Canada on Strike

"Canada on Strike"

"Canada On Strike!" is episode 1204 (#171) of the animated series South Park. It was first broadcast on April 2, 2008. The episode parodies the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and popular Internet videos.

Plot

Canadians are disappointed when "Canada Appreciation Day" in the U.S. does not bring Canada the respect it deserves. The head of the "World Canadian Bureau" (abbreviated WGA, same as Writers Guild of America), Stephen Abootman, leads Canadians in a strike to get Canada more money and respect. Terrance and Phillip try to talk sense into Canadians, but are ignored. The strike suffers a severe blow when Danes ("the Canadians of Europe") come to fill the jobs left by Canadians.

Reruns of Terrance and Phillip and Kyle's concern for his adopted Canadian brother Ike, who has been standing out in the cold since the beginning of the strike waving a banner that says "honk if you support Canada" while getting little support (as well as the threat of having to watch Family Guy) convince the boys that they should negotiate the end of the strike, since no one in the international community takes it seriously. The Canadians are simply demanding more money, such as "some of that Internet money," and tell the boys that if they can raise money on the Internet, they'll end the strike.

Kyle, Cartman, Stan and Butters post a video on "YouToob" of Butters singing Samwell's song "What What (In the Butt)" [1], which is an instant hit. They are, however, forced to wait in line at the "Colorado Department of Internet Money", behind other YouTube phenomena such as Tay Zonday, The "Star Wars Kid", Gary Brolsma, and Chris Crocker. The other YouTube celebrities begin to argue about who is the most famous, which quickly descends into violence, and most of them end up killing each other. As a result, the boys end up being first in line and they receive 10 million "theoretical dollars," one for each viewing of the YouTube video.

They take the money to the WGA in Canada, but it is rejected since it's not real. Instead, the boys convince the international community to give Canada a consolation prize, which turns out to consist of Bennigan's coupons and gumballs for each citizen, so that the strike will end and the WGA leader can look like he did a good job. When the boys return home from Canada, Kyle sums up the episode's themes in a rapid-fire and eloquent speech:

We thought we could make money on the Internet. But while the Internet is new and exciting for creative people, it hasn't matured as a distribution mechanism to the extent that one should trade real and immediate opportunities for income for the promise of future online revenue. It will be a few years before digital distribution of media on the Internet can be monetized to an extent that necessitates content producers to forgo their fair value in more traditional media.

— Kyle

Back in Canada, as a victory party is held to the tune of "Celebration," Terrance and Phillip arrive and uncover the outrageous cost of the strike, accusing the WGA head of trying to look good so they wouldn't "set him adrift". As it turns out, Canada lost far more money by going on strike than they gained through it. Canada is outraged, and the WGA leader, along with his assistants, are set adrift on an ice floe.

YouTube Parodies

A number of Internet phenomena were featured in the episode, including:

• Tron Guy
• The Numa Numa Guy[2]
• Star Wars Kid[3]
• The Sneezing Panda[4]
• Afro Ninja[5]
• The Laughing Baby[6]
• Tay Zonday "Chocolate Rain"[7]
• Chris Crocker [8]
• Dramatic Prairie Dog[9]
• What What (In the Butt)[10]

The Back Dorm Boys[11] and lonelygirl15[12] are depicted as well; however, none of them have any speaking roles.

External links

• Full episode at South Park Studios