Whale Whores: Difference between revisions
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== Cultural references == |
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During the episode Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are performing [[Lady Gaga]]'s song "[[Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)|Poker Face]]" on the video game ''[[Rock Band]]''. Cartman later improvises as he sings the song while showing magazine covers which mention Stan's efforts at stopping the Japanese from killing whales and dolphins.<ref name="ew" /><ref name="avclub"/> "Poker Face" is not available in ''Rock Band'', but [[Kotaku]]'s reviewer Mike Fahey appreciated the rendition so much that he is "convinced it needs to be".<ref>{{cite news | first = Mike | last = Fahey | date = October 30, 2009 | title = Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” Comes To Rock Band In South Park | url = http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/10/lady-gagas-poker-face-comes-to-rock-band-in-south-park/ | publisher=[[Kotaku]] | accessdate = 2009-10-30 }}</ref> |
During the episode Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are performing [[Lady Gaga]]'s song "[[Poker Face (Lady Gaga song)|Poker Face]]" on the video game ''[[Rock Band]]''. Cartman later improvises as he sings the song while showing magazine covers which mention Stan's efforts at stopping the Japanese from killing whales and dolphins.<ref name="ew" /><ref name="avclub"/> "Poker Face" is not available in ''Rock Band'', but [[Kotaku]]'s reviewer Mike Fahey appreciated the rendition so much that he is "convinced it needs to be".<ref>{{cite news | first = Mike | last = Fahey | date = October 30, 2009 | title = Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” Comes To Rock Band In South Park | url = http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/10/lady-gagas-poker-face-comes-to-rock-band-in-south-park/ | publisher=[[Kotaku]] | accessdate = 2009-10-30 }}</ref> The theme song of ''Whale Wars'', [[Bullet with Butterfly Wings]] by [[The Smashing Pumpkins]], is also featured in this episode. |
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The orders Stan gives his crew on revealing the [[Godzilla]] statue ("Wait, wait, wait") are a clear reference to [[Braveheart]].{{cite}} |
The orders Stan gives his crew on revealing the [[Godzilla]] statue ("Wait, wait, wait") are a clear reference to [[Braveheart]].{{cite}} |
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Revision as of 00:42, 4 November 2009
| "Whale Whores" |
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"Whale Whores" is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the animated television series South Park. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on October 28, 2009[1] and on Comedy Central on October 30, 2009 in the United Kingdom. The episode centers on the criticism of Whale Wars, an Animal Planet television show following Paul Watson and his crew as they attempt to deter Japanese ships from killing whales, and on the Japanese people through the use of absurd stereotyping.
Plot
The Marsh family are spending Stan's birthday at the Denver Aquarium, in close contact with dolphins. The vacation goes bad when Japanese people appear out of nowhere and slaughter all the dolphins in the pool with spears. This happens at several other aquariums, culminating in the killing of the Miami Dolphins football team as they are beginning a game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Stan takes on the cause to save the dolphins and whales from the Japanese. He asks his friends to help but Kyle thinks there is nothing they can do, stating that they cannot change on what a whole country is doing. Cartman and Kenny, don't care at all as they think Stan's talking about Wales the country. Stan is angered by this, and loses hope until Butters tells him the television show Whale Wars, hosted by Paul Watson, are seeking volunteers to work on a ship to help deter Japanese whalers. Stan joins the ship's crew, but is soon disappointed that Watson's method for deterring the Japanese whalers is to throw "stinky butter" on them.[2] In retaliation the Japanese shoot a harpoon through Watson's head, killing him. Stan, surprised by the crew's impotent methods of deterrence, fires a flare gun at the Japanese ship, igniting fuel barrels and destroying the ship. Stan becomes the new captain of the ship and drastically increases the ratings of Whale Wars by violently attacking other Japanese whalers.[3] The crew is interviewed on Larry King Live, where the host, Larry King, criticizes Paul Watson and questions Stan on the morality of increasing ratings by using violence on Japanese whalers, ignoring the fact that Stan does not care about the show but to save the whales and dolphins.
Jealous of Stan's media attention, Cartman and Kenny join the ship's crew under false pretenses of wanting to save the whales. They soon have a run-in with the crew from a ship from Deadliest Catch, who are angered that Stan is stealing ratings from them. Grateful whales appear and remove the blockading ship, but the Japanese launch a World War II style kamikaze attack on Stan's ship. The suicidal planes kill the helpless whales and the Whale Wars crew except for Stan, Cartman, and Kenny. The trio are captured by the Japanese and briefly imprisoned before Emperor Akihito takes them to the Hiroshima memorial museum and reveals to them why the Japanese slaughter dolphins and whales: following the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese had received a doctored photo from the United States, mockingly depicting the Enola Gay piloted by a whale and a dolphin. The emperor says that after receiving the photo, Japan ended the war with America to focus on their true enemies: whales and dolphins. Stan, knowing that the picture was doctored, decides to tell the truth about the bombings of Hiroshima, but Cartman hints that doing so would put the United States in peril if it's revealed to them. After contacting Kyle, Stan gives the Japanese a new doctored photo showing a cow and chicken in the Enola Gay and claims it is undoctored. The Japanese become infuriated, believing that the cows and chickens had framed the innocent whales and dolphins by doctoring the original photo. The Japanese resolve to cease their whaling efforts and begin a violent vendetta of slaughtering cows and chickens. The episode ends as Stan's father congratulates him for making the Japanese "normal, like us"[4] by encouraging them to kill cows and chickens rather than whales and dolphins.
Cultural references
During the episode Kyle, Kenny and Cartman are performing Lady Gaga's song "Poker Face" on the video game Rock Band. Cartman later improvises as he sings the song while showing magazine covers which mention Stan's efforts at stopping the Japanese from killing whales and dolphins.[5][6] "Poker Face" is not available in Rock Band, but Kotaku's reviewer Mike Fahey appreciated the rendition so much that he is "convinced it needs to be".[7] The theme song of Whale Wars, Bullet with Butterfly Wings by The Smashing Pumpkins, is also featured in this episode.
The orders Stan gives his crew on revealing the Godzilla statue ("Wait, wait, wait") are a clear reference to Braveheart. {{citation}}: Empty citation (help)
Reception
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly described the criticism of the save-the-whales conservationists as a "delightfully savage ridicule".[5] The AV Club's Josh Modell did not enjoy the episode's mockery of Whale Wars: "The show’s star, Paul Watson, seems to have really pissed off [South Park's creators] Parker and Stone [...] Fine, but could you make me laugh a few times while you beat me over the head with information about a guy that I couldn’t care less about?"[6] Brian Jacks of MTV appreciated the show's focus on whale conservation, stating that the episode supported conservationism more than reality television shows.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "South Park episode guide". South Park Studios. 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "Whale Whores". South Park. Season 13. Episode 11. Comedy Central. Quote: Paul Watson: "It's time to bring out the big guns. You guys ready? Ready and throw the stinky butter at them!"
- ^ "Whale Whores". South Park. Season 13. Episode 11. Comedy Central. Quote: Spinning magazine headline: "Whale Wars Ratings Skyrocket: New Captain Not a fat liar like the old one"
- ^ "Whale Whores". South Park. Season 13. Episode 11. Comedy Central. Quote: Randy Marsh: "Great job son. Now the Japanese are normal, like us."
- ^ a b Tucker, Ken (October 29, 2009). "'South Park' and 'Whale Whores': Lady Gaga and Entertainment Weekly harpooned, er, lampooned". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Modell, Josh (October 29, 2009). "Whale Whores". The AV Club. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Fahey, Mike (October 30, 2009). "Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" Comes To Rock Band In South Park". Kotaku. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ^ Jacks, Brian (October 29, 2009). "'South Park' Takes On Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'". MTV. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
Leave it to the hard-hitting folks at "South Park" to do more for conservationism than fifteen cable reality shows put together.
External links
- Episode guide at Southparkstudios.com
- Episode preview clip at Southparkstudios.com
- "Whale Whores" at TV.com
- "Whale Whores" at IMDb
