How do you comment on a controversial and far-reaching issue?
Comedians often get it in the neck when they take on sensitive issues and are perceived of not taking them seriously, although humour can nevertheless be the right way to take on the issue as it can help raise awareness.
Tackling these issues can also make a reputation. Over the years, South Park has cultivated a reputation as a go-to programme for raising points about serious issues by way of humour.
World War Zimmerman is an interesting case in point. Referencing the astounding acquittal by Florida of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin and crossing it with hit-and-miss blockbuster World War Z is, at face value, either misguided or asking for trouble. This comes before comments that South Park was late to the Zimmerman discussion that followed his acquittal in early July.
Yet South Park possesses one weapon that can make such an unholy fusion workable - Eric Theodore Cartman.
Cartman is a strange and wild nexus in which to view the world. He is also possibly one of television's only characters to whom the idea of people angry at the Zimmerman verdict can legitimately replace the zombies to his Brad Pitt in World War Z is not only plausible but justifiable for his anger.
Cartman in this is basically a similar mindset to 24 hour news channels. The channels seemed so certain the verdict would incite riots and in this he is creating these spaces using the film reference as a starting point, to impressive effect.
It's particularly amusing when Cartman is on full-blown WWZ referencing, starting with a cutesy-wutesy family all talking in Cartman's voice and right down to a straight lift of the opening scene where angry people try and riot against him, before forming the full on mountain similar to the zombie mountain scenes in the film.
The little things on his way through his nutty journey are amusing, whether its Butters beatboxing, Cartman going "this is a Tesla? Fuck... alright hit your prissy pedal!" or his inexplicable ability to cause multiple plane crashes.
The central rivalry between him and Token is the main driving force and is grounded, essentially in something in-keeping with Cartman's alarmingly racist character. But it is impressive after his first plane crash where he tells the pilot what he's doing and the pilot thinks "what?" moments before he ends up dying.
Its all highly dodgy but nevertheless amusing.
Nevertheless, this is not the most convincing that South Park has tackled political issues, albeit still better than the sadly underwhelming take on the NSA a few weeks back.
The offensive nature of the whole shebang is scarcely believable and an insight it maybe into some people's psyche, it just doesn't feel as convincing a moment of satire. It more or less feels like a typical adventure into Cartman's ever reaching psyche.
Its also a strange point it raises when Zimmerman is enlisted to try and kill Token for the US government before accidentally shooting Cartman in black face, which leads to Zimmerman being sentenced to the electric chair.
Then, to rub in the sense of envelope pushing a little more, Cartman fully enacts the Zimmerman thing by saying Token encroached on his space and that justified shooting him. Luckily, Token is not murdered - it would cost a good character so I'm glad they didn't
The heart of the Zimmerman matter is that the Neighbourhood Watch man admitted chasing and shooting a black teenager armed with nothing more dangerous than a bag of Skittles. At face value, this should be a jail sentence, and the ethical conundrums largely tries to avoid the simple fact that he killed him, which in most places would go for murder regardless of any self-defence or SBH laws.
The conclusion that "if he had shot a white boy he would've fried" is one left-leaning media has taken, although the conclusion a black guy shooting a white would've fried has done the more vocal rounds.
But the re-enactment of the same case using Cartman and Token is an oddly fitting conclusion, as is Mr. Mackay just saying both had blame. At the end of it, in this way, Cartman shot Token and the idea Token can have any wrongs is ridiculous.
Yet people have nevertheless opted to continue the argument, with various references to the real case.
Some people will hate this episode because of the timing. After all, it is less than three months since Zimmerman's trial reached its verdict, although I have seen commenters saying it has come out "too late".
The politics of such an episode will also cause a split, as not everybody will share the viewpoint - this is a natural element of political programming.
As a piece of entertainment, its typical of the season so far - some stuff lands very well, some is just bizarre - albeit not as much as the cable company's nipple obsession last week - and some doesn't work.
Its an amusing and solid 22 minutes but the laughs come mainly from the little things and the "Wow... they're doing this/that?!?" factor rather than any insightful truth that nobody had figured out before.
3.5/5
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