Trapped in the Closet (South Park)
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| South Park episode | |
| "Trapped in the Closet" | |
 Stan is presented to the Scientologists |
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| Episode no. | 137 |
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| Prod. code | 912 |
| Airdate | November 16, 2005 |
| South Park - Season 9 March 9, 2005 – December 7, 2005 |
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| ← Season 8 | Season 10 → |
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| List of all South Park episodes | |
"Trapped in the Closet" is episode 912 (#137) of the Comedy Central series South Park, originally aired on November 16, 2005.
The episode's plot surrounds the South Park character Stan Marsh, as he joins Scientology in an attempt to find something "fun and free". Other themes discussed include the Church of Scientology's "secret doctrine" - presented as a slightly-altered version of the Xenu story. The episode parodies several celebrities who have been involved with Scientology, such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
Isaac Hayes, the voice of Chef, quit the show in March 2006, shortly before the start of the tenth season of South Park. The reason for his departure, as reported by Matt Stone, was due to his faith in Scientology and this episode, which he felt was very offensive.[1]
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[edit] Plot synopsis
The episode begins with Stan walking on the street along with Kyle, Cartman and Kenny. Stan is saving his money for a bike, so he can't join them when they go off to play laser tag. Opting for something that is "fun and free," Stan separates from the group and takes a "personality test" that is being offered by the Scientologists on the street. After answering a long questionnaire,[I] Stan is informed that he is "one messed up kid" who is "completely miserable and totally depressed". Fortunately, this makes him a perfect candidate for Scientology—they offer to help him out for $240. Back at home, Stan asks his parents for the money to help him with his depression. His father suggests that he use the money he has been saving for a new bike. After he pays, Stan is taken into an auditing room with Michelle, who gives him a brief history of Scientology and reads his "thetan levels" using a device called an "E-meter." Michelle is shocked by the high reading, and tries several different meters before pointing these readings out to a higher-up, who faxes the results to the Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles. There, Scientology’s president reviews the results and determines that, because his reading is so high, Stan must be a reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder and prophet.
Back in South Park, Stan is taking out the garbage when he notices a large group of people outside. A large group of Scientologists, including John Travolta (complete with his Welcome Back Kotter accent), have gathered there to celebrate Stan's "second coming." The President of Scientology arrives in a helicopter and goes inside to talk with Stan’s parents. Stan's parents oppose his being in the group, but the president informs Randy and Sharon Marsh that "We're not asking him to join us; we're asking him to lead us." Randy sends his son Stan, confused and exhausted, to his room where he finds Tom Cruise waiting for him. Cruise, thinking Stan is genuinely Hubbard's reincarnation, asks his prophet whether he enjoyed his acting and what film he liked best. When Stan tells Cruise that his acting is not as good as Leonardo DiCaprio, Gene Hackman or "that guy" from Napoleon Dynamite," but that he is "okay," Tom yells in agony, runs, and locks himself into Stan's bedroom closet, believing he is "a failure in the eyes of the prophet".[II]
Stan calls for his father’s help, and Randy knocks on the door and says, "Mr. Cruise, you can't just stay in the closet, all right; you need to come out." Four hours later, Tom is still in the closet and a large crowd has gathered, with the South Park police chief on a megaphone urging him to "come out of the closet." R. Kelly is on the scene and sings a brief song about Tom Cruise being in the closet, and then pulls out his pistol and threatens to shoot someone if he is not informed of why Tom Cruise is in the closet.[III]
Downstairs, the Scientology president tries to convince Stan’s parents to let their son join them. They want to reveal the great secret of life behind their church to Stan. Randy asks his son if he would like to know this information and Stan responds with a "sure." Usually it takes several years before a member can hear this information, but Stan is on the fast track. The president tells him a condensed version of the story of Xenu; this segment is based directly on the actual Scientology OT III document and is accompanied by an onscreen caption reading, "THIS IS WHAT SCIENTOLOGISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE".[IV] After explaining these beliefs, he tells Stan to continue writing where "L. Ron" left off. Meanwhile, upstairs, Nicole Kidman is trying to get Tom to "come out of the closet," but Tom repeatedly denies that he is in the closet.
Stan begins writing and, when Kyle, Cartman and Kenny come over to invite him to the movie theater, he doesn’t have time for them. Kyle is concerned about the cult that Stan has joined, but Stan assures him that Scientology is based on fact. If they can’t accept that he has found meaning (instead of the depression he didn’t know he had) then they are no longer friends. John Travolta also tries to get Tom to "come out of the closet," but instead he finds himself joining him. Out on the street, R. Kelly sings a short song about this latest development, then again pulls out his gun, this time grabbing a hostage, and threatens to "cap this bitch."
Stan shows his writings to the Scientology president, who approves of most of his work, but, when Stan says that "to really be a church, [they] can't charge money to help," the president reveals to Stan that the church is a money-making scam.
Upstairs, R. Kelly has now been brought in to try to get both Tom and John to "come out of the closet." R. Kelly gets angry, pulls out his gun, and, when the closet door opens, finds himself going inside. Outside, the president introduces Stan to his followers, to whom he will read his new doctrine. However, instead of presenting it to them, Stan reveals that he is actually not the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, and that "Scientology is just a big fat global scam." His followers grow angry, and threaten to sue him. Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and R. Kelly leave his closet and appear, threatening to sue him, except for R. Kelly, who seems to be pouting and rubbing his arm and he flees instead of joining the others in angrily threatening to sue. Stan dares them to do so, and the episode ends with the credits listing only "John Smith" and "Jane Smith", a reference to the Church of Scientology's reputation for litigiousness.[2][3]
[edit] Controversy
[edit] Isaac Hayes' departure
On March 13, 2006, Isaac Hayes (who provided Chef's voice) announced that he was quitting the show because of the series' treatment of religion, though he didn't specifically mention Scientology in his statement.[4] In an interview for The A.V. Club on January 4, 2006, Hayes was asked about the episode. Hayes reported that he told Parker and Stone, "Guys, you have it all wrong. We're not like that. I know that's your thing, but get your information correct, because somebody might believe that shit, you know? But I understand what they're doing. I told them to take a couple of Scientology courses, and understand what we do. [Laughs]"[5] In an interview on CNN's Showbiz Tonight, Hayes said of the episode: "I didn't see it but I was told about it. But they lampoon everybody and if you believe them, you got a problem."[6]
Stone responded to Hayes' departure in an interview with The Associated Press saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem — and he's cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians [...] He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and, to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."[1] However, recent reports say that Hayes was in no condition to stay, because of a stroke he suffered in January.[7] According to a Fox News article, Hayes' agent Christina Kimball, herself a devout Scientologist, was the source of the statements that Hayes had quit South Park.[8]
Additional reasons given by Hayes ten months after the departure also include "They didn't pay me enough" and "They weren't that nice."[9]
In a 2007 interview with Rolling Stone, Stone stated "There are reports that Isaac had a stroke and Scientology quit the show for him, and I believe it...It was a brutal, up-close, personal thing with Isaac. If you look at the timeline, something doesn't add up."[10]
[edit] Rebroadcasts of the episode
This episode was scheduled to rebroadcast on March 15, 2006 on Comedy Central, but that airing was canceled without prior notice, and was replaced with "Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls". Representatives of Comedy Central insist that the episode was changed as a tribute to Isaac Hayes. While the "South Park" creators didn't directly comment on Comedy Central's decision to pull the episode, they issued an unusual statement to Daily Variety on March 17, 2006 indicating the battle is not over:
"So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing [sic] our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"[11]
The duo signed the statement "Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu."
Tom Cruise denied any involvement with stopping the episode rebroadcast: "First of all, could you ever imagine sitting down with anyone? I would never sit down with someone and question them on their beliefs. Here's the thing. I'm really not even going to dignify this. I honestly didn't really even know about it. I'm working, making my movie, I've got my family. I'm busy. I don't spend my days going, 'What are people saying about me?'"[12] A Rolling Stone article reported that: "In March 2006, Comedy Central parent Viacom, which had pulled reruns of an episode featuring the Virgin Mary hemorrhaging blood, canceled the Scientology rerun allegedly as a favor to producers of Cruise vehicle Mission: Impossible III, also owned by Viacom",[10] confirming the likely involvement of Tom Cruise with the issue.
The episode did not broadcast in the UK Paramount Comedy 1 as planned, although every other episode of the season has already been aired. It has been reported that the channel directors decided not to air it because of concerns that Cruise will file a lawsuit against the channel.[13]
Nevertheless, on July 19, 2006 Comedy Central did air a rerun of the episode at 10:00 Pacific Time[14] and did so again on July 23, 2006 at 11:00pm Eastern Time and on September 24 at 10:00 PM Eastern time. The episode was also released in several DVD's, including South Park the Hits: Volume 1,[15] and South Park: The Complete Ninth Season.[16]
[edit] Aftermath
A few references have been made by the show and Comedy Central to Scientology as an aftermath of the controversy. On August 1, 2006, Comedy Central placed an advertisement in Variety showing the South Park stars against a background of "L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology Celebrity Center", with the headline: "C'mon Jews, show them who really runs Hollywood." The advertisement congratulates South Park on gaining an Emmy nomination for "Trapped in the Closet" and satirizes the still-disputed issue of whether Tom Cruise used his influence to pull the episode's rerun in March. As Comedy Central put it, "It's a little bit of an inside joke at our expense for pulling the Scientology episode."[17]
A different reference to Scientology was made accompanying the Rolling Stone cover article Still Sick, Still Wrong celebrating the show's anniversary. The reference portrayed an image of a likely altered photo of Matt and Trey spray-painting graffiti on the church's Los Angeles headquarters sign, which includes "Is dum" and "Hi Tom" messages with a depiction of Eric Cartman's head.[18]
[edit] Inspiration
Trey Parker asserts that what had previously kept the show's creators from making parodies of Scientology on South Park was Hayes' belief of Scientology. However, the decision to ultimately make it was partially inspired when the show's creators heard from Penn Jillette that he was originally planning to do an episode of Bullshit! based on Scientology, but Showtime prohibited him from doing so to avoid the possibility of legal action from the church. Parker stated that "We’re going, That’s fucked up. And hearing other people say, “You can’t do that,”—you can only say “You can’t do that” so many times to Matt and me before we’re gonna do it. Finally, we just had to tell Isaac, “Dude, we totally love working with you, and this is nothing personal, it’s just we’re South Park, and if we don’t do this, we’re belittling everything else we’ve ripped on”".[19]
[edit] Reception
[edit] Reviews
The episode received generally high review ratings. The users of TV.com, an entertainment website devoted to television shows, gave the episode an average score of 9.1.[20] The episode also shows a 9.1 average at IMDb,[21] and a reader average of 9.1 at IGN.[22] An article in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion referred to the episode as a "scathing cartoon parody" of the Church of Scientology.[23]
However, later reviews did not show as much enthusiasm. Upon a review of South Park: The Complete Ninth Season, IGN stated that "Perhaps the largest weakness of this season is that the most notorious episodes Best Friends Forever and Trapped in the Closet just don't carry the eye-popping impact that they did when they were ripped from the headlines", giving the DVD a decent rating of 7.0.[24] Of the season nine DVD, The Denver Post stated that the jokes about Tom Cruise: "..work splendidly and reveal their depth on repeated viewings, much like the show in general."[25]
[edit] Awards
The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award on July 6, 2006 in the Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour) category,[26] the show's sixth nomination (one of which they won, for 2005's "Best Friends Forever").[27] However, The Simpsons episode "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story" was the eventual recipient of the award.[28]
It was also among Comedy Central's list of "10 South Parks That Changed The World",[29] which started airing at September 24, 2006 in anticipation for the premiere of the second half of South Park's tenth season.[30]
[edit] Appearances in media
The episode or scenes of it have appeared several times in the media. The scene where Cruise enters the closet is referenced in the South Park segment of the opening of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 27, 2006, in which Conan O' Brien is trying to get to the show, but he suddenly appears in Stan's room in an animated form. Stan begins yelling at him as he runs into the nearby closet. Immediately following the entrance he exits the closet and says, "There's someone else in there", referring to Cruise, and leaves the door open. Cruise then pops out and closes the door.[31]
[edit] See also
- The Return of Chef
- The Bridge
- The Friend of Mankind
- The Profit
- List of Scientology references in popular culture
[edit] Notes
- I↑ : The questionnaire was based on the actual OCA personality test that Scientology uses.[32]
- II↑ : Tom Cruise locking himself in a closet is a reference to rumors of Cruise's sexuality, as being "in the closet" is a slang description for homosexuals who keep their orientation a secret and those who announce their orientation are said to be "out of the closet" (or simply "out"). Rumors of Cruise being gay have swirled for decades, and Cruise has filed several lawsuits over such allegations.
- III↑ : This reference does seem to poke some fun at his rap opera (of the same name), his singing narration, and repeatedly brandishing a semi-automatic pistol.
- IV↑ : In the actual story of Xenu as written by L. Ron Hubbard, the alien beings are chained to the base of the volcanoes, and then blown up with hydrogen bombs. The H-bombs are omitted in the South Park episode, which shows the aliens being dropped directly into the volcanoes and then perishing in the lava within.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Isaac Hayes Quits 'South Park'. entertainment.msn.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Hilden, Julie (2005-12-06). Could Tom Cruise Sue "South Park" For Suggesting He is Gay? And Even If He Could, Should He?. FindLaw. Retrieved on 2006-08-16.
- ^ TMZ Staff (2006-07-06). "South Park" Cruises to the Emmys. TMZ.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-16.
- ^ Isaac Hayes quits South Park after it satirises Scientology. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Isaac Hayes Interview. avclub.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Morales, Lisa. "Everyone's in a Stew Over 'South Park' Chef", The Washington Post, The Washington Post Company, March 17, 2006., pp. The TV Column, p. 2 of 2.. (in English)
- ^ Chef's Quitting Controversy. foxnews.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Bruce Willis Gets Lucky, But Not With Model. foxnews.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ "Isaac puts Chef behind him", The New York Post, 2007-1-24. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
- ^ a b Grigoriadis, Vanessa. "Still Sick, Still Wrong : For ten years, "South Park" has been the crudest, stupidest, most offensive show on television. And the funniest.", Rolling Stone, March 22, 2007, pp. Cover Story. (in English)
- ^ Inside Move: 'South Park' feeling some celeb heat?. variety.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Cruise Denies 'South Park' Rumors. imdb.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Cruise axe for South Park. thesun.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ South Park "Trapped in the Closet" Episode to Air Again. tv.ign.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ South Park Studios: News. southparkstudios.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Westbrook, Bruce (2007-03-06). Entertainment: More Naughty Fun. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Network execs deny South Park ad targeted Gibson. uk.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Rothman, Robin A., Tomcho, Sandy. "‘South Park’ sticks it to Scientology again", recordonline.com, 2007-03-09. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
- ^ They Killed Kenny…And Revolutionized Comedy. men.style.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Trapped in the Closet. tv.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ "South Park" Trapped in the Closet (2005). imdb.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Trapped in the Closet. tv.ign.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Urban, Hugh B. (April 26, 2006.). "Fair Game: Secrecy, Security, and the Church of Scientology in Cold War America (abstract)". Journal of the American Academy of Religion 74 (2): 356-389. ISSN 1477-4585, ISSN 0002-7189.
- ^ Schorn, Peter. South Park - The Complete Ninth Season. tv.ign.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Wenzel, John. ""South Park" becomes a gem", Denver Post, March 19, 2007.. (in English)
- ^ 58th Primetime Emmy Awards. emmys.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ "South Park" Finally Wins Emmy. animatedtv.about.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
- ^ Create Arts Emmys winners (PDF). emmys.org. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ South Park: Crude and Rude as Ever. newpaltz.edu. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.
- ^ "Comedy Central to Air South Park Episodes That Changed the World", news.awn.com, 2006-09-19. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Conan the Destroyer. Tribune Media Services. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
- ^ Free Personality Test - Church of Scientology International. scientology.org. Retrieved on 2006-11-04.
