The China Probrem

South Park Zone
South Park Season 12 - Episode 1208 - The China Probrem
Watch South Park - The China Probrem online

"The China Probrem" is the eighth episode of the twelfth season of the animated series South Park,[1] and the 175th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 8, 2008. It was the mid-season premiere for season 12. In the episode, Kyle seeks to bring George Lucas and Steven Spielberg to justice for "raping" Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Cartman tries to avert a suspected Chinese invasion. The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker, and was rated TV-MA in the United States.

South Park Spoiler Alert! (The complete plot for this South Park Episode)

After watching the Beijing 2008 Olympics on television, Cartman has been plagued by nightmares about the Chinese, believing that they will invade America. He tries to warn his friends but Kyle says he "can't do this any more" and leaves. Stan later confronts Kyle, the latter stating that he cannot pretend things are normal again after "the rape of a friend". He confesses his feelings of deep guilt and regret over the fact he, Stan and their friends "just stood there and did nothing". Elsewhere, Cartman convinces Butters that China is going to take over America and kill Butters' parents. Butters decides to join Cartman's group, the American Liberation Front. Stan, Kyle, Kenny, Clyde and Jimmy start to remember and have flashbacks of the rape which is revealed to be their viewing of the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull film. They are appalled and devastated to see George Lucas (voiced by Matt Stone) and Steven Spielberg (voiced by Trey Parker) "rape" Indiana Jones. Meanwhile, Cartman and Butters dress up as stereotypical Chinese children and go to P. F. Chang's China Bistro to try to trick the Chinese people into telling them when the "invasion" is set to occur. The two boys' antics begin to annoy everyone, but when they are asked to leave, they instead take the entire restaurant hostage. Cartman gives Butters a gun and tells him to fire at a man who is trying to escape. Butters promptly shoots the man in the penis, which upsets Cartman greatly. At the same time, Kyle and his friends visit the Park County District Attorney and asks him to arrest Spielberg and Lucas for raping Indiana Jones. When the DA relives the rape in his mind, where Indiana and the DA himself were in a pub together, and Indiana was raped atop a pinball machine in a scene that parallels the rape scene from The Accused, he tearfully agrees to help them. Afterwards, they go to the Park County Police Station to have Spielberg and Lucas arrested. One detective is also disturbed by the rape as well and relives the incident as well in his mind, which this time is a parody of the famous "squeal like a pig" scene from Deliverance. Back at the restaurant, the police arrive to respond to the hostage situation. When the police try to enter the restaurant, Butters fires a warning shot and also hits the Chinese policeman in the penis. This angers Cartman all the more. In the closing moments, the police find and take away Spielberg and Lucas (while raping an Imperial Stormtrooper), despite their protests over a lack of evidence and the huge totals they have brought in at the box office. Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Cartman gives up on his mission of saving America after Butters shoots another man in the penis and surrenders to the police. As he is walking outside, a police officer arrives to inform the others that Lucas and Spielberg are finally in custody. The officers and hostages all rejoice that "it's all over", and while everyone is hugging and crying, Cartman and Butters sneak away. Reflecting on the day's events, Cartman decides he'd rather be Chinese than "a nation of unethical dick shooters". Butters is unable to see what all the fuss is about, as he thought Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was "pretty good".

1 comment:

  1. First off, I would like to say that I thought Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was an OK film, but then again, I also liked Temple of Doom, and that had a non-Christian background to it.

    Anyway, the "Spielberg and Lucas rape Indy" subplot in this episode is too much a bad rehash of "Free Hat", and to a lesser extent, "Jakovasaurs". The three actual rape flashbacks (from Boys Don't Cry, The Accused, and Deliverance, respectively) were all terrible.

    There's also a giant continuity error here: Spielberg and Lucas were both killed on-screen at the end of "Free Hat", in a parody of the ending from Raiders of the Lost Ark. But they suddenly show up alive again in this episode. There really is no continuity anymore.

    Oh well, at least IMHO Cartman and Butters had the better subplot, even if it was rehashed from "A Million Little Fibers", "Super Fun Time", and "Fun with Veal", all with hostage situations of their own. That subplot had some good jokes, like the running gag of Butters shooting people in the dick, even if it WAS run into the ground.

    All in all, this episode gives me the vibe that Matt Stone and Trey Parker are just trying to ruin South Park, like they created it and they want to destroy it.

    ReplyDelete