The Red Badge of Gayness
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| South Park episode | |
| "The Red Badge of Gayness" | |
General Cartman and his men defend Fort Sumter from the National Guard. |
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| Episode no. | 45 |
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| Airdate | November 24, 1999 |
| South Park - Season 3 April 7, 1999 – January 12, 2000 |
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| ← Season 2 | Season 4 → |
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| List of all South Park episodes | |
"The Red Badge of Gayness" is episode 314 of Comedy Central's animated series South Park. It originally aired on November 24, 1999.
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[edit] Plot synopsis
As the entire town of South Park is preparing to hold its annual Civil War reenactment of the fictional Battle of Tamarack Hill, the children are preparing as well with numerous rehearsals as Union rallyers. Cartman screws up the rehearsal over and over again by taking personal liberties with his drum, missing beats and "rocking and rolling." The rest of the children get angry and decide that he has to be a flutist. Cartman destroys the drum and storms off.
In the morning of the reenactment, Jimbo informs the actors that over 200 people will come to see them reenact the battle, a new record! He also takes the time to remind everyone that the primary sponsor of today's event is none other than Jagerminz S'more-flavored Schnapps, "the schnapps with the delightful taste of s'mores." In addition the special guest will be Stan's grandpa, Marvin Marsh, the oldest reenactor in South Park and "the only man old enough to have actually seen the Civil War... reenactment of 1924." Meanwhile, Cartman returns dressed as General Robert E. Lee, and the boys are outraged by his dressing as a Confederate officer. Cartman (being terrible at history and careless with his wording, or probably thinking that the reenactment is actually a competition) bets that the South will win the Civil War, and if he wins Stan and Kyle will be his slaves for a month, and vice-versa. The deal is on.
At 0900 hours on Tamarack Hill, the reenactment has begun, with Grandpa Marsh narrating the battle, Jimbo as the Confederate general and Randy Marsh as the Union general. Although the intent of the reenactment is to let the Union soldiers claim Tamarack Hill and the bell thereupon, Cartman, still dressed as General Lee, steals the bell and ruins the entire reenactment. It will have to begin again in an hour. As both sides prepare once again, Cartman rallies the South to actually win the reenactment, in order to win his bet with the boys. Motivated, the South proceeds to ruin the reenactment once again.
At the after party, the children are very mad at Cartman for cheating, and restate that the wager hinges on the victory of the Civil War, and not the reenactment. As the adults are drunk on the Schnapps, Cartman rallies them to once again take over the South. Every single man in South Park leaves, dressed in the Confederate Uniform.
The next day, Topeka is ravaged by the South Park Confederates, making the entire town fall under the pillaging of the army. Town by town, the South is taken over by the Confederacy, but not without a little recreation at Florida's many theme parks. As the conquest continues, General Cartman Lee sends letters to Stan and Kyle, Kenny's mother and others with a classic style narration.
The boys hatch a plan to rid the army of their primary fuel, the S'More Schnapps, but it fails as Cartman calls the Jägerminz company, who deliver to the entire army a truckload of alcohol.
Their next attack is Fort Sumter, where the Confederates actually take over with sheer numbers, first claiming the fort from the active tour group by themselves, then tells Kyle to suck his ass and then defeating the National Guard with help from Confederate reinforcements, which is made up of the entire population of South Carolina.
Finally the Confederate Army reaches Washington, D.C.; the army demands the South to be a separate country. To end this chaos, Stan and Kyle dress up as Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln respectively, just in time to prevent President Clinton from signing an official declaration of secession. The children re-enact the surrendering of the Confederate Army, with the added condition that the South receive a year's supply of schnapps. The entire army breaks up and leaves upon surrender. Kyle and Stan are joyful and plan to have Cartman as their slave. They then rip Cartman's beard off and his scream is so loud that it can be heard all around the solar system.
Stan and Kyle are deciding what to make Cartman do, when President Clinton inadvertently nullifies the bet by pointing out that the abolition of slavery was one of the major developments of the Civil War, making slavery illegal and immoral. The boys are both angry at Cartman and Clinton and go home.
[edit] Kenny's Death
When the National Guard fires a warning flare, Kenny is hit and burns to death. A medic sprays a fire extinguisher, but to no avail. There is a twist in the Stan and Kyle lines:
- Stan: Oh my God! They killed Kenny!
- Grandpa: You bastards.
- Kyle: Hey!
[edit] Goofs
- There are no grassy hills on the island of Fort Sumter, which is only accessible by ferry and is surrounded by about twenty to thirty feet of rocks.
- The flag used by the Union reenactors is actually the 1st national flag of the Confederacy, also known as the "Stars and Bars."
- In the last scene, Cartman's beard is removed. When he turns sideways to walk off frame, the beard returns.
[edit] Pop Culture References
- The episode name is a parody of The Red Badge of Courage.
- The name "Jägerminz" parodies Jägermeister and Rumple Minze, which are mixed together in a popular shot called a "Screaming Nazi".
- Upon Kenny's death, Cartman writes a letter to Kenny's mother stating that Kenny was killed at "Ruby Hills Funland in Chattanooga." This is a parody of Ruby Falls, a Chattanooga attraction that includes a playground called the Fun Forest.
- At the sight of the confederacy, Clinton's advisor remarks "It's like the Million Man March except there are actually a million people." Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, sang at the Million Man March.
- After General Cartman Lee makes his demands to Bill Clinton, Al Gore states "Boy I'm glad I don't have your job" (the Presidency). A little under a year after the initial running of this episode, Al Gore would go on to lose the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Right before this episode aired, Mary Kay Bergman (supplier of the South Park female voices) committed suicide. The creators removed almost all the female roles in this episode sans a female character in a town, the S'more Schnapps girl (who is voiced by Trey Parker, using his Mr. Hankey voice only a little higher) and Kenny's mother (who has no dialogue). The creators held off casting for female voices out of respect for Bergman.
| Preceded by "Hooked on Monkey Phonics" |
South Park episodes | Followed by "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" |
