| Stan Marsh | |
|---|---|
| South Park character | |
Stan Marsh |
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| First appearance | Jesus vs. Frosty (Short) "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" (South Park) |
| Created by | Trey Parker Matt Stone |
| Voiced by | Trey Parker |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Toolshed |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Student at South Park Elementary |
| Family | Sharon Marsh (mother) Randy Marsh (father) Shelley Marsh (sister) |
| Relatives | Marvin Marsh (grandfather) Jimbo Kern (uncle) Aunt Flo (great-aunt) |
| Residence | South Park, Colorado |
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long-time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa).
Stan is a third- then fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his fictional hometown of South Park, Colorado. Stan is generally nice, honest, smart, well-meaning, assertive, and often shares with Kyle a leadership role as the main protagonist of the show. Stan is unreserved in verbally expressing his distinct lack of esteem for adults and their influences, as adult South Park residents rarely make use of their critical faculties.
Stan is animated by computer in a way to emulate the show's original method of cutout animation. He also appears in the 1999 full-length feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, as well as South Park-related media and merchandise. While Parker and Stone portray Stan as having common childlike tendencies, his dialogue is often intended to reflect stances and views on more adult-oriented issues, and has been frequently cited in numerous publications by experts in the fields of politics, religion, popular culture and philosophy.
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Stan lives in South Park with his father Randy, a geologist, and mother Sharon, a secretary at a rhinoplasty clinic. Also living with Stan's family are his 12-year-old sister Shelley, who bullies and beats him up on a regular basis, and his wheelchair-bound centenarian grandfather Marvin, who dementedly calls Stan "Billy" and had previously tried to influence Stan to commit a mercy killing upon him.[1] He attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr. Garrison's fourth grade class. During the show's first 58 episodes (1997 through the season four episode "4th Grade" in 2000), Stan and the other main child characters were in the third grade. Stan is frequently embarrassed and/or annoyed by his father's antics and frequent acts of public drunkenness.[2] Stan's relationship as nephew to his uncle Jimbo received moderate attention in the show's first two seasons.
Amongst the show's main characters, Kyle is defined as being the only Jewish kid, Cartman is recognized by his obesity, greed, and extreme bigotry, and Kenny is notable for being poor and frequently dying; as opposed to having a prominent distinguishing trait, Stan is portrayed (in words of the show's official website) as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid".[3]
Stan is modelled after Parker, while Kyle is modelled after Stone. Stan and Kyle are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real-life friendship between Parker and Stone,[4] is a common topic throughout the series. The two do have their disagreements, but always reconcile without any long-term damage to their friendship. As is the case with his other friends and classmates, Stan is frequently at odds with Cartman, resenting Cartman's behavior and openly mocking his weight.[5] Stan also shares a close friendship with Kenny, while Kenny professes that Stan is one of "the best friends a guy could have".[6] Stan can understand Kenny's muffled voice perfectly, and typically exclaims the catchphrase "Oh my God! They killed Kenny!", following one of Kenny's trademark deaths, allowing Kyle to follow up with "You bastards!"[7] Stan is the only character in the group to have had a steady girlfriend, Wendy Testaburger, and their relationship was a recurring topic in the show's earlier seasons. Despite reconciling and declaring to be a couple again in the season 11 (2007) episode "The List" after Wendy had dumped him in the season seven (2003) episode "Raisins", their relationship has received relatively less focus in recent seasons. As a running gag, a nervous Stan often vomits whenever Wendy approaches to kiss or speak to him.[8] In many episodes, Stan contemplates ethics in beliefs, moral dilemmas, and contentious issues, and will often reflect on the lessons he has attained with a speech that often begins with "You know, I learned something today...".[9]
An unnamed precursor to Stan first appeared in the first The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Frosty, created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the University of Colorado. The character was composed of construction paper cutouts and animated through the use of stop motion.[10] When asked three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video Christmas card that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Santa, in which Stan also appeared.[11] Stan next appeared on August 13, 1997, when South Park debuted on Comedy Central with the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".[12]
In the tradition of the show's animation style, Stan is composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary colors.[10][13] He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.[14][10][13] Ever since the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000" (season one, 1997), Stan, like all other characters on the show, has been animated with computer software, though he is portrayed to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.[10]
Stan is usually depicted in winter attire which consists of a brown jacket, blue denim jeans, red gloves/mittens, and a red-brimmed blue knit cap adorned with a decorative red pom-pon. In the rare instances Stan is seen without his cap, he is shown to have shaggy black hair. He was given his full name in the season one episode "An Elephant Makes Love to a Pig", sharing his surname of "Marsh" with Parker's paternal step-grandfather.[2] While originally voicing Stan without any computer manipulation, Parker now speaks within his normal vocal range while adding a child-like inflection. The recorded audio is then edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch is altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth grader.[15][16]
Stan's birthday is October 19, which is Trey Parker's birthday.[17]
Stan is foul-mouthed (a trait present in his friends as well) as a means for Parker and Stone to display how they claim young boys really talk when they are alone.[13][18] In responding to certain situations, particularly during earlier seasons, Stan often exclaims "Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here". While Stan is cynical and profane, Parker still notes that there is an "underlying sweetness" to the character,[19] and Time magazine described Stan and his friends as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence".[4] He is amused by bodily functions and toilet humor,[4] and his favorite television personalities are Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes. The season 14 episode 'Insheeption' revealed that Stan is a Level III hoarder, reaching such extremities as him almost having a panic attack when a therapist tried to throw away a rotten sandwich in his locker. However, his hoarding was resolved by the end of the episode.
The only adult on the show that Stan consistently trusted was Chef, the cafeteria worker at his school, as Stan generally holds the rest of the show's adult population in low regard due to their tendency to both behave irrationally when subjected to the scams, cults, and sensationalized media stories of which he is often skeptical,[9] and engage in hypocritical behavior.[20] He doubts the legitimacy of holistic medicine,[21] declares cults to be dangerous,[22] and regards those claiming to be psychic mediums as frauds,[23] specifically by declaring John Edward to be "the biggest douche in the universe".[24]
After turning ten years old, Stan was diagnosed with cynicism,[25] which in the series is treated as a serious medical disorder where the sufferer sees nothing but feces instead of people and animals and hear Flatulence noises during music and voices. Stan's friendships with the other main characters ended, his parents divorced and he moved out of his home. This episode formed a cliffhanger and set off widespread speculation that the series was coming to an end,[26] but the premiere of the second half of the season resolved the arc as Stan was erroneously diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome and discovers Jameson Irish Whiskey cures cynicism. After struggling to repair his life, he finally explains he doesn't want things to go back to normal, when his parents get back together and his life is repaired, although the end of the episode implies Stan may be permanently bound to whiskey to continue an everyday life.[27]
Stan frequently offers his perspective on religion,[28] and he was at the center of one of the more controversial episodes of the series,[29] "Trapped in the Closet" (season nine, 2005), where he was recognized as the reincarnation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard before denouncing the church as nothing more than "a big fat global scam".[30]
In the show's fifteen seasons, Stan has addressed other topics such as homosexuality,[31][32] hate crime legislation,[33] civil liberties,[21] parenting,[34] illegal immigration,[35] voting,[36] alcoholism,[34] and race relations.[37] His commentary on these issues have been interpreted as statements Parker and Stone are attempting to make to the viewing public,[34] and these opinions have been subject to much critical analysis in the media and literary world. The book South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today includes an essay in which East Carolina University philosophy professor Henry Jacoby compares Stan's actions and reasoning within the show to the philosophical teachings of William Kingdon Clifford,[38] and another essay by Southern Illinois University philosophy professor John S. Gray which references Stan's decision to not vote for either candidate for a school mascot in the season eight (2004) episode "Douche and Turd" when describing political philosophy and the claimed pitfalls of a two-party system.[38] Essays in the books South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating, Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture, and Taking South Park Seriously have also analyzed Stan's perspectives within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, and political concepts.[34][39][40]
Those who share a common political stance with those expressed by Stan and other characters on the show are sometimes described as South Park Republicans,[41] or South Park conservatives, terms attributed to political commentator Andrew Sullivan.[21][42] Brian C. Anderson describes the group as consisting mostly of teenagers and young adults who favor the messages on South Park which often ridicule liberal viewpoints, and prefer to get their news from conservative-leaning news media sources.[21] Parker and Stone downplay the show's alignment with any particular political affiliation, and deny having a political agenda when creating an episode.[42][43][44] In response to the focus on elements of satire in South Park, Parker has said that the main goal of the show is to portray Stan and his friends as "kids just being kids" as a means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America".[45]
Stan had a major role in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,[46] the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the film's soundtrack singing the same musical numbers performed in the movie.[47] Stan was also featured in the documentary film The Aristocrats, listening to Cartman tell his version of the film's titular joke,[48] and in "The Gauntlet", a short spoofing both Gladiator and Battlefield Earth that aired during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards.[49][50] He also appeared briefly during the opening montage of the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards in a short skit inspired by a scene from "Trapped in the Closet".[51] Parker performs as Stan on tracks for Chef Aid: The South Park Album and Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics.[52][53][54]
Stan also appears in four South Park-related video games: In South Park, Stan is controlled by the player through the first person shooter mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park.[55] In South Park: Chef's Luv Shack, a user has the option of playing as Stan when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games.[56] In the racing game South Park Rally, a user can race as Stan against other users playing as other characters, while choosing to place him in any of a variety of vehicles.[57] In South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, Stan can be selected as a playable character used to establish a tower defense against the game's antagonists.[58]
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