I'm a Little Bit Country

"I'm a Little Bit Country"
South Park episode
Episode no. Season 7
Episode 4
Directed by Trey Parker
Written by Trey Parker
Production code 704
Original air date April 9, 2003
Guest appearance(s)

"I'm a Little Bit Country" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 100th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 9, 2003. The episode title is based on the song "Little Bit Country/Little Bit Rock and Roll" by Marty Cooper, as made famous by Donny and Marie Osmond.

The episode aired around the time the U.S. launched a full-scale invasion of Iraq. In the episode, the boys join some anti-war protesters because it's a free pass out of school for the day. Their simple plan to protest their way out of class goes south when they find themselves in the middle of the two opposing sides of the issue. Meanwhile, Cartman attempts a flashback to 1776 to avoid studying for his American History assignment.

The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker. It is similar to the 1972 film 1776 and concerns the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Plot

When Mr. Garrison agrees to let anyone protesting the war out of school early for a rally, all the kids pretend to care about the cause so as to get out of school early, even though they know little to nothing about the war. Some of the townspeople are protesting against the war, while others are supporting it. While the rest of the school races off to enjoy their day off, the boys lag behind to watch the protest and end up interviewed outside the school for their views on what the Founding Fathers would think about this, it becomes clear that they do not know who the Founding Fathers were; angered at the embarrassment, Garrison gives everybody an assignment to figure out what the founders' views of the war would have been. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny begin to study for their project, but Cartman decides to take a different approach, trying (and failing) to induce a flashback of the colonial era, first by saying clichéd flashback-inducing dialogue, and then by dropping a large rock on his own head.

Meanwhile, the people of the town are divided about the war, and after splitting in two, they both plan rallies: one pro-war (hawks), one anti-war (doves), both on the same day in the same place. They wind up having a great argument during both rallies, and in the end get into a huge fight where they begin to all kill each other. Meanwhile, Cartman electrocutes himself in water with a TiVo full of colonial documentaries from The History Channel in order to induce a flashback. He falls into a coma, and in his mind, he travels back to the colonial era in Philadelphia. After murdering the official messenger boy, he manages to get the job of delivering the Declaration of Independence from Thomas Jefferson's home to the Continental Congress for a vote; there, a great argument breaks out about whether or not to go to war against England, paralleling the events in town, which Cartman recognizes as being "very, very relevant".

Benjamin Franklin, shows up and announces that he believes the new country must not seem to be a war-monger to the rest of the world, but at the same time, it cannot appear to be weak either. Therefore, it must go to war, but allow protests. The United States will go to war on one hand, and use protest to oppose the war on the other. He refers to this as "saying one thing and doing another". One member refers to this as "having our cake and eating it too". Both sides decide to use the boys to give their opinion about the war, but their plan backfires because their parents interfered with their assignment about the Founding Fathers, the boys don't know what's going on about the war, and Cartman ended up in the hospital; shortly after, Cartman wakes up and delivers his message to the town, who see the truth of that statement and then break out into song. In it, they celebrate their differences and their achievement (100 episodes); ending the song with the line, "For the war, against the war—who cares! 100 episodes!" The episode ends with Kyle saying "I hate this town. I really, really do."

Production

Benjamin Franklin is voiced by TV producer Norman Lear (who also served as a creative consultant for this episode).[1] The flashback was inspired by Lear's touring around schools with a copy of the Declaration of Independence.[2]

Release and reception

"I'm a Little Bit Country", along with the fourteen other episodes from The Complete Seventh Season, were released on a three-disc DVD set in the United States on March 21, 2006. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode.[3]

Keith Finn of the Daily Nebraskan praised the episode's portrayal of the United States’s two-party system and free speech.[4]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/30/us/norman-lear-fast-facts/index.html
  2. ↑ Parker, Trey (November 2004). South Park: The Complete Seventh Season: "South Park Is Gay! " (Audio commentary)|format= requires |url= (help) (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
  3. ↑ Schorn, Peter (March 14, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Seventh Season DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. ↑ http://www.dailynebraskan.com/arts_and_entertainment/south-park-th-episode-perfectly-addresses-issues-with-us/article_74d9e718-60a2-11e4-abaa-0017a43b2370.html
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.