South Park/Tropes A-D: Difference between revisions

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* [[Activist Fundamentalist Antics]]: One episode ended with a ban on secular Christmas as well as religious Christmas, all thanks to Kyle's mother. The only song left for the kids to sing for Christmas was "Kyle's Mom is a Big Fat Bitch" (in D minor, no less).

* [[Actor Allusion]]: Malcolm MacDowell, in his role as the [[Lemony Narrator]] in "Pip", refers to himself as "[[A Clockwork Orange (Film)|Your Humble Narrator]]". He also refers to himself as simply "a British person".

* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]: From ''Imaginationland'', "Say what you like about [[Mel Gibson (Creator)|Mel Gibson]], that bastard knows story structure!" (After [[Squick|their]] [[Full Frontal Assault|previous]] [[Ax Crazy|portrayal]] of Mel, very sporting indeed.)

* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]: From ''Imaginationland'', "Say what you like about [[Mel Gibson (Creator)|Mel Gibson]], that bastard knows story structure!" (After [[Squick|their]] [[Full-Frontal Assault|previous]] [[Ax Crazy|portrayal]] of Mel, very sporting indeed.)

* [[Ad Break Double Take]]: Stan aiming a gun at a disguised Cartman in "Volcano".

* [[Added Alliterative Appeal]]: "Allied Atheist Alliance. That way it has three aes! That is the logical choice!"

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*** Although this is doubly subverted overall, as EVERY religion that gets the Southpark treatment comes off equally badly.

** Another subversion is the episode where Kyle's stereotypically Jewish cousin, also named Kyle, comes to visit. In the end, the kids try to pull their usual "I've learned something today..." Aesop speech, only for it to die out several times when they realize that, no, they actually haven't learned anything this time.

** [[Defied Trope]] in [[Real Life]] in "201" when the entire Aesop, spoken by three people, was bleeped out by the network prior to airing, which may be some of the [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/201_%28South_Park%~~29#~~Statements_to_the_media~~ saddest irony in the history of the show].

** [[Defied Trope]] in [[Real Life]] in "201" when the entire Aesop, spoken by three people, was bleeped out by the network prior to airing, which may be some of the [[wikipedia:201 chr(28)South Parkchr(29)#Statements to the media|saddest irony in the history of the show]].

* [[Aesop Ju Jitsu]]: Sometimes the Aesop summation devolves into this, not that the straight Aesops make much sense to begin with.

* [[Affably Evil]]: Satan is portrayed as this. He's certainly less evil than Cartman.

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** In the Coon and Friends trilogy, this is done twice between Cartman and Cthulhu: one, a tribute to [[My Neighbor Totoro]], and the other is a nod to the Chuck Jones cartoon "Feed the Kitty".

** The [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|ninja]] episode. Someone had to have been an anime fan to be able to mock [[Gratuitous English]].

* [[Age Inappropriate Dress]]: Mocked in a few episodes, "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" in particular.

* [[Age-Inappropriate Dress]]: Mocked in a few episodes, "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" in particular.

* [[All Asians Are Alike]]: In City Sushi, the City Wok guy tries to get revenge of the owner of City Sushi due to this trope.

* [[Allergic to Love]]: Stan vomits every time Wendy talks to him. Though when they started dating as the show progressed (basically after [[The Movie]]), Stan stopped vomiting completely around her. However, in "The List", when {{spoiler|they discover feelings for each other again (after having been broken up for some time)}}, Stan vomits in front of her once more {{spoiler|before they can kiss}}.

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** Ms. Cartman is apparently a famous enough porn star to end up on the cover of Crackhead Magazine.

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]:

** Cartman. He constantly says that girls are disgusting and vile, and he seems to have an '' extremely'' [[Anatomically Impossible Sex|inaccurate idea of what sex with a woman even entails]]. <ref>[[Comically Missing the Point|"Get a boner, slap her titties around, stick it inside her and pee. If you don't want to get her pregnant you pull it out and pee on her leg."]]</ref> He's also engaged in sexual acts with men several times, thinking NAMBLA is an innocent organization. He presumably gave Ben Affleck a hand job as part of a bizarre plot to convince Kyle that his hand was a sentient con man named Mitch Connor (who turned out to actually ''exist'' in "200") who was impersonating a woman named Jennifer Lopez (much to the chagrin of the "real" Jennifer Lopez).

** Cartman. He constantly says that girls are disgusting and vile, and he seems to have an '' extremely'' [[Anatomically-Impossible Sex|inaccurate idea of what sex with a woman even entails]]. <ref>[[Comically Missing the Point|"Get a boner, slap her titties around, stick it inside her and pee. If you don't want to get her pregnant you pull it out and pee on her leg."]]</ref> He's also engaged in sexual acts with men several times, thinking NAMBLA is an innocent organization. He presumably gave Ben Affleck a hand job as part of a bizarre plot to convince Kyle that his hand was a sentient con man named Mitch Connor (who turned out to actually ''exist'' in "200") who was impersonating a woman named Jennifer Lopez (much to the chagrin of the "real" Jennifer Lopez).

*** Then, of course, we have "Imaginationland", whose entire subplot is based entirely around Cartman's obsession with making Kyle suck his balls. Jimmy even points this trope out to him in part 1 of the trilogy.

*** "Cartman in Love" gives us {{spoiler|Cartman telling the new girl, Nicole, that he and Kyle are a gay couple, so that Nicole will be more likely to go out with Token.}} Cartman puts a ton of effort into convincing the town that his lie is true, to the point where it's hard to tell if he's just really committed or playing out some sort of wish-fulfillment exercise.

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** Butters. He has been shown crossdressing, he's feminine, innocent, submissive, polite, and fits [[The Twink]] status. While he has shown affection toward girls, it's mostly blocked by his naivety.

* [[Anal Probing]]: Eric Cartman was probed by [[The Greys]] in the [[Pilot]] episode, appropriately titled [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|"Cartman Gets An Anal Probe."]] By "Anal Probe", we mean he eventually grows a satellite out of his bum.

* [[Anatomically Impossible Sex]]: For the boys themselves, we have these gems: [[Freud Was Right|Circumcision is castration.]] Urine is semen.

* [[Anatomically-Impossible Sex]]: For the boys themselves, we have these gems: [[Freud Was Right|Circumcision is castration.]] Urine is semen.

* [[And That's Terrible]]: The antagonists in "Super Fun Time" robbed a Burger King.

* [[Animal Athlete Loophole]]: the parody of ''You Got Served'' (and similar movies), had Stan's [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]] dancing team include a dancing duck. {{spoiler|The duck gets injured, forcing Butters to finally join the crew, with disastrous results.}}

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* [[Anti-Villain]]: Satan, though his antivillainy isn't really of the [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] variety so much as the loser variety. His [[Card-Carrying Villain|expressed pride in his role in the world]] is always watered down [[Refuge in Audacity|by the way his gay lover, Saddam Hussein, treats him]]. (See the movie, where Saddam interrupts his "my time to rise" speech to say "I love when you get all biblical, you know how to turn my crank!") This show takes [[Sympathy for The Devil]] to a [[Literal Metaphor]] extreme. In addition, Hell is a decent place, besides the torture, and far better than the alternative (spending eternity with overexcited Mormons).

* [[Anyone Can Die]]

* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: Parodied in 'Pandemic', as Randy's incessant camcordering of the disaster gets on Sharon's nerves. And it turns out {{spoiler|[[Not With the Safety On You Won't|he didn't have a tape in it]]}}.

* [[Apocalyptic Log]]: Parodied in 'Pandemic', as Randy's incessant camcordering of the disaster gets on Sharon's nerves. And it turns out {{spoiler|[[Not With the Safety On, You Won't|he didn't have a tape in it]]}}.

* [[Applied Mathematics]]: Underpants Gnomes. Step 1: Collect underpants. Step 2: '''<big>{{color|red|?}}</big>''' [[Step Three: Profit|Step 3: Profit!]]

** Cartman's formula for gold.

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** Butters can be pretty badass if he wants to grow a spine. He's the [[Chosen One]] of "Imaginationland", and in "Butters' Bottom Bitch", he is temporarily the most successful pimp in Colorado. Yes, ''Butters.''

* [[Beyond the Impossible]]:

** In "Fishsticks", Cartman has a series of [[Self Serving Memory]] [[Flash Back|flashbacks]] where he remembers how it was that the "fish sticks" joke was written. Eventually, the flashbacks extend to having him slay a dragon in Jimmy's house... and that's not the end of it.

** In "Fishsticks", Cartman has a series of [[Self-Serving Memory]] [[Flash Back|flashbacks]] where he remembers how it was that the "fish sticks" joke was written. Eventually, the flashbacks extend to having him slay a dragon in Jimmy's house... and that's not the end of it.

** Cartman is so evil that he actually {{spoiler|tricks ''Cthulhu'' into joining him to get rid of his friends!}}

* [[Big Brother Instinct]]: Most prominent in the relationship of Kyle and Ike as demonstrated repeatedly.

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'''Stan:''' You bastards! }}

* [[Brains and Brawn]]: Nathan and Mimsey.

* [[Bratty Half Pint]]: Most of the boys early on Cartman being most obvious.

* [[Bratty Half-Pint]]: Most of the boys early on Cartman being most obvious.

** Then there is Ike, who runs away to Somalia because he was already bored with life. He's about 4 years old.

* [[Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick]]: The stuff Trent Boyett had on his person when he first arrived in juvenile hall: a pack of crayons, safety scissors, a marble, [[Knife Nut|and a knife.]]

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** Driving drunk, then after attending [[Alcoholics Anonymous]] {{spoiler|shaving his head chemo-style and residing himself to a wheelchair under insane delusions of disease.}}

** Listening to music he really perceives as shit, then performing said music in order to be "cool" and "in tune with" the "kids today".

* [[But Thou Must]]: In the episode ''Woodland Critter Christmas'', after Stan {{spoiler|kills the mountain lion and finds out that the animals he had helped to build a manger are actually Satan worshipers}} he repeatedly refuses to {{spoiler|take her now-orphaned cubs to learn how to perform abortions. With a forceful "[[Punctuated for Emphasis|YES. HE. DID!]]" the scene jump-cuts to an abortion doctor, with Stan and the mountain lion cubs there.}} Stan is not amused.

* [[But Thou Must!]]: In the episode ''Woodland Critter Christmas'', after Stan {{spoiler|kills the mountain lion and finds out that the animals he had helped to build a manger are actually Satan worshipers}} he repeatedly refuses to {{spoiler|take her now-orphaned cubs to learn how to perform abortions. With a forceful "[[Punctuated for Emphasis|YES. HE. DID!]]" the scene jump-cuts to an abortion doctor, with Stan and the mountain lion cubs there.}} Stan is not amused.

** Earlier than that, Stan attempted to stay home after learning the Critters' true nature.

{{quote| He tried to forget all about it by watching TV,<br />

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** Cartman has developed both ways. At first he was just a spoiled brat who got worse and worse. He evolved into a [[Manipulative Bastard]] capable of rounding up a lynch mob with a stirring speech, and rose to the point where the writers had trouble thinking up how to top himself. "Tsst" suggests an attempt to take him back down to sane levels. He's still spoiled, selfish and agressively dominant, but a few of the demons have been exorcised.

** "1%" appears to have furthered this development.

* [[Characterization Marches On]]: The children characters were generally more childish and [[Bratty Half Pint]] early on. Stan and Kyle were generally lower scale bullies (compare their treatment of Butters in early and later episodes) while Cartman was less calculating and sociopathic and more just a [[Jerkass]]. That said, they can still be immature at times in later seasons.

* [[Characterization Marches On]]: The children characters were generally more childish and [[Bratty Half-Pint]] early on. Stan and Kyle were generally lower scale bullies (compare their treatment of Butters in early and later episodes) while Cartman was less calculating and sociopathic and more just a [[Jerkass]]. That said, they can still be immature at times in later seasons.

** Stan went from your run-of-the-mill kid and low-grade bully to a cross between the [[Only Sane Man]] and [[Knight in Shining Armor|The Knight]].

** Kyle went from your average [[Pet the Dog|occasionally-caring-occasionally-kind]] young boy to a cross between [[The Paragon]] and [[The Conscience]] (except when it comes to [[Arch Enemy|Cartman]])

** Cartman went from a cross between [[Bratty Half Pint]] and [[Jerkass]] to [[Enfant Terrible|a complete psychopath]].

** Cartman went from a cross between [[Bratty Half-Pint]] and [[Jerkass]] to [[Enfant Terrible|a complete psychopath]].

** Kenny went from [[The World's Expert On Getting Killed]] to [[The Hedonist]]

*** And that change may be [[Justified Trope|justified]] as him trying to live his life to the fullest, because he dies all the time, and really has no reason to avoid potentially life-threatening activities. Could also be considered [[Fridge Brilliance]].

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** The "Kenny born for the 52nd time" gag at the end of "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" becomes a major plot point in the "Coon and Friends" trilogy.

** In "Margaritaville", Kyle holds a Sermon about the economy, saying he applied for an American Express Platinum card to prove a point, and holds it up to show his audience. Near the end of the episode, he uses that same credit card to pay off the town's debts.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: In the ''Coon and Friends'' saga: who'd have thunk that {{spoiler|Mint-Berry Crunch, who basically came out of nowhere, had no real significance to the plot, and was [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart Anyway|a noticeably lame superhero]], would wind up being the one to fix everything?}} Even Cartman's surprised.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: In the ''Coon and Friends'' saga: who'd have thunk that {{spoiler|Mint-Berry Crunch, who basically came out of nowhere, had no real significance to the plot, and was [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|a noticeably lame superhero]], would wind up being the one to fix everything?}} Even Cartman's surprised.

{{quote| '''Cartman:''' (in disbelief) {{spoiler|[[Didn't See That Coming|Fucking Mint-Berry fucking Crunch]]...}}}}

** Of note, this was done in such a way that many fans of Kenny/Mysterion were seriously pissed off, as the show completely swerved the viewers. Instead of giving us the actual backstory behind how the hell Kenny is apparently somehow {{spoiler|One of the Old Ones}}, we got a rip-off of Superman's origin with Mint-Berry Crunch. In the episode itself Kenny was basically going ''what the fuck'' the entire time he's hearing this. It was actually a bit of a heartbreaking moment for Kenny, who goes through all that crap over the course of the series, creates a superhero alter ego who became something of an [[Ensemble Darkhorse]], and the creators screw him over instead of actually resolving how he gets his powers and why they work the way they do seemingly for the sake of a complete [[Screw You]] to him, his fans, and the entire concept of Mysterion. At the end of the show, he was so upset with the whole mess {{spoiler|he shoots himself in the head because he feels tired. Then resurrects at home and just sleeps the night away.}} Poor guy.

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** Most recent example: It's not okay to show Mohammed even if he's just standing there looking normal, yet it's okay to show Buddha snorting coke and Jesus watching Internet porn.

** After the censorship debacle, Matt and Trey said they'd "come back next week with something completely different and see what'll happen". That "something" was showing a shark raping a mentally handicapped child. ''Uncensored''. '''''Twice.'''''

** [[Double Standard Abuse Female On Male]]: Revolves around Stan being beaten and everyone being sympathetic toward him over it... until they find out that the one beating him up is his sister. Then they mock him and call him a pussy. This is despite the fact that Stan's sister is older and bigger than he is, and is also a violent sociopath.

** [[Double Standard Abuse (Female On Male)]]: Revolves around Stan being beaten and everyone being sympathetic toward him over it... until they find out that the one beating him up is his sister. Then they mock him and call him a pussy. This is despite the fact that Stan's sister is older and bigger than he is, and is also a violent sociopath.

** [[Double Standard Rape Female On Male]]: "Nice..."

** [[Double Standard Rape (Female On Male)]]: "Nice..."

* [[Downer Ending]]:

** "Stanley's Cup"

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** Chef, literally.

** Halfway through the "Professor Chaos"/"Simpsons Already Did It" two-parter, Ms. Choksondik dies off-screen, with the cause of death never revealed. <ref>Though it may be safe to guess that her [[Meaningful Name|name is not meaningless.]]</ref>

** Pip in the episode "201" {{spoiler|gets stepped on by [[Instant Awesome Just Add Mecha|Barbara Streisand]] for no reason.}}

** Pip in the episode "201" {{spoiler|gets stepped on by [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Mecha|Barbara Streisand]] for no reason.}}

* [[Driven to Suicide]]: In "Coon Vs Coon and Friends", {{spoiler|Kenny/Mysterion}} attempts to goad Cthulhu into either removing his [[Cursed With Awesome|curse of immortality]] or simply killing him once and for all. After a particularly irksome situation where a mysterious stranger behind a CGI portal gives a revealatory speech about powers and destiny interplanetary origin etc. only to find out {{spoiler|he's talking about Mintberry Crunch}}, who then disappears along with Cthulu and Cartman, Mysterion goes back to headquarters/Cartman's basement after {{spoiler|Minteberry Crunch saves the world}}. There, he tells his gleeful superhero buddies that he wants to "take a nap" {{spoiler|then promptly shoots himself. For the third time in the triolgy.}}

** In "Pinewood Derby", Emmett Hollis' father shoots himself with a gun after feeling ashamed to have lost to Randy in the derby-''in front of Emmett''-much to his horror. Emmett than says, "He's okay, he's okay, he's okay..." quickly before the scene changes.