Top 20 Times South Park Tackled Serious Issues

we got a real sick kid here mike did you get the other things for us well i did manage to get the fda to officially change the word feel to tortured baby cow welcome to watch mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 times south park tackled serious issues maybe you should stop watching the news for a little bit i'm telling you guys it's wrong it's wrong but if i don't give myself up to a higher power this disease is gonna kill me dead for this list we're looking at instances where south park went there boldly tackling hot button topics most shows wouldn't dare touch what do you think is the most serious issue south park has tackled let us know in the comments number 20 starving children in ethiopia even as early as season one south park was addressing issues rarely explored in the tv animation landscape this thanksgiving special sees the boys befriend an ethiopian boy cartman dubs starvin marvin who is mistakenly delivered to america maybe they took it literally when we said we wanted to adopt a kid while much of the episode is dedicated to making fun of sally strothers which admittedly has not aged great it does explore an issue that hasn't lost relevance the indifference and obliviousness many first world nations have towards the less fortunate this is naturally epitomized through the insensitive cartman who is given just a small taste of what marvin has experienced upon being sent to ethiopia in his place i'm sorry god i'm sorry i mocked poor people i'm sorry i wasn't more sensitive please please marvin may not find the compassion he deserves on earth but he does find it on planet marklar in season three number 19. george zimmerman in 2013 george zimmerman was found not guilty for his involvement in the death of trayvon martin a 17 year old african-american the verdict enraged many around the country and remains contested even years later in a world war z parody cartman fears how token will react token we had nothing to do with it i know you're pissed off talking about be reasonable it's cartman who ends up taking extreme measures though all while making the situation about himself this results in cartman getting shot by zimmerman which isn't treated as a punishable offense until the authorities realize the victim is white wait what guilty there's a lot of grey territory in the stand your ground law watching this episode we see how it's often treated as a one-way street while cartman learns nothing the audience can identify with the episode's representation of a flawed justice system number 18 therapy after stephen finds butters in a compromising position with cartman he jumps to the conclusion that his son is bi-curious is that true son are you feeling confused yeah i'm pretty confused all right you see although it's just a big misunderstanding steven decides to send butters to a conversion therapy camp despite all the talk about being a bi-curious nobody explains to butter what this means in any case butters doesn't see why he or any of the other boys at the camp should feel ashamed about it one kid named bradley feels so ashamed that he nearly jumps to his demise after hearing some honest words from butters bradley finds that he's not confused it's everyone who says he's confused that doesn't understand by the end butters still doesn't entirely comprehend the situation but he is proud to be himself well butters i guess we might as well go home looks like you're never gonna change no i like being curious well you know something so do i wait now i am confused number 17 self and body image it's what's on the inside that matters most and we're all beautiful in our own way this is a message we often hear but people don't always live by it wendy why is it such a big deal because people should be okay with the way they look when every girl in school receives a new photoshopped look wendy takes a stand against how the media portrays physical attractiveness in a more conventional show wendy would teach everyone a valuable lesson about body and self-image that's lisa do you see what i'm talking about she's pretty that's how people like kim kardashian destroy the self-image of little girls everywhere instead she ultimately accepts the notice that photoshop gives some people confidence the ending is one of the show's saddest as wendy conforms and photoshops an image of herself wendy struggles to hold back her tears as she betrays her ethics leaving us all to contemplate what we'd do in her position number 16 desensitization to violence it seems like every week there's another report on the news about an unspeakable act of violence that's taken place why are you all acting like this is normal what is wrong with you people [Music] what's up mom's ass violence has become so prevalent in our modern world that a lot of people shrug these reports off as if there's nothing we can do to prevent further chaos sharon is the only adult who's outraged following a catastrophe at school as everyone else downplays the ongoing mayhem sharon feels as if she's surrounded by emotionless pod people stop acting like there's something wrong with me something's wrong with you all of you try having some goddamn compassion once again we're left with an ending that doesn't find an easy solution to the problem sharon accepts the bleak reality she lives in as the new normal at the same time the episode serves as a wake-up call for those who've grown desensitized to violent tragedies number 15 hiv aids south park has never shied away from satirizing hiv but two episodes in particular address it on in a season six episode that kind of predicted the future the world turns on jared fogle not because of what jared later pled guilty to in real life but due to a miscommunication it wasn't just subway sandwiches that made me think the reason i was able to lose so much weight so quickly was that i got aids while everyone decides that they can finally laugh about the illness kyle sees no humor in the situation when cartman purposely gives him aid six seasons later why do i have hiv oh oh you have hiv hong kong guess it isn't so funny now is it the episode offers good news and bad news the good news is that aids is much easier to manage than it was in the 80s and 90s the bad news is that many carriers still don't have the resources or funds needed to combat the disease number 14 alcoholism license and registration please what seems to be the officer problem even for south park bloody mary proved to be a controversial episode primarily due to a running gag involving a virgin mary statue the episode is mainly about alcohol though and its power over people upon receiving a dui randy decides to simply drink less however when randy is led to believe that he has no power concerning his drinking or the reckless actions that stem from it he goes into a downward spiral but this disease is just eating me up while the episode's portrayal of alcoholics anonymous is sure to divide some stan does teach randy a valuable lesson about moderation randy finds the willpower to stop after a couple of beers showing growth and discipline of course this doesn't prevent randy from drinking too much in various episodes that follow oh mama you're so fine you're so funny you blow my mind obama obama number 13 piracy in the indian ocean jack sparrow makes the life of a pirate seem like nothing but fun in games so when cartman and several others learn about the piracy taking place in the indian ocean they set a course for somalia leaving school and parents behind they anticipate nothing but smooth sailing and treasure hunts on the horizon upon arriving however the kids quickly find that being a pirate isn't as glamorous as it sounds all right goddammit really you guys what kind of pirates are you look at yourselves you're disgraced to blackbeard that doesn't stop cartman from trying to make his childish fantasy a reality aside from addressing pirate hijacking which was especially timely in 2009 the episode encourages the more fortunate to not take their dull boring lives for granted butters and ike in particular learn the true meaning of first world problems oh my god geez guess we kind of got put in our place like i feel like an [ __ ] yeah me too number 12 voting and social pressure paralleling the 2004 u.s presidential election south park elementary is given two options for their new mascot a giant douche or a turd sandwich cartman is for team turd kyle is a douche backer and stan could not care less did you just say that voting is ridiculous no i think voting is great but if i have to choose between a douche and a turd i just don't see the point although he's pressured by the whole town not to mention p diddy stan refuses to vote and is banished as a result dad isn't this a little extreme jesus i guess maybe you'll never understand how important voting is goodbye son as over the top as this sounds the episode is eerily relatable even when neither candidate is ideal both sides of the political spectrum can become aggressive about securing votes turd sandwich brings the hope for change a vote returned sandwich is a vote for tomorrow the episode hilariously and honestly explores vote shaming which has only grown more common in the social media era ultimately stan casts his ballot realizing that most elections boil down to a douche or turd number 11. the washington redskins you guys i've got it what it's the greatest startup company name ever what tell us washington redskins for decades the washington redskins name and logo ignited no shortage of controversy by 2014 many seemed to agree that the football team's trademark was insensitive to native americans nevertheless owner daniel snyder refused to budge on the subject the 18th season of south park aired around the same time that the football team was in jeopardy of losing its trademark when cartman snatches up the trademark snyder isn't at all pleased look don't you see that when you call your organization the washington redskins it's offensive to us how is it offensive how is it offensive jesus bringing out the irony in hypocrisy snyder is offended that cartman is making a mockery of the name and using it for his own gain in real life the team didn't lose this trademark but the name change process was finally initiated in 2020 during the early george floyd protests number 10 whaling following a traumatic birthday at an aquarium stan becomes committed to saving the whales and dolphins but hey at least you still got your t-shirt [Music] the episode revolves around whaling in japan which remains a heavily protested practice even to this date of course the episode is also an excuse to take shots at whale wars host paul watson whose anti-whaling tactics are depicted as ineffective you guys ready ready and throw the stinky butter at them haha you stink now despite this savage roast watson was supposedly happy that the episode shined a spotlight on the issue in the end the boys steered the japanese government away from sea life inspiring them to instead target barnyard animals although the episode doesn't offer a realistic solution to whaling at the very least it helped bring the subject to the attention of a wider audience while also bringing the laughs number nine the treatment of amazon workers few things are more satisfying than walking out onto your front doorstep to find a new amazon package although it's the ultimate convenience for the consumer many of the employees responsible for shipping and delivering those packages have expressed dissatisfaction with their working conditions in this two-parter an amazon fulfillment center is set up in south park when one worker suffers a particularly bizarre accident a strike erupts can you get out of the box no my organs have been compacted so if the box opens i spill out and die earlier that year some called for an amazon prime day boycott and the stop bezos act was initiated perhaps you should no longer be a prime member portraying founder jeff bezos as an all-knowing overlord the episodes also touch upon how the retail giant has overshadowed smaller businesses you are the only customers we've had the pleasure of assisting since the fulfillment center opened hold on a minute you all stay here because you want to work it is our purpose in the end the episodes demonstrate how instant gratification doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be left fulfilled in the long run number eight ice detention centers even before u.s immigration and customs enforcement was formed in 2003 immigration detention was a major talking point opinions surrounding the issue became especially heated with the election of president donald trump whose zero-tolerance policy has resulted in numerous children being separated from their families so anyone can make it anonymous tip and you can round up families and send them away nobody told me about this i thought everything sucked now do you have a card cartman being well cartman sees this as ample opportunity to get rid of kyle you guys take the parents we'll take the kids ice quickly realizes that kyle sticks out like a sore thumb and his jewish heritage doesn't help their image yet that doesn't stop them from picking up cartman later on jimmy pissed me off because he told the teacher i was texting in class so i told jimmy i'd have him sent to a migrant detention center he didn't believe me so i said i already did it's a cow and stan heard that and got pissed off and had me sent to a migrant detention center the episode depicts ice as an incompetent agency that cares more about saving their own skin than the psychological ramifications detention centers have on children mexican joker i just want you to remember that i helped you jeff corrigan remember jeff was your buddy now come on let's go mexican joker number seven controversial flags now more than ever displaying the confederate flag is bound to result in a passionate debate oh jesus christ not this again this isn't anything new however even back in the year 2000 south park was parodying flag controversy in this episode chef insists that the south park town flag be changed due to its offensive imagery how can a black man not be bothered by it jimbo meanwhile feels that the flag is a part of the town's history and therefore should be preserved the episode wisely doesn't vilify chef or jimbo exploring the argument from both of their perspectives in the end they find a way to make both sides happy the flag has changed to be more diverse although it retains elements of the original design twenty years after this episode aired people still aren't any closer to reaching a compromise number six steroids [Music] from stan's stint as a guitar hero to cartman's fried chicken operation drug use has been parodied in a number of south park episodes one of the most effective examples occurred in season eight when jimmy entered the special olympics to give himself a competitive edge jimmy turns to steroids look it's really none of your beeswax timmy timmy timer because maybe i don't have what it takes to win without it despite timmy's qualms jimmy continually justifies his actions arguing that most athletes do this sort of thing anyway although his performance is enhanced the steroids take a drastic toll on jimmy's personality and relationships south park may be a comedy but this episode at certain points gets surprisingly dramatic and downright uncomfortable fortunately jimmy learns his lesson by the end thanks to timmy and inadvertently cartman well guys i guess now you see what i was up to all along i dressed up like a handicapped person and lost the special olympics on purpose so that jimmy could learn his lesson about steroids number five climate change uh stan oh hey dad hello it's uh getting late boys why don't you get in the car and i'll drive you all home climate change isn't going away overnight hence why it remains a recurring theme in south park granted south park hasn't always taken climate change very seriously or should we say serially look you boys have a chance to help me find and kill man bear pig once and for all i'm totally serial in a season 9 episode parodying the response to hurricane katrina shots were also fired at the day after tomorrow and its take on global warming the following season al gore tries to warn everybody about a creature called man bear pig an obvious allegory for climate change it is a creature which roams the earth alone it is half man half bear and half pig although it seems that man bear pig is imaginary his existence is confirmed by season 22. that's it that's what i saw i saw a man bear pig the two-parter leaves us with a grim message climate change is real it may be too late to reverse the damage and most people would rather ignore the problem than make a small sacrifice i tried to warn you all but no one took me cereal you all just made fun of me didn't you number four censorship in china oh and then kenny learned to play bass watching youtube videos of john lennon with the dalai lama oh oh oh yeah no no we don't want to go there talking about the dalai lama doesn't go over well with the chinese the the what being such a controversial show censorship has always provided commentary for south park freedom of speech even led to a war against canada in the 1999 feature film while the us and the great white north have since buried the hatchet randy had a bone to pick with china in season 23. due to china's economic impact on the u.s entertainment industry many american companies have played ball with the country's regulations despite how unusual some of them sound fine i can handle some healthy competition who else wants to go to china and get some of their money oh for crying out loud winnie the pooh for example was banned in china after xi jinping was compared to disney's interpretation some people said pooh looked like the chinese president so we're illegal in china now jesus what kind of mad house is this it shouldn't come as a surprise that this episode got south park banned in china randy and towley would have some harsh words for the chinese government the following week wait wait tally come on i need you i'm never working for a company that's regulated by a communist government okay okay no more selling to the chinese number three covid19 it was only a matter of time before south park covered the coronavirus and they did not hold back thomas opened a restaurant and soda sopa doesn't seem like such a good idea now does it turner the show's first ever television special the pandemic special covered a lot of ground from covet 19's effect on small businesses to the dilemmas it's caused with reopening schools however since it is south park it also takes time to ridicule the situation as a whole poking fun at the habits we've adopted since the pandemic's inception yeah that's good social distancing real good a vaccination special also followed focusing on society's obsession with getting vaccinated against coven 19. naturally this drives the citizens of south park mad and their dilemma is cleverly compared to a situation that many are all too familiar with oh hey uh we'd like to get in there and get some vaccinations okay are you on the list well no i'm not on the list i tried to get on the list i sat on my computer 30 nights in a row trying to make a vaccination appointment and get on the goddamn list on the other hand the seniors take full advantage everyone clear out of the way clear the entrance we have vips coming out the michael richards controversy when randy gets an answer incredibly wrong on wheel of fortune his mistake follows him everywhere even after literally kissing up to jesse jackson the only people who sympathize with randy are michael richards mark furman and several others who came to regret their choice of words we've been following your story since we first saw it on the news don't worry you're with friends now while randy's storyline provides clever commentary the episode's most poignant dynamic is between stan and token although stan wishes to reconcile token isn't so quick to forgive he feels that stan doesn't understand what hearing a certain word means to him jesse jackson is not the emperor of black people token's line about jesse jackson actually came from vernon chapman a staff writer who's half black it isn't until stan realizes that he can never understand how token feels that he finally begins to grasp the situation i've been trying to say that i understand how you feel but i'll never understand i'll never really get how it feels for a black person to have somebody use the n-word i don't get it now you get it stan yeah i totally don't get it thanks dude before we unveil our top pick here are some honorable mentions homelessness an issue that requires serious change the iraq war donnie marie and cartman bring south park together in harmony it's called having your cake and eating it too he's right the strength of this country is the ability to do one thing and say another the ethics of life support a nuanced approach to a nuanced issue this issue is so complicated but maybe we should just let kenny go in peace you mean cartman's side is right carbon site is right for the wrong reasons but we're wrong for the right reasons before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one immigration one year after the cbp was formed south park delivered a satire of illegal immigration that's still incredibly relevant the immigrants in this episode travel from a bleak future where the world has become overpopulated and destitute hey stanley you need to understand something those people from the future have had a hard life where they come from is dirty and overpopulated and poor you can't even imagine the kind of depression they come from by venturing back to the 21st century people are able to make enough money to provide for their families in the fourth millennium looks as if the job at wendy's did work for the original immigrant this second arrive he claims that man's family is now much better off and wishes the same for his family modern workers however argue that this is taking away their jobs or germs as some might say they took our jabs as funny as the episode is it's also harrowing to think that so little has changed since 2004. for all we know this could still be a serious issue by the time we get to 30 45 after all satire may be our greatest window into the future do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from watchmojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest [Music] videos you

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Keywords: times south park tackled serious issues, times south park got real, serious issues on south park, south park controversial issues, darkest south park episodes, edgiest south park episodes, south park covid-19, the pandemic special, michael richards, they took our jobs, south park china, south park trump, south park steroids, south park, south parq, vaccination special, TV, Comedy, Sitcom, Streaming, watchmojo, watch mojo, top 10, list, mojo

Id: 77cwr71vzIc

Length: 23min 13sec (1393 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 11 2021