Top 30 Times South Park Tackled Serious Issues

[@WatchMojo]

Has a “South Park” story ever given you pause to think about something serious? Give us the details in the comments below. For more content like this, click here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX_GZXlqj7uKkJY Don't forget to play our Live Trivia (www.watchmojo.com/play) games at 3pm EST for a chance to win cash! The faster you answer, the more points you get!

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

How about the relentless mocking of Trump for doing a good job but not a peep about Biden ruining our economy 🤷‍♂️

[@jamessoh9051]

the naughty word episode gave me an eyeopener

[@CrazyBear65]

The pangolin...

[@jasminejohnston6393]

“What seems to be the officer, problem?”😂 typical Randy Marsh!

[@michaelsimpson208]

GD IT I totally hate that simpleton!

[@thatcreepygirl]

This is one of my favorite lines in the whole show. Especially the tone 😆

[@eclat4641]

Classic!

[@LucyLioness100]

The episode is freaking hilarious, but they do seriously address Randy’s issue with Stan’s reaction and speech at the end

[@iaincowell9747]

​@@thatcreepygirl" I'm sorry, I thought this was America"

[@danpercz3414]

This is why SP is so good to me. Everyone and everything is fair game.

[@Superfan109]

Right?? 😅

[@bobbydenney8368]

That's one reason why I prefer South Park over family Guy family Guy doesn't know how to take anything seriously South Park on the other hand they will back away from being too offensive towards sensitive topics

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Except Joe Biden apparently

[@bluegold1026]

Except Islam apparently. That needs to change.

[@loonzoldick]

Except Israel, they won't touch the Gaza genocide at all

[@bloojerseyy]

"Raisins" is one of my favorite TV episodes of all time. Butters' speech stuck with middle school me and at 33 I still think about it when I'm sad.

[@eclat4641]

Love that one

[@LucyLioness100]

It’s a wonderful message for anyone at any age 😊

[@problematicgoose]

Butters' "I guess what I'm feeling is a beautiful sadness" monolog is truly incredible

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

I always love the way South Park tackles Racism, only they could make a serious issue like that humorous.

[@HolyCross9]

What about Mel Brooks? He did the same thing on the film Blazing Saddles.

[@jcehlert]

They get away with it all the time. It's genius.

[@LucyLioness100]

“With Apologies to Jesse Jackson” is one hell of an episode; both hilarious and poignant with confronting how we who are white can’t truly understand what other ethnic groups will go through

[@LucyLioness100]

@@HolyCross9I wouldn’t be surprised if they were inspired by Mel’s film. The guys are well rounded

[@NightLight9595]

No, South Park is the Racisim

[@Only1Noodle]

The photoshop episode was the episode where I legitimately felt sorry for Wendy. I feel this is the worst loss she's ever had. The episode was pretty good though.

[@LucyLioness100]

That ending is truly heartbreaking to watch her succumb to the pressures of Photoshop

[@donericdisante]

That running joke about Aqua man being married to a hobbit is pretty good though to balance it out. In my top 3 episodes

[@CyranoSCW]

That also reminded me of the Stupid Spoiled Whore episode.

[@BigFella117]

The depiction of Amazon in this series is so painfully accurate it hurts

[@Chuckf66]

Same with Walmart.

[@BubbaSmurft]

Yep, I work at an "FC" and I know they'd had an inside person(s) because it was so accurate.

[@user-em6ie2be7x]

COVID-19- Making Mickey Mouse & Randy Marsh the cause of it. Funny AF!

[@finnH_nf]

I'm from germany and the series about the unfunny germans was hilarious. I loved it 😂 Because its true 🥲

[@specstar8724]

They did not argue for capitalism lol. The point was that WalMart wasn't the problem, the consumers' unwillingness to spend extra to support small business was.

[@mncdssctn9110]

In the Gnomes-episode, they certainly did. Arguing that Harbucks became the biggest because they’re the best, and that the mom-and-pop coffee shops aren’t better, and most of the time worse.

[@sideshowtrey9002]

Trying to be woke got you served.

[@ChristianDutz]

South Park is truly the most thought provoking series of the 21 century.

[@Animeguy300]

I love WatchMojo lists on South Park

[@donericdisante]

Top 10 subjects for a WatchMojo countdown video

[@datsapaddlin]

Saying you don’t get it is definitely more reasonable than trying to tell someone how they should feel about something. South Park gets it.

[@skylineXpert]

30 times south park was more real than reality

[@amlvification]

Mr Hanky made me realize all the potential life saving friends I've flushed away through the years

[@MaxWeb2599]

4:20 just a quick question. How many singed along to the "dum" part?

[@cooperminion825]

Here 🙋

[@eclat4641]

Same lol

[@LucyLioness100]

Oh Lord yes! And I do it through laughter every time

[@AuroraHemi]

Sung along?

[@SniffinYaMum]

Dumb*

[@davidponseigo8811]

Oh my god, when you said Douch Backer I started cracking up and almost couldn't catch my breath. I don't know why it was so funny but it's hilarious !

[@Jeremiah_Rivers76]

Unreasonable body standards are still one of the most serious issues the world faces, and _South Park_ tackled it the best they could.

[@dragonmaster613]

They could have taken a more middle ground approach by saying "let those who _want_ it have it, and don't force it on those who don't."

[@LucyLioness100]

@@dragonmaster613it’s South Park though and those kids take these things to the extreme. Look how cruel they act towards Wendy when she refuses to succumb to peer pressure

[@encycl07pedia-]

I'd argue rampant obesity in the "First World" is more serious than exercising too much or using Photoshop. Glorifying unhealthy lifestyles is dangerous.

[@Trowelhands]

I thought a lot of the voting episode when I was forced to vote in the Scottish referendum a few years ago. I simply do not care for politics and want no part in them, but everyone around me thought I was selfish for simply not wanting to take part in the arguing. South Park nails this feeling.

[@Bonbonbon739]

For real. I have never been involved in politics. I feel like I have much more control over my life than any politician. I just really don’t care and don’t wanna spend the time I have in this life Talking about people that don’t directly impact my life.

[@AuroraHemi]

@@Bonbonbon739are u saying politics doesn’t effect your life? Every thing in our lives is controlled by politics. The roads you drive on, the shops you spend your money, the taxes taken out of your pay check and so on. Please do some research and vote this year. Vote to keep our country a democracy 💙💙💙

[@clothilde1623]

There’s a bit of a difference between not being interested in general politics and not caring about whether Scotland, your COUNTRY, became independent and the United Kingdom was broken up. It would have affected every single aspect of your life, even your nationality. Sorry but how apathetic do you have to be to not care about that??

[@waittillfamewtf2385]

3 times Robot Chicken tackled serious issues: 1. Disney Princess War 2. Toy Story Deleted Scenes 3. The Joker Rises

[@eclat4641]

Absolutely!

[@KingKilo88]

South Park is the best show, and will always have material from how crazy real life is. Nothing stranger than Fiction.

[@eclat4641]

Though that is now the issue with manny shows… reality is more crazy … so its harder to lampoon what is already ludicrous.

[@loonzoldick]

they will never callout Israel war crimes and genocide, they will mock North Korea and the US of AmeriKKKa, but the biggest slut country in the world will never be called out in South Park

[@scottbakanumba1heathen313]

Our weekly South Park fix, Mojo? 😉

[@chad9186]

The Mormon episode completely contricted the Super Best Friends episode

[@eclat4641]

I think super best friends still had that message also- “even through religion can be goofy/ violent, some come together and help others.” …

[@cakes3958]

Any South Park fans here?

[@KingKilo88]

Since day one.

[@cakes3958]

@@KingKilo88 I definitely prefer the early seasons!

[@Fiishy2]

Me

[@SheriffOutlaw]

Here here ❤

[@tinapuddin9923]

I'm pretty sure I have watched every single episode a few times...

[@LucyLioness100]

In their special way, Trey and Matt manage to stay on the pulse of the zeitgeist no matter what decade we’re in. It’s crazy to see how far the show has come from its simpler days to tackling on the difficult world we live in since the pandemic, the 2016 election & of course social media’s explosion

[@loonzoldick]

and yet, Drawn Together called out Israel decades long genocide and war crimes run, while South Park has never said anything bad about Israel

[@peter-r3o3v]

i first started watching this show in 2006. it grew up alongside me in complexity and it parodied the world issues i watched unfold in front of me. I really love this show

[@lens_hunter]

Violence has ALWAYS been everywhere, all the time. We simply have the ability to hear about ALL of it now.

[@hannahsings19]

I absolutely love the walmart episode because I'm from NW Arkansas where Walmart originated and its hilarious how walmart has essentially taken over the US. They are EVERYWHERE!

[@eclat4641]

Yeah it is one of my favourites, just had my parents watch it - they appreciated its message.

[@Sensei_BigJoe]

The photoshop episode has one of the saddest ending to any show I've ever seen. It still makes me tear up every time.

[@traceyrice4978]

Watch mojo talking about AI is interesting to say the least

[@banana_etiquette]

i thought stan's depression episodes were gonna be on here. they handled tat topic so well

[@LucyLioness100]

It hits more when you know it was Trey and Matt dealing with themselves getting older compared to the start of the series. They really understood the feeling

[@theotakux5959]

I think Ghostbusters is a great example of the difference between diversity and pandering. the 2016 movie ignored the previous installments for a fresh start with the main difference being women instead of men. And it was terrible. Then Afterlife came out also included women, as well as teenagers, but continued the story of the originals and paid respect to it rather than trying to replace it. And it was good.

[@yourlocalentertainmentchan9153]

I bet one day South Park will tackle the issue of Content Farm channels. There are a lot of them out there that trick kids into viewing inappropriate KZbin videos (even on KZbin Kids). And it’s even more disturbing, because a lot of those channels only do it for the money.

[@jessicapearson9479]

KZbin kids should be taken down!!

[@Sly88Frye]

This is one of the reasons why South Park is I think the greatest animated show in history. It's a hilarious show and there are some ridiculous plots but they find a way to tackle real life issues and get you to think about it while still being hilarious

[@loonzoldick]

if that were true, then where is the episode where they call out Israel war crimes? SP is a mainstream as it can get and will only touch topics that don't get them in real trouble

[@Greenyguy]

Next step is social media influencers, (ignore Pewdiepie, and Logan Paul) lol

[@Calcobeater_gamer4life]

Pewdiepie was actually brought in for a episode on this very subject. He had to record his bit in a hotel room, it was funny

[@bluegold1026]

South Park should go after social media influencers who put out questionable apology vids after being accused of heinous actions in the past.

[@Greenyguy]

@@bluegold1026 true

[@Greenyguy]

@@Calcobeater_gamer4life ik i watched ther episode before i watched him

[@kellychuang8373]

Oh yeah that's another.

[@benthecat4345]

Nowadays, the treatment of Amazon employees has gotten better, now I'm not sure how accurate the South Park fulfillment center is compared to other centers, but at the one I work at something like packing the shipments is done completely by hand so I would be very concerned if someone packed another person into a box like that and would probably see them get put in jail for manslaughter

[@markalexander3659]

"I'm not just sure, Kyle. I'm HIV positive"

[@RapFanatic4ever]

When Stan didn’t find an importance in voting

[@meadowsong8560]

It’s always between a giant douche and a turd. Truer words have never been spoken.

[@LucyLioness100]

Honestly it feels more like how it was during 2016

[@clothilde1623]

Their depiction of Mel Gibson in the Passion of the Christ episode made me laugh so damn hard I genuinely couldn’t catch my breath, and I was only able to stop because my vision and hearing started going weird and I got legit scared I was going to laugh myself to death. Imagine having _that_ listed as your cause of death - laughing at South Park’s batshit-crazy version of Mel Gibson 😂

[@davidponseigo8811]

The Underpants Gnomes are real, real I tell you ! I see them every night, in my room, every night !I swear to god I really do !

[@PattyMarshall-l8v]

They stole my socks!

[@kriscynical]

I remember in high school we all said we were "starvin' Marvin" whenever we were hungry.

[@eclat4641]

But not as starvin as him …

[@fourwingsweepa1705]

We that as kids in the 80s

[@kriscynical]

@@fourwingsweepa1705 Yes I should have specified that I graduated high school in 2003 so it was a very "current pop culture" thing to say back then.

[@BubbaSmurft]

In high school we WENT to Starvin' Marvins... it was a local peeler bar.

[@Shadowcat753]

I'll say "Kenny Dies" is a relevant episode for me. I've had a friend that had medical issues that bad enough to actually kill her shortly before I started high school (note: Childhood Bone Cancer sucks). This is most true from Stan's perspective. I didn't know how to react when she got the original diagnosis, and most kids that knew her before got really weirded out by things.

[@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040]

I think I speak for all NFL fans when I say that the Washington Redskins name should be reinstated.

[@eclat4641]

All?

[@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040]

@eclat4641 yes, all- the Redskins name is associated with the greatest and most successful time periods of the franchise. Sonny Jurgensen, John Riggins, Dexter Manley, Russ Fralic, Jacoby Jones, Sean Taylor, Chris Hanburger, Mark Rypien, Doug Williams, Earnest Byner, Art Monk, Darrell Green- all Washington Redskins. Now, everyone hates the Commanders name- it's tone deaf and represents Dan Snyder, which that fact alone sours fans on the name. And I'm an Eagles fan saying all of this.

[@eclat4641]

@@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040 why i asked - it just seems that you are the only one saying that… so its not “all” . It does have history… your initial post sounded like you hadn’t seen the episode… what ever

[@arizonawrestlinginterviews1040]

@eclat4641 oh don't get me wrong, I loved that episode

[@sgtjohnson]

Death is another serious topic. When Kenny was dying

[@eclat4641]

To it was a running gag …

[@LucyLioness100]

Stan having to confront Kenny’s impending death is so accurate for those who have a hard time dealing with such a life changing event

[@jeffreysolano5717]

South Park does an amazing job with whatever problem it chooses to satirize the most serious problem that happens they turn it into something funny and ends with a good lesson

[@loonzoldick]

and yet Drawn Together talked about Israel war crimes as their final fuck you while South Park has never commented on the shit Israel has done for decades on innocent lives

[@Mnorton1986]

Pressured by P Diddy had a new meaning now😂

[@bluntlyhonest6803]

You forgot the trans athlete's episode.

[@Henklansen]

They didn't forget it, they just didn't dare to put it on the list.

[@Liquid_Mike]

South Park ALWAYS tackles serious issues, they're shrouded in ONE layer of humor and people act like they can't see it anymore!!!

[@BisolaAdebija]

Hi, watchmojo. Please could you do a video about times Static Shock (2000) tackled serious issues?

[@B3rry_boy3]

I love South Park sm!! :)

[@andrewhaase1826]

Honorable Mentions: *The Dark Side Of Disney -To fans of Disney and their properties, Mickey Mouse was a legend. But to the people behind the scenes in the world of South Park, he was horrible. Here, Mickey is depicted as a greedy, violent, selfish, uncaring, power-hungry tyrant who creates and condones a hostile work environment and will resort to any lengths to get what he wants. He's abused and assaulted his own employees and stars, cursed out religious groups and even his own audience on live tv at a televised Jonas Brothers concert, went on a rampage as a giant, and was even partially responsible for the COVID-19 Pandemic. It's sad to say that looking at Disney today, it sadly now has more in common with South Park's version of Mickey Mouse than the one Walt Disney himself had envisioned for the company.

[@LucyLioness100]

Their parody of Mickey is freaking funny. It mirrors how much people can hate Disney 😂

[@CBrown]

"Douchebacker". I'm gonna use that.

[@joshmaltais5322]

15:17 I love how they callback to douche and turd later in the garrison elections😂

[@autisticace8473]

2004 was not only a hellacious year for Stan Marsh, but for Leon Kennedy as well. On Resident Evil 4, Leon goes to rural Spain on a rescue mission to find the U.S. President’s daughter, Ashley Graham, and he went through a lot of similar stuff like Stan did. For starters, he lost his brown jacket and got tied up, which coincided with Stan losing his brown coat and getting tied up as well.

[@ALL4ONE5288]

I like the covid specials on point.😂

[@ALL4ONE5288]

I like the cover specials on point.😂

[@UlfricReiddr]

That Thumbnail can really haunt your dreams

[@crapsmalloy7273]

WATCHMOJO: "America and Canada have patched things up since the movie." MR. GARRISON: (Nukes Toronto)

[@BrianPeloso-ln4ry]

Marklar totally blew me away...my friends and I would take that theme and run with it to ridiculous levels...people thought we were nuts....

[@kain772]

What about the internet episode. Spooky Ghost!

[@fourwingsweepa1705]

It was ectoplasm

[@jimmybartlett6719]

You forgot the main boys losing Kenny for an entire season

[@anthonycrazynessadventures3259]

The Al gore moment is hilarious

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

They went from joking about how were all going to die to seriously believing were all going to die tomorrow…

[@darianashkevron9969]

I will never not love that when that South Park N episode came out a bunch of news organizations tried to do these gotcha interviews with people on the street and from civil rights organizations and most were like "No this was handled really well actually, we have no problems with it, we love it." And then the one group that threw a fit about it was the one run by white people. Like, that's literally the point of the episode. Too perfect lol.

[@cyberserpent]

As someone who has seen every episode, I would have liked to see the episode "You're Getting Old" from s.15 where Stan and Kyle's families move away from each other as it spoke about how lives change as you get older mentioned here. Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" made the episode so poignant that it almost makes me cry and still makes it a hard watch for me.

[@TheTeslaTy500Show]

Blame Canada 🇨🇦

[@philfromdeltaco7175]

Forgot the the shivo feeding tube

[@javelinmaster2]

One of the biggest strengths of SP is that it is deliberately made like this to comment on current things asap :)

[@loonzoldick]

where's the episode calling out Israel war crimes? Drawn Together did that after being cancelled by the network, while SP will mock North Korea, Japan, even the US of AmeriKKKa but Israel? NEVER

[@Chuckf66]

Good drinksternoon, Affable! I haven't had a cont all day!

[@stanleyschaffer9574]

Been watching since the beginning

[@Toast-by5wu]

One would think the trauma from being held in a detention center would be better than the trauma of being trafficked for sexual purposes.

[@cherryblossom7120]

It's probably happening inside there too.

[@thelunchlady8276]

Butters rules. "All right, guys, I'll take one for the team."

[@puppetgod2515]

I love South Park. It’s my favorite show of this kind of genre. Most of the shows, tho making fun of everyone, are usually more Republican aligned, but South Park is super balanced between both parties and it shows just in the four main characters. Cartman-far right, Kenny-casual right, Stan-casual left, Kyle-far left. The balance of beliefs is just awesome

[@loonzoldick]

SP only touches on themes they know they will get ratings for and the necessary amount of controversy to make ppl tune while not getting into trouble with extremists, which is why they have never ever called out Israel on their war crimes, heck even KZbin will flag you if you talk about the war crimes commited by Israel, Drawn Together was more daring cuz they used their last movie to say a final critique on them

[@bigandtoasty4566]

Its funny how Butters has the bi-curious episode and his Dad ends up accepting it. Then a bunch of time later finds his father in a gay love brothel lmao.

[@leonielson7138]

20:47 Controversial Flags The "Confederate Flag" is actually the Battle Flag of the Virginia Regulars. It never represented the Confederacy.

[@rikevans3348]

Greatest show ever.

[@michaelsanders994]

I was raised Mormon and most my family and relatives are still Mormon. I love South Park, especially the Joseph Smith episode.

[@Gengrel]

Trans issues was missed. The first episode in particular had me stunned because Cartman's inner monologue at the beginning made me think he was planning on shooting up the school. When he pulled out a bow rather than a gun though...

[@PinkyToMyBrain]

Oh Kip will be old enough to drink this July! Happy soon-to-be 21st, buddy!

[@RANDOM-KNIGHT145]

So this is the like the 3rd “south park serious issues” list ?

[@wojtek1765]

Not only is it one of the greatest shows of all time and still the mains relevant to this day it’s also the best animation TV show currently on there

[@icanthavenicethings199]

This episode has a major screwup in it. The #1 pick talks about "Token" when his name is Tolkien. Which brings me to my other upset: #1 should be the episode where Stan discovers "Token"'s name is Tolkien.

[@carmelmhennessy9738]

There was an episode, I've seen it about twice where they are acting out the passion of the Lord, of course Eric wants to play Jesus but the others tell him that he is too fat to be Jesus. Anyway, in the end Eric gets tied to the cross on a hill and the others forget about him. I'm Catholic and proud of my faith but I still found that episode hilarious 😂 😂😂

[@txaggievet]

Making fun of Sally Struthers has not aged great? Says Who? Its still hilarious

[@LorenzoC36]

When butters was pimping and he gave that speech to kyle about how men always pay for kisses; I was taken aback.

[@RockerMicke1]

its ironic that butters is too naive that RAISINS GIRL is just flirting him as a job & butters not putting two & two together that its fake & thinks she's falling for him but not really so he cried for nothing. well hey kids will be kids

[@eclat4641]

Its a good lesson

[@LucyLioness100]

It’s kinda hard to watch, but we gotta remember he’s only 10 😊

[@problematicgoose]

1. Not irony. 2. He didn't "cry over nothing;" he experienced feelings and reacted to them, even if we find the _reason_ for the crying as... well, childish. That doesn't mean he didn't still _feel_ like he lost something (even if he never had it).

[@CyranoSCW]

I know it's kind of hard to summarize this but I really liked the episodes where Cartman sends himself into the future in order to get the latest game console before it comes out and finds that the world has gotten rid of religion...they say they did that because they thought religion was the cause of all the wars in the world (knowing Cartman, he probably said something about it), so they thought it would bring on a more peaceful society. Everyone's an atheist, and there are a few political parties centered around that...someone from one party caught offence at one of the others and they all went to war. The "us vs. them" dichotomy was very clear here. If someone has it in them to fight, they're going to find a reason to fight. It doesn't matter what the labels are, the tendency is the same. But then, I've done a good bit of independent study on religion so that's probably why I noticed it.

[@Goldmaster]

0:18 OVER THE LINE!

[@dancarrington7100]

One episode that could've been included was Raising the Bar about how society doesn't see anything wrong about what was once frowned upon.

[@davidponseigo8811]

If the Stand Your Ground Law didn't exist in my State I nor my family would still be in this world. I unfortunately had to use force and the law protected me, if not four people would not be here.

[@loonzoldick]

you're here while hundreds (if not thousands, the amount of unreported kills due to this stupid law from your country) of others are dead, are you happy walking on top of their corpses? I guess you do cuz in the USA y'all act like you do no wrong

[@markalexander3659]

"We have VIPS coming out" - no but I DID kinda feel like one. I'm immunocompromised so when the first round of covid vaccinations started, I was like the only person under 70 when I got mine. ^Mostly kidding, obviously I would rather be NOT immunocompromised and have just gotten the vaccine with the rest of my age group later

[@eyesofwater123]

I was surpirsed gentrification wasn't included. The episode where Kenny's neighborhood became gentrified struck a nerve as I see it happening in my city

[@mikeywoods]

Season 16 Episode 1 definitely brings up the issue that women should look before they sit down on the toilet.

[@misterpeachy2213]

I swear south park don’t take risks anymore 😔

[@cypherglitch]

again influence by A.I "Passion of the christ" was a decisive film for its religious connotations? ahhh its just abit more than religious connotations. The whole movie was based on a religious story. Even a blind man could tell you i fell under "religious" in the movie genre. dont understand why Mel got so much heat for it when he just visualised a story thousands of years old, its not like he wrote it.

[@Themuffinman1820]

Most of these episodes are pretty relevant today

[@paulacoburn3444]

I liked the comment and video because I like South Park

[@lucyarmy8879]

Sharon was the best South Park mom

[@CaptainRandus]

The Heidi Turner and Cartman Episode covering emotional abuse should be on this list, at the very least as an honorable mention

[@HarleyQuinnSoldier]

There is no "Apparently there's a fine line" there IS a fine line