South Park is a cartoon that has been running on Comedy Central since 1997 and has accumulated 26 seasons and counting. The cartoon has never been afraid to speak its mind on politics and pop culture and continues to do so in season 26. The show, despite being involved in its fair share of controversy over the years, still accumulates an IMDB rating of 8.7/10.  

In the episode released on Feb. 15, 2023, the “Prince and Princess of Canada” are found moving into the quiet and secluded mountain town of South Park, CO. The royal couple, obviously in parody to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, move into the town to find privacy.  

To announce that they want privacy, the couple, of course, go on national television and declare that they want their privacy to the whole nation. After walking off stage due to the host “not respecting their privacy,” the couple go on a “worldwide privacy tour” where they travel across the world to major cities such as Paris and New York, getting the attention of the public to, once again, remind the world that they want their privacy. 

 The prince and princess eventually end up in South Park to find the privacy they so desperately desire. They move into a house across the street from Kyle Broflowski, who has been dealing with his little brother taking up all his time on the computer. Kyle shows up to school the next day to learn that his friends were all playing video games on the computer together without him and that he was left out and didn’t have “drip” like the rest of his friends. 

Kyle learns from another kid at school, Butters, that he can rebrand himself to become more likeable to his friends and to people in general. Butters then takes Kyle to a company that will rebrand him into becoming more likeable. They speak to a manager who tells Kyle, “It’s not about who you are. It’s about what people are attracted to.”  

 Kyle gets annoyed with his new neighbors’ antics of loudly playing drums and blasting fireworks, then demanding privacy. He goes back to the rebranding store where he gets the brand, “Kyle: Thick-skinned, super cool, nothing bothers him, victim.” Although he is unsure of his new brand at first, Kyle decides to go along with it. Even with the prince and princess bothering him, Kyle does nothing and comes out on top, leaving his neighbors speechless and upset.  

Kyle learns from this experience that because of the media and access to social media 24//7, people are just copy-and-paste versions of products and items. People need to be themselves and comfortable with how they are. No one should have to feel like they have to fit in or follow certain brands or ideas to show their true selves.  

This episode of South Park is a good look into why the show is so good. It can spark controversy like making fun of the prince and princess, while also coming to a thought-provoking conclusion at the end with Kyle’s rant on superficiality. I have always admired South Park’s ability to take something political or controversial and then make it into a unique piece of art, with laughter and reflection packed into each episode.  

This episode, and others like it, is why South Park is so well-liked. It’s not because it is the absolute funniest show on television every year. It’s because in its efforts to make the audience laugh, it gives an attempt at reflection and how you can improve your personal life or how we could improve life as a society. No other show on television can do it quite like South Park, and that is why I recommend you watch this episode and stay tuned for the rest of the season to catch even more thought-provoking social commentary.  

Matthew Yokum is a first-year Communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.