South Park Is Gay!

"South Park Is Gay!" is the eighth episode of the seventh season and the 104th overall episode of the American animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 22, 2003. In it, Kyle struggles to understand a new metrosexual fad that has sprung around the men and boys of South Park and is the only one who does not want to conform to it. The episode features a parody of the TV show, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

"South Park Is Gay"
South Park episode
From left to right: Kenny, Stan, Kyle, and Cartman as metrosexuals.
Episode no.Season 7
Episode 8
Written byTrey Parker
Featured music"All Things (Just Keep Getting Better)" by Widelife
Production code708
Original air dateOctober 22, 2003

The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. In 2011, he and co-creator Matt Stone listed it as one of their least favorite episodes of the series.[1]

Plot

After the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy begins showing, metrosexuality becomes a major fad among both the men and the boys, and they all begin to act effeminate. At the school bus stop, instead of their usual winter clothing, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny wear unmasculine clothing. Kyle, who does not want to conform, is beaten up by Craig, Clyde, Token, and Jimmy at school. Cartman, Kenny, and even Stan abandon Kyle. Mr. Garrison and Mr. Slave, the town's gay couple, are excited at first but quickly become opposed to the fad when they realize that metrosexuals are straight men imitating gay culture and lifestyle, which Garrison believes is insulting to actual gays. The women of the town are initially in favor of their husbands' improved hygiene and willingness to communicate, but soon tire of the men becoming increasingly self-absorbed. When the wives confront the men about this, they are accused of being "metrophobic" and the men become even more feminine than before.

In hopes of ending the fad, Kyle, Mr. Garrison, and Mr. Slave go to New York to kill the Fab Five, the hosts of "Queer Eye". Their mission fails but the Fab Five decide to not press charges. Mr. Garrison then tries to talk the nonchalant gay stars out of selling out gay culture for mere ratings, which only falls on deaf ears. Mr. Garrison demands to know how gays could betray their own people, and then slowly realizes that they are not gay at all. The five suddenly gravely turn to the others and their human bodies burst open, revealing that they are an ancient race of "Crab People".

Captured by these Crab People (who chant "Crab People" repeatedly), the gay couple and Kyle are unable to stop the crabs from executing their plans of ruling the earth by destroying the human race (through changing men into metrosexuals) and the Crab People force them to become Crab People instead; however, the wives attack and kill the Queer Eye guys. They explain that men need to be masculine and that is what really makes them attractive, even if they are gross. The Queer Eye producers are about to press charges on the women until they discover that the Fab Five were not human, noting that the Crab People tried this before with The Jeffersons. They decide instead to "bring back the Latin fad"—which the citizens of South Park slavishly adopt.

At school, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman accept Kyle again, but when he expresses his anger that they previously forsook him, the others call him "gay" and go and play football. He walks away in the opposite direction, but then, he stops and turns around.

Production

Parker and Stone have since been critical of the third-act twist of "crab people" and consider the episode one of their worst. Though they brainstormed for hours to improve the episode (after having deleted the initial subplot of Mr. Garrison leading the other gay people in South Park to "compete" with the metrosexuals), they were unable to come up with anything better than crab people. Executive producer Anne Garefino was particularly critical of the idea, deeming it "stupid." Parker later noted that "'Crab people' became this thing [in the writers' room]. It's like, you just know there's something better, but you can't think of it, and now you've just got to go with crab people." [1]

In the DVD commentary, Stone called Crab People "the worst idea we've ever had."[2] Despite Parker and Stone's distaste for the characters, however, the Crab People have actually become fairly popular villains with fans of the show.

In the episode Quest for Ratings, Eric Cartman suggested Crab People while brainstorming ideas for a news show. They're also mentioned at the end of Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow, where they were blamed for destroying the Beaverton dam. Crab People also appear in the video games The Stick of Truth and The Fractured but Whole.[3]

Home release

"South Park Is Gay!", 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. IGN gave the season an 8/10.[4]

References
  1. "'South Park': Matt Stone and Trey Parker Name Their 15 Best Episodes (and 53 Worst)". Entertainment Weekly. October 11, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  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. https://www.technobuffalo.com/2015/05/16/south-park-stick-of-truth-sales/
  4. Schorn, Peter (March 14, 2006). "South Park: The Complete Seventh Season DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
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