South Park premiered its 22nd season Wednesday night — and in usual fashion, the show did not hold back.
Mainly addressing gun violence, school shootings and the country’s growing apathy for dead kids (also the title of the episode), the Comedy Central cartoon armed the students in mockery of where the gun control debate has gone.
Essentially, there had been so many shootings at South Park Elementary, the students were no longer phased by it, nor were most of the townspeople. One of the four main kids, Stan, is so desensitized to it, he struggles to remember a shooting even took place when asked how his day went at the dinner table. Randy, his father, is somewhat upset only until he learns Stan was not the gunman and he was not shot. After that, he only cares Stan failed his math test.
The school is “shot up” multiple times throughout the episode. “I got this one,” a staff member (Mr. Mackey) says as he runs out to confront the gunman as the others just carry on with their work in the building.
At one point, fan favorite Butters is roaming the corridors as the hall monitor, carrying a machine gun; an image that mocks all those who have called for teachers to be armed.
The only person in South Park who is outraged and depressed about all of the shootings is Stan’s mom, Sharon, who the rest of the town believes has become too emotional.
Randy tries to reason with himself and others that Sharon is so worked up about the shootings because she is likely on her period or maybe even going through menopause. This insults and upsets Sharon even more until the end of the episode when she finally surrenders to the apathy that has devoured the town. Even when Stan does get shot at school in the closing moments, she responds to the news: “It’s not the end of the world.”
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