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omg. OMG. O.M.F-ing.G.

matt stone and trey parker have done it again. as the creators and directors of south park, these two gents have seen, made, and manufactured more than a lion’s share (which i’ve always assumed means alot) of controversy. but almost all of that (their work with scientology and mormonism being notable exceptions) pale in comparison to the audacity of episode 1102, “Cartman Sucks”.

in this episode, cartman is presented as a strange (i daresay kinky) amateur photographer who begins taking photos of himself doing strange things to his friend butters during sleepovers. these “strange things” hit an outrageous level when cartman photographs himself in a oral sex situation with butters. upon showing this photo proudly to his friends, cartman is ostracized and becomes convinced that he will be outed by his friends.

simultaneously, butters’ mishap is discovered by his father, who sends him to a christian camp where they “pray the gay away.”

i cannot even qualify the inappropriateness of this episode. which means in south park’s terms, it is grade a material. is it offensive? absolutely. shockingly offensive. but is it funny? (sheepish reluctance) yes… oh my goodness yes

this episode, like so many south park episodes, benefits from its inclusion of butters. butters is without a doubt, the most wonderfully hilarious cartoon character since archimedes (see photo for childhood refresher) from the sword and the stone.

butters is just so lovably ignorant. he is like george constanza: he doesn’t need to be directly funny, funniness just happens to him.

so watch the episode. or don’t. it is offensive (incredibly, in fact), but it’s also hilarious. after all, it is south park.