A shocking April Fool's joke was the 4th episode of the 13th season of the famous American comedy animated series for adults "South Park", which aired on April 01, 2009. The creators titled the plot "Eat, Pray, Let Gas" (Eat, Pray, Queet), distorting the words in the title of the novel by Elizabeth Gilbert "Eat, Pray, Love". A satirical racist plot, permeated through and through with black "outhouse" humor, touches on one of the problems in modern society - sexism and female discrimination.
On Russian television, the animated satirical series South Park is shown on Ren TV, NTV +, 2x2, MTV and Paramount Comedy. The latter appeared in domestic broadcasting networks in 2012, as an analogue of the American Comedy Central. Episodes dubbed into Russian by MTV studio are available for viewing on PC, Iphone, Ipad, Android and Windows Phone. The animated series is not intended for children. Depending on the topic and content of the 22-minute episodes, they have an age qualification (14+), (16+) or (18+).
According to the program rating of the US cable broadcasting networks, the broadcast of the animated series on Comedy Central is classified under the TV-MA category for adult films. Episode 13х04, titled Eat, Pray, Queet ("Eat, Pray, Let Gas"), was assigned an additional letter L, indicating an increased content of rude and obscene expressions. And this is despite the fact that in South Park, rude curses are almost always "barked".
Use of a physiological theme in an episode
In addition to the use of widespread abusive expressions "Eat, pray, let the gases" is replete with attributes of such a segment of obscene vocabulary as toilet (toilet) humor.
The fact is that the plot actively exploits the physiological theme of the release of gases from the human body - the traditional bulging through the anus, as well as queefing in women (gas release by the vagina). Interestingly, the word queef, which means women blowing gas, has been used in the series before. But that was only a mention in a speech in the episode "World Flute Concert". This time the viewer sees the action taking place on the screen, performed by the participants of the television show Queef Sisters. Katherine and Katie Quiff come to the set not only to showcase their "talents", but also to advertise their new book "Eat, Pray, Let Gas". It is a parody of the novel Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
The second circumstance shocking the viewer was that the other characters of the series - idols Katherine and Katie, masters of "male farting" Torrance and Philip, this time did not limit themselves to jokes about bowel movements. In episode 13х04, for the first time in the history of the series, they are shown completely naked and without retouching the causal places, a sex scene with their participation is demonstrated.
The theme revolves around the rivalry of the owners of a kind of physiological talent. The girls' show is much more popular with viewers, and Torrance and Philip are about to be fired from television. A conflict is brewing, which is resolved in an unexpected way. Torrance falls in love with one of the sisters, and it comes to getting married. But the priest escapes from the ceremony, becoming a victim of a "gas attack" by the newlyweds.
The physiological theme chosen for the episode formed the basis of the plot "Eat, Pray, Let Gas".
The plot of the episode 13х04 "South Park"
One of the entertainment for the residents of the town of South Park (Colorado) is watching the obscene cartoon "The Terrence and Philip Show" with their jokes "below the belt" about human excreta. After watching this, the boys from South Park Elementary School have fun - blowing gases at the girls, thinking it’s funny.
One day, children gather in front of the TV screen to watch another episode about degenerate Canadians. But then it turns out that the heroes of the beloved series were replaced by Katherine and Katie, who came to the program of Regis and Kelly. On the air, the sisters emit gases from the vagina at the rest of the show. After watching the Queef Sisters, the girls at school are triumphant - now they know how to "wipe the nose" of the boys and copy the heroines of the new series. Cartman is furious, and Butters is incapacitated - the offended boy locks himself at home and does not go out for several days.
Due to the fact that the evil April Fool's joke received sad consequences, an unscheduled parent meeting is being held at the school. However, the parents' reaction has an unexpected effect. Instead of discussing children's behavior, adults start arguing. The male half of South Park sees discrimination in all this and is trying to restore justice. Cartman's father and the elder Marsh have spearheaded a movement to ban female bulging, announcing the process annoying, disgusting and unnatural. Women state that there is no difference between female and male gas release. They believe that thanks to the new Queef Sisters show, their rights will be at least a little equal with men. It comes to debate in the Senate, and women's queefing is banned in the state. Local newspapers are headlined Queefing Banned. Upon hearing the news, Stan and his father happily inform Sharon and Shelia about it, but they are upset. However, they are upset not because of the prohibition itself, but because of sexism and the still prevailing female discrimination in society. Eventually, the ashamed men of the Marsh family accept the women's point of view and urgently call a men's meeting in South Park. The ending of the episode is as follows: the men decide that the song Queef Free should be recorded in defense of women's rights. Similar to the juggling in the title of the episode itself, the song is a parody of Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie's 1985 song and video We Are the World.
From the biography of the showrunner of the series
Since the beginning of the broadcast of the series "South Park" in the United States (1997) and up to the present time, three creators are directly working on it. These are the famous Americans in the comedy film industry: Trey Parker ‒ screenwriter, director, film actor, musician; Mat Stone - director and voice actor; Eric Stof is an animation director. As a rule, in almost all episodes (and there are more than five hundred of them in 22 seasons), Parker is indicated as a scriptwriter and director in the credits. This is especially true of "Eat, Pray, Let Gas". The freaky showrunner wrote and filmed this episode, being in the singular.
Trey Parker (full name ‒Randolph Severn Parker III) is a native of Connifer, Colorado. Of the two children in the family, he is the youngest (date of birth October 19, 1969). Sister and parents became the prototypes of the characters of the series - members of the Marsh family: Randy, Sharon and Shelley. The father is most offended by Trey for this, because the animated characters have not even changed their names. But Parker does not consider his love for his family as an excuse to abandon the jokes and banter, of which he has been a master since childhood. At Evergreen High School, where the guy studied until graduation in 1988, he was elected "class clown".
Parker decided to continue his education in Boston. He entered the Berkeley College of Music, but did not become a musician. Trey's main interest was filming. The young man goes to the University of Colorado (Boulder), where he attends special courses to familiarize himself with the details of the filming process. At the university, Parker has directed a number of animated short films, including American History, which won the Student Academy Award. This is where they meet Matt Stone and their joint work begins. The reason for the early graduation was non-attendance of classes for a whole semester due to the filming of the film "Cannibal Musical". Trey Parker's popularity began with the release of The Spirit of Christmas: Jesus vs. Frosty. This is the first collaboration with Stone. They are best known for the South Park cartoon project. Conceived as a counterpart to The Simpsons, South Park became an original joke that stretched out over twenty-odd years.
The personal life of the famous American showrunner was marked by two marriages. The result of his marriage in 2006 to Emma Sagiyamo was a divorce after two years of marriage. Buggy Tillmon is Parker's wife since 2014 and they have a daughter. Trey Parker currently resides in Los Angeles.
Comedy Central's contract with the creator of the South Park project has once again been extended. Along with The Simpsons and Family Guy, adult comedy animation fans will have episodes until at least Season 23 of South Park.
