starts to withdraw from life like Stan does. He goes outside and cries in the rain as "All Out of Love
" by Air Supply plays in the background. Seeing Butters cry, the Goth kids invite him to join their clique. Butters replies "Yeah, and I'm sad! But at the same time I'm really happy that something can make me feel that sad. It's like--it makes me feel alive, y'know? It makes me feel human. The only way I could feel this sad now, is if I felt somethin' really good before, so I have to take the bad with the good. So I guess what I'm feelin' is, like a beautiful sadness." Stan agrees with Butters to like life more than hating it, saying one of Cartman's famous lines, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." He then leaves the Goth kids.
On the next day, Stan is back to normal and asks the other boys to play football together, along with Butters, who is now relieved of his own misery. When Token and Wendy walk by, Stan calmly calls Wendy a bitch and gives Token the finger
. Kyle is thankful Stan for recovering from the incident.
Also, they shed light on the Goth kids, they talk about writing the scene in the locker room with Kyle telling Stan he should hang with the Goth kids, and after that they decided that they wanted to actually see that.
Finally, they struggled with the scene where Jimmy is attempting to deliver Stan's message, but stutters on the word "continuing", repeating "cont..." which gets misheard as an insult. They discuss how they were not sure how they were allowed to do that, and they had to decide on what word they could use to make it sound right.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
series 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...
. It originally aired on December 10, 2003.
Plot
The boys are playing footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
when Bebe tells 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...
that his girlfriend Wendy has decided to break up
Relationship breakup
A relationship breakup, often referred to simply as a breakup, is the termination of a usually intimate relationship by any means other than death. The act is commonly termed "dumping [someone]" in slang when it is initiated by one partner...
with him. Stan obviously cares a lot about this, as he has liked Wendy ever since the first episode
Cartman Gets an Anal Probe
"Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is the first episode of the animated television series South Park. It first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on August 13, 1997...
. The other boys tell Bebe that Stan does not care, which upsets her.
Stan tries to get Wendy to be his girlfriend again, asking 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...
and Jimmy to talk to her for him. Jimmy's speech impediment worsens the situation when Stan suggests calling her a "continuing source of inspiration for him [Stan]". Instead, Jimmy stutters on the word "continuing", only managing to repeat the first syllable ' onMouseout='HidePop("65995")' href="/topics/Cunt">cunt
Cunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...
") which Wendy mishears as an insult.
Stan starts to withdraw from life, and all he thinks about is the breakup. In an effort to stop Stan from thinking about Wendy, the boys take him to Raisins, where all of the employees are young preteen
Preteen
Preadolescence is a stage of human development following early childhood and prior to adolescence. It may be defined as ending with the beginning of puberty or with the beginning of the teenage stage, the time frames in which adolescence is considered to begin. In terms of age in years,...
girls, no older than the boys themselves, who enjoy wearing heavy make-up
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
. The waitresses are named after luxury car manufacturers (Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
, Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
, etc.). Being taken to Raisins does not help Stan with his problems and, if anything, only makes things worse. Meanwhile, 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...
falls in love with one of the waitresses (named Lexus), and obsesses over her throughout the episode and fails to see and understand her fake interest in him (even when she asks a bouncer
Bouncer (doorman)
A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...
to keep Butters away from her when he tries to give her a present and calls her on the phone later on).
Stan realizes he can not get his friends to get them back together; he needs to get Wendy's friends to do it. So he asks Bebe to talk to Wendy, but she tells him to do something romantic to show Wendy how he feels. Stan then asks Bebe to explain it further, and she tells him to "Stand outside her window, and play Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
" . Stan does so (choosing the rather unromantic "Shock the Monkey
Shock the Monkey
"Shock the Monkey" is a 1982 song by Peter Gabriel. It was released as a single and peaked at number 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 1 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The song was Gabriel's first Top 40 hit in the US. In the UK, the song charted at number 58. It was included on...
"), only to find Wendy at the window with Token.
Stan's miserable mood is intensified by this discovery, especially as this also inflicts damage on his friendship with Token. Kyle angrily says that, if Stan is so depressed
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, then he might as well hang out with the Goth kids. Stan takes the advice literally and does become friends with the Goth kids, who are obsessed with non-conformity, while ironically forcing Stan to conform to their ways, and also listen to industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
like Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
. Stan is also seen wearing Nevermore
Nevermore
Nevermore is an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington. Formed in 1991, they are known to incorporate elements from styles such as thrash, power, progressive, and neo-classical metal into their songs, and also makes use of acoustic guitars and a wide range of vocal styles.-Early years...
t-shirt while drinking coffee in Diner with his new Goth friends.
Butters runs out of money because he has spent it all at Raisins. Butters' parents, delighted that their son did not turn out gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
(Stephen Stotch won a bet from his wife for this), decide to come with Butters to meet his "girlfriend". However, they realize that Lexus does not really like Butters when they arrive at Raisins, and tell him that the Raisins girls know that they can make men do whatever they want by flirting
Flirting
Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...
, and thus do this for a living. Butters does not believe his parents and angrily (albeit pathetically) tells them to go to "heck
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
". He then offers to stay with Lexus and even wants to live with her, but Lexus bluntly explains to Butters that she does not want anything to do with him. She leaves to deliver curly fries.
Butters starts to withdraw from life like Stan does. He goes outside and cries in the rain as "All Out of Love
All Out of Love
"All Out of Love" is a pop–ballad by Air Supply, released in 1980. It reached number 2 in the US and number 11 in the UK. The song is considered to be one of the greatest love songs, placing 92nd in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Love Songs....
" by Air Supply plays in the background. Seeing Butters cry, the Goth kids invite him to join their clique. Butters replies "Yeah, and I'm sad! But at the same time I'm really happy that something can make me feel that sad. It's like--it makes me feel alive, y'know? It makes me feel human. The only way I could feel this sad now, is if I felt somethin' really good before, so I have to take the bad with the good. So I guess what I'm feelin' is, like a beautiful sadness." Stan agrees with Butters to like life more than hating it, saying one of Cartman's famous lines, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." He then leaves the Goth kids.
On the next day, Stan is back to normal and asks the other boys to play football together, along with Butters, who is now relieved of his own misery. When Token and Wendy walk by, Stan calmly calls Wendy a bitch and gives Token the finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
. Kyle is thankful Stan for recovering from the incident.
Production
In the commentary mini on the Season 7 DVD set, Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk about how they came up with the idea for the episode. They had the Hooters parody idea, but they had to figure out what would cause them to bring someone there.Also, they shed light on the Goth kids, they talk about writing the scene in the locker room with Kyle telling Stan he should hang with the Goth kids, and after that they decided that they wanted to actually see that.
Finally, they struggled with the scene where Jimmy is attempting to deliver Stan's message, but stutters on the word "continuing", repeating "cont..." which gets misheard as an insult. They discuss how they were not sure how they were allowed to do that, and they had to decide on what word they could use to make it sound right.