South Park: A Character Analysis

When South Park first came on to television, my aunt declared that my cousins were not allowed to watch "such foul-mouthed garbage." That phrase didn't stop me from sneaking a tape of the show into their hands, then making them watch as Cartman produced a satellite dish from his rectum and Kyle cursed and swore at a group of aliens. My Aunt, however, walked in and nearly chopped my head off for showing her 17 and 15 year old children the "Great Satan" known as South Park.

Since the first episode, South Park has evolved, and gotten funnier. And more socio-critical, addressing such problems as job loss, conspiracy theories, the power of myth, and environmental problems (just to name a few). The main focus, however, doesn't lie in the situation that the boys are put into, but rather, how the boys react to the situation. And, as many of South Park's fans have noticed, the boys don't always agree on how to react.

For a better understanding of why they react the way they do, lets take a look at the characters themselves.

Stan
Stan Marsh is your typical little boy. He's basically the everyday man. The common, open-minded populous of America. And thats just what he represents. He's a good little Christian boy that everyone can relate with. And, he always hangs out with his best friend....

Kyle
Kyle Broflovski is extremely similar to Stan, except he's Jewish. While his viewpoint and, sometimes, gullibility, differ from Stan's, they are essentially the same person. Kyle's character is used to represent half of the United States population - essentially the "minority," since Kyle is Jewish in a predominately Christian area of Colorado. He tends to lean more towards the left side of political and social issues. As opposed to....

Cartman
Eric Cartman is the large, spoiled, foul-mouthed, hippie-hating, selfish "friend" of Stan and Kyle. It almost goes without saying that Cartman is the perfect representation of ignorant America - he doesn't care for anyone's opinions and will berate anything that doesn't agree with him. He has the mentality of an extreme rightist politically, but a bit more violent and malicious. His family is full of strange secrets, such as his mother being his father. He has a strange hatred, yet friendship, with....

Kenny
Kenny McKormick is the hooded poor-boy who, until recently, died every episode. Understanding Kenny is one of the most difficult things in the show, as his voice is muffled by his hood. He appears to have a friendship with all of the boys, including Cartman. While Kenny kept dying, the boys would become less and less concerned who or how Kenny was killed. Until, finally, Kenny was killed off for good. That is, until Hell opened up and Kenny escaped back to our world. Since then, Kenny has died less and less. With Kenny being muffled and poor, he seemingly represents the lower-class. Cartman makes fun of him for being poor, yet Kenny can only get angry. Kenny's muffling seemingly represents the lower-class's inability to speak on what they need.

Token, Butters...
Token was introduced seemingly as a joke. His name is Token, he is African-American, and is pretty much the complete opposite of every other "token black" character. His family is rich and he doesn't participate in Black culture. Butters is a small representation of innocence, he doesn't know whats going on around him and isn't ready to understand it.

These are just some of my thoughts on the characters of South Park. While I didn't cover the "adult" characters, this should give a basic idea of the characters to people who either hadn't realized or cared what South Park may or may not mean. In the future, I may make a further analysis. But for now, this should at least shed some light on the boys of South Park.