Fishsticks (South Park): Difference between revisions
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<blockquote>'''A:''' Do you like Fishsticks?<br />'''B:''' Yes.<br />'''A:''' Do you like putting fishdicks in your mouth?<br />'''B:''' Yes.<br />'''A:''' What are you, a gay fish?</blockquote> |
<blockquote>'''A:''' Do you like Fishsticks?<br />'''B:''' Yes.<br />'''A:''' Do you like putting fishdicks in your mouth?<br />'''B:''' Yes.<br />'''A:''' What are you, a gay fish?</blockquote> |
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Jimmy is upset that Cartman is taking credit, and discusses it with his friends. [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Craig Tucker|Craig]] accurately predicts that the situation will quickly spiral out of control, and that he should just let Cartman have half the credit, whereas Kyle advises Jimmy to stand his ground. He does so, upsetting Cartman, who genuinely believes he helped create the joke. He goes to Kyle for advice on how to "out-Jew" Jimmy, and Kyle says to Cartman that his ego is so big that he subconsciously remembers things incorrectly to make himself more important. This is supplemented by Cartman's flashbacks to the creation of the joke, which become more overblown and ridiculous as the episode goes on, ending with Cartman believing he not only created the joke himself, but slayed a [[dragon]], defeated an army of "Jew-bots" and has powers similar to the [[Human Torch]]. |
Jimmy is upset that Cartman is taking credit, and discusses it with his friends. [[List of students at South Park Elementary#Craig Tucker|Craig]] accurately predicts that the situation will quickly spiral out of control, and that he should just let Cartman have half the credit, whereas Kyle advises Jimmy to stand his ground. He does so, upsetting Cartman, who genuinely believes he helped create the joke. He goes to Kyle for advice on how to "out-Jew" Jimmy, and Kyle says to Cartman that his ego is so big that he subconsciously remembers things incorrectly to make himself more important. This is supplemented by Cartman's flashbacks to the creation of the joke, which become more overblown and ridiculous as the episode goes on, ending with Cartman believing he not only created the joke himself, but slayed a [[dragon]], defeated an army of "Jew-bots", and has powers similar to the [[Human Torch]]. |
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Meanwhile, the joke is so funny that it is brought up by [[Jimmy Kimmel]] on [[Jimmy Kimmel Live!|his talk show]]. It is also used by [[David Letterman]] and [[Jay Leno]]. [[Carlos Mencia]] then goes on [[Conan O'Brien]]'s show claiming credit for the joke. The joke is played on [[Kanye West]], who doesn't get the joke, and attempts to solve it, eventually resorting to brutally torturing and murdering Mencia, who admits that he steals jokes to compensate for not being funny and having no penis. |
Meanwhile, the joke is so funny that it is brought up by [[Jimmy Kimmel]] on [[Jimmy Kimmel Live!|his talk show]]. It is also used by [[David Letterman]] and [[Jay Leno]]. [[Carlos Mencia]] then goes on [[Conan O'Brien]]'s show claiming credit for the joke. The joke is played on [[Kanye West]], who doesn't get the joke, and attempts to solve it, eventually resorting to brutally torturing and murdering Mencia, who admits that he steals jokes to compensate for not being funny and having no penis. |
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Revision as of 13:49, 10 April 2009
| "Fishsticks (South Park)" |
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"Fishsticks" is the fifth episode of the thirteenth season of the animated television series South Park. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 8, 2009.
Plot
Jimmy comes up with one of the funniest jokes of all time and Cartman takes half the credit for it:
A: Do you like Fishsticks?
B: Yes.
A: Do you like putting fishdicks in your mouth?
B: Yes.
A: What are you, a gay fish?
Jimmy is upset that Cartman is taking credit, and discusses it with his friends. Craig accurately predicts that the situation will quickly spiral out of control, and that he should just let Cartman have half the credit, whereas Kyle advises Jimmy to stand his ground. He does so, upsetting Cartman, who genuinely believes he helped create the joke. He goes to Kyle for advice on how to "out-Jew" Jimmy, and Kyle says to Cartman that his ego is so big that he subconsciously remembers things incorrectly to make himself more important. This is supplemented by Cartman's flashbacks to the creation of the joke, which become more overblown and ridiculous as the episode goes on, ending with Cartman believing he not only created the joke himself, but slayed a dragon, defeated an army of "Jew-bots", and has powers similar to the Human Torch.
Meanwhile, the joke is so funny that it is brought up by Jimmy Kimmel on his talk show. It is also used by David Letterman and Jay Leno. Carlos Mencia then goes on Conan O'Brien's show claiming credit for the joke. The joke is played on Kanye West, who doesn't get the joke, and attempts to solve it, eventually resorting to brutally torturing and murdering Mencia, who admits that he steals jokes to compensate for not being funny and having no penis.
After Cartman and Jimmy go on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Jimmy questions Cartman taking credit, shortly before they are attacked by Kanye West. Finally, Cartman lays the blame on Jimmy for trying to write himself into the joke, now thinking that Jimmy's ego was the twisted one. Kanye West has an epiphany and realizes that he is, in fact, a gay fish. He then dresses in an open chested wetsuit and dives into the ocean, while singing a song titled "I'm a Gay Fish", similar to Kanye West's "Heartless", and french kissing a Garibaldi and humping an Atlantic Goliath grouper.
Cultural references
Kanye West is featured prominently in "Fishsticks" and lampooned for the rapper's perceived ego problem; West frequently speaks highly of himself in interviews, declared himself the "voice of this generation" and said his greatest regret was not being able to see himself perform live.[1] A Kanye West song in the episode about the fact that he is indeed a "gay fish" is a parody of the West song "Heartless",[2] and satirized the hip-hop trend to use an excessive amount of Auto-Tune-style pitch audio processing.[3] Carlos Mencia, host of the Comedy Central show Mind of Mencia, is portrayed in "Fishsticks" as knowingly stealing credit for a joke he did not write; this is a reference to accusations other comedians have made that Mencia plagiarizes jokes from other people. Mencia's death scene in the episode, as well as his claims that he uses a catheter to relieve himself, are a reference to a character who uses a wheelchair in the 1993 crime film, Carlito's Way'.[4]
Talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno[5] and Ellen DeGeneres were featured in the episode.[3] During a fantasy sequence, Cartman says "flame on" and turns into a fiery, flying superhero; this is a reference to the Human Torch, a fictional superhero and member of the Fantastic Four. When West first confronts Cartman and Jimmy, Cartman mistakes him for Puff Daddy, another rapper and record producer.[2]
Reception
Both Kanye West and Carlos Mencia responded within one day of the episode's original broadcast and said they enjoyed the parodies of themselves.[4][6][7][8] West wrote on his blog (in all caps), "SOUTH PARK MURDERED ME LAST NIGHT AND ITS PRETTY FUNNY. IT HURTS MY FEELINGS BUT WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM SOUTH PARK!" West thanked the South Park writers in his blog entry and acknowledged he has a problem with his ego, but said he was trying to change.[6] Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly said the post was "a fascinating look at where Kanye's head is at these days", and complimented West for his "humility and honesty". [9] Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone said: "Many have tried, all have failed, but in the end it only took four animated children from Colorado to topple Kanye West's ego. ... One day, we'll all look back on this day and thank South Park for ushering in this historic moment in the life of Kanye."[10] After the episode aired, Mencia wrote on his Twitter feed, "They just made fun of me on South Park. I thought it was hysterical. Catch the rerun." Dave Itzkoff, arts reporter for The New York Times, complimented Mencia for his response.[4]
Ryan Brockington of the New York Post said of the episode, "Best. 'South Park.' Ever." He particularly praised the West song parody and the fact that "a simple running joke can hold a full episode; brilliant".[5] Carlos Delgado of If Magazine said the episode was "another South Park classic" which "takes full advantage of Cartman's monumental ego". Delgado, who gave the episode a B+ grade, described the West parody was "awesome" and the final scene with the "gay fish" West song as "spell binding".[11]
Travis Fickett of IGN said the episode included some good laughs but "never kicks into high gear" and said the themes might have worked better as subplots than a full episode: "'Fishsticks' is one of those episodes that typically occur around now in the South Park season. It's not great, not bad - hovering somewhere around amusing towards forgettable."[12] Sean O'Neal of The A.V. Club said he was disappointed by the episode and thought the message about celebrity self-delusion might have been better if it focused on only West or Mencia, rather than both. Although O'Neal liked the West song in the episode's final scene, O'Neal said "cramming (West and Mencia) together — even mixed in with Cartman’s very funny fantasy sequences — felt too cobbled to me, and the time limits imposed by cutting back and forth between it all made the respective digs start to feel a little too one-note."[2]
References
- ^ Moody, Nekesa Mumbi (2009-04-09). "Kanye says "South Park" put him in check". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b c O'Neal, Sean (2009-04-08). "South Park: Season 13: Episode 5: "Fishsticks"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b Barrett, Annie (2009-04-09). ""South Park": Kanye West is a gay fish, yo". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b c Itzkoff, Dave (2009-04-09). "Carlos Mencia Responds to "South Park"". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b Brockington, Ryan (2009-04-09). "Kanye West Is Not a Gay Fish". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ a b West, Kanye (2009-04-09). "kanYe West: Blog". KanyeUniversityCity.com (Official Site). Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Montgomery, James (2009-04-09). "Kanye West Responds -- Humbly! -- To 'South Park' 'Fish Sticks' Slam". MTV. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Dobuzinskis, Alex (2009-04-10). "Kanye West feels "murdered" by South Park swipe". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (2009-04-09). "Kanye West responds to "South Park" mockery". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Kreps, Daniel (2009-04-09). "Kanye West Admits to Getting "Murdered" by "South Park," Promises to Deflate Ego". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Delgado, Carlos (2009-04-09). ""TV Review: South Park - Season 13 - "Fishsticks"". If Magazine. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
- ^ Fickett, Travis. "South Park: "Fishsticks" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
{{cite news}}: Text "date-2009-04-09" ignored (help)