Kyle Broflovski

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Broflovski" redirects here. For other characters with the last name "Broflovski", see List of South Park characters.

Kyle Broflovski
Ike Broflovski (adopted brother)
Relatives
  • Cleo Broflovski (maternal grandmother)
  • Joey Broflovski (maternal grandfather)
  • Murrey Broflovski (paternal uncle)
  • Kyle Schwartz (cousin)
ReligionRegularly Jewish, briefly Blaintologist and Roman Catholic

Kyle Broflovski

The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator Trey Parker
in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa).

Kyle is an elementary school student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his fictional hometown of South Park,

Jewish
children on the show, and because of this, he often feels like an outsider amongst the core group of characters. His portrayal in this role is often dealt with satirically, and has elicited both praise and criticism from Jewish viewers.

Like the other South Park characters, Kyle is animated by computer in a way to emulate the show's original method of cutout animation. He also appears in the 1999 full-length feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, as well as South Park-related media and merchandise. While Parker and Stone portray Kyle as having common childlike tendencies, his dialogue is often intended to reflect stances and views on more adult-oriented issues, and has been cited in numerous publications by experts in the fields of politics, religion, popular culture, and philosophy.

Role in South Park

Kyle attends South Park Elementary as part of

Ike, who Kyle learns was adopted and originally from Canada in the episode "Ike's Wee Wee".[3]

Gerald often attempts to teach Kyle important morals. Although his mother's outspoken, manipulative nature usually overwhelms Kyle, he tends to show that he truly loves her, and takes offense to any insult Cartman may offer about her.[4] Although he engages in the reckless act of punting Ike like a football, Kyle shows concern for his brother's well-being. He was initially reluctant to embrace Ike as his brother upon learning that Ike was adopted, but Ike's genuine affection for his older brother persuaded Kyle to love him in return, and regard him as "true family".[5]

Kyle is modeled after Stone, while Stan is modeled after Parker. Kyle and Stan are best friends, and their relationship, which is supposed to reflect the real-life friendship between Parker and Stone,[6] is a common topic throughout the series. The two do have their disagreements, but always reconcile without any long-term damage to their friendship. The show's official website defines Kyle's role amongst his friends as "the smart one".[7] He often provides a sober thought to plans or ideas made by the other boys, and explains a moral outlook while drawing upon his vast knowledge and intelligence.[5][8] He tends to offer reasonable or scientific explanations both to situations most others view as supernatural in nature, and in opposition of propaganda dispensed by Cartman.[5]

Several episodes focus on Kyle and his religion,

sitcom All in the Family.[10] Kyle makes cracks at Cartman's weight and is horrified and disgusted with Cartman's immorality, cruelty, bigotry, and greed. Their rivalry often elevates to the point where Kyle becomes so obsessed with beating Cartman at whatever he does, he sometimes neglects Stan and Kenny in the process.[10] He has a tendency to make what he thinks are safe bets with Cartman, often losing these bets when the improbable actions promised by Cartman are accomplished.[10] Though he has claimed Kenny was not his friend, in order to avoid having to spend the night at his poverty-stricken household,[11] Kyle has professed a friendship with Kenny and shown genuine concern for Kenny's health and safety. Kyle normally has the angrier reaction of yelling "You bastards!" following Stan's exclamation of the popular catchphrase "Oh my God, they killed Kenny" after one of Kenny's trademark deaths.[6]

Near the end of the production run of the show's

fifth season (2001), Parker and Stone contemplated having an episode in which Kyle was killed off.[12] The reasoning behind the idea was to genuinely surprise fans, and to allow an opportunity to provide a major role for Butters Stotch, a breakout character whose popularity was growing with the viewers and creators of the show.[12] Parker and Stone initially chose Kyle because they deemed him as being too similar to Stan in terms of personality. Instead, the character of Kenny was chosen, and he was seemingly killed off for good in the episode "Kenny Dies". The duo claimed they grew tired of upholding the tradition of having Kenny die in each episode, and regarded the character as a "prop".[13]

In many episodes, Kyle draws upon his sense of social purpose and moral outrage,

season seven (2003) episode "Butt Out" where he repeatedly reminds his friends that they continuously allow potentially riotous events to occur, and are only able to defuse the situation by giving such a speech to the gathered townsfolk.[14][15]

Kyle's mother reveals in the episode "

diabetic and had to get a kidney transplant. His diabetes could explain why he gets sick more often than his classmates.[16]

Kyle has a democratic political stance, as seen in the episode The Wacky Molestation Adventure, where he brings democracy to the previously communist Cuba.

Character

Creation and design

Kyle's hair, which is usually hidden underneath his hat

An unnamed precursor to Kyle first appeared in the first The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Frosty, created by Parker and Stone in 1992 while they were students at the

University of Colorado. The character was composed of construction paper cutouts and animated using stop motion.[17] When asked three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video Christmas card that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Santa.[18] In this short, which was the first appearance of Kyle styled as he is in the series, he is given his first name. When developing the character, Parker recalled there being only one Jewish student in his entire hometown of Conifer, Colorado, and described her as being "the token Jewish person".[9] Kyle next appeared on August 13, 1997, when South Park debuted on Comedy Central with the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".[19]

From the show's second episode, "

season one, 1997), Kyle, like all other characters on the show, has been animated using computer software, though he is presented to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique.[17] In keeping with the show's animation style, Kyle is composed of simple geometrical shapes.[17][20] He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is generally shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.[10][17][20]

Kyle is usually depicted wearing winter attire that consists of a bright green

Jewfro. His hat and hairstyle were influenced by those of James Humphrey, a character whom Matt Stone portrayed in the 1993 film Cannibal! The Musical.[21] Matt also had a hat just like Kyle's as a kid. Stone cited that he came up with the voice of Kyle while he and Parker were in film class, where they would speak in high-pitched childish voices that would often get them into trouble.[22][23] The recorded audio is edited with Pro Tools, and the pitch altered to make the voice sound more like that of a fourth grader.[24][25]

Personality and traits

Terrance and Phillip, a Canadian duo whose comedy routines on their show-within-the-show revolve substantially around fart jokes.[28]

Kyle often displays the highest moral standard of all the boys and is usually depicted as the most intelligent.[5] When describing Kyle, Stone states that both he and the character are "reactionary", and susceptible to irritability and impatience.[9] In some instances, Kyle is the only child in his class to not initially indulge in a fad or fall victim to a ploy. This has resulted in both his eagerness to fit in, and his resentment and frustration.[5][29]

As a Jew, Kyle often defends and shows pride in his religion and ancestry.

Mr. Hankey, an anthropomorphic piece of feces who emerges from the sewer to spread Christmas cheer.[30]

A recurring plot element is the depiction of Kyle as insecure about Jewish traditions and beliefs.

Catholic.[33] During both instances, he renounced his affiliation with Judaism, only to have his faith restored by events occurring at the end of an episode. After watching The Passion of the Christ, a shameful Kyle suddenly felt that Cartman's anti-Semitism was justified, and suggested to angry members of his synagogue that the Jews apologize for the death of Jesus.[4][34] Kyle's guilt is quickly alleviated when he encounters Mel Gibson, the film's director, and perceives him to be nothing more than a deranged masochist.[34]

Kyle has a first cousin also named

Kyle, whom he resents for being the embodiment of Jewish stereotypes and causing Kyle to question whether or not he was a self-hating Jew.[35] Kyle is hopelessly inept at choreographed dancing; in the eyes of Cartman, he perpetuated the stereotype that "Jews have no rhythm".[36] His birthday is May 26, the same day as Stone.[37] Kyle was conceived in New Jersey.[38]

In other media

Kyle had a major role in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,[39] the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the film's soundtrack singing the same musical numbers performed in the movie.[40] As a tribute to the Dead Parrot sketch, a short that features Kyle as the owner of a shop to where Cartman attempts to return a dead Kenny aired during a 1999 BBC television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus.[41] Kyle also featured in the documentary film The Aristocrats, listening to Cartman tell his version of the film's titular joke,[42] and in "The Gauntlet", a short spoofing both Gladiator and Battlefield Earth which aired during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards.[43][44] Stone performs as Kyle on tracks for Chef Aid: The South Park Album and Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics.[45][46][47]

Kyle also appears in six South Park-related video games: In South Park, Kyle is controlled by the player through the first-person shooter mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park.[48] In South Park: Chef's Luv Shack, a user has the option of playing as Kyle when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games.[49][50] In the racing game South Park Rally, a user can race as Kyle against other players, selecting from a variety of vehicles.[51] In South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, Kyle can be selected as a playable character used to establish a tower defense against the game's antagonists.[52] Kyle role-plays as the Elf King in the 2014 game, The Stick of Truth,[53] as well as in its sequel, The Fractured but Whole, where he roleplays as the Human Kite.[54]

Cultural impact

Kyle's depiction on the show has drawn both praise and criticism from the Jewish community.

season eight, 2004), deals largely with Kyle's religious anxiety.[4] The episode was independently released on DVD along with two other religion-themed episodes from the series.[34]

Over the seasons Kyle has addressed topics such as

season 10 (2006) episode "Cartoon Wars Part II", Kyle expresses his opinions on censorship,[62] and iterates Parker and Stone's sentiments on the topic by telling a television executive "Either it's all okay, or none of it is" in regard to whether any subject should remain off-limits to satire.[63] To Parker and Stone's disappointment, the episode received more attention for its criticism of the show Family Guy than it did for Kyle's proclamation.[62]

Kyle's opinions have been the subject of much critical analysis in the media and literary world. The book

Bridgewater State College philosophy professor William J. Devlin references the teachings of Socrates and Friedrich Nietzsche when describing Kyle's role in the show.[64] Essays in the books South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating, Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture, and Taking South Park Seriously have also analyzed Kyle's perspectives within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, and political concepts.[65][66][67]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Kyle's last name has also been spelled Broslovski, Broslofski, Brovlofski, Broflofski, and Brovlowski.

References

  1. ^ Stephen Holden (June 30, 1999). "Making A Point With Smut And Laughs". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (December 3, 2003). "Butt Out". South Park. Season 7. Episode 713. Comedy Central.
  3. ^ Parker, Trey; Stone, Matt (2006). South Park – The Complete Seventh Season (Audio commentary for "It's Christmas in Canada"). Paramount Home Entertainment – via DVD.
  4. ^ a b c Virginia Heffernan (April 28, 2004). "What? Morals in 'South Park'?". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Arp and Devlin, pp. 87–94
  6. ^ a b c d Jeffrey Ressner; James Collins (March 23, 1998). "Gross And Grosser". Time. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  7. ^ "Kyle Broflovski". South Park Studios. Retrieved January 24, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Alex Strachan (November 7, 2008). "Life in South Park never changes". Canwest Publishing, Inc. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  9. ^ a b c d e Raphael, Rebecca (May 22, 1998). "Who is Kyle Broslofski?". New Voices. Archived from the original on August 15, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c d e Jaime J. Weinman (March 12, 2008). "South Park grows up". Macleans.ca. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  11. ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (August 26, 1998). "Chickenpox". South Park. Season 2. Episode 210. Comedy Central.
  12. ^ a b Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). "South Park" – The Complete Fifth Season (DVD). Comedy Central. Mini-commentary for episode "Kenny Dies"
  13. ^ Don Kaplan (April 8, 2002). "South Park Won't Kill Kenny Anymore". New York Post. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  14. ^ Monfette, Christopher (October 2, 2008). "The Cult of Cartman DVD Review". IGN. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Rich, Frank (May 1, 2005). "Conservatives ♥ 'South Park'". The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  16. ^ Stevens, Jeff (November 7, 2014). "The Best Live-Action 'South Park' Commercials". HuffPost. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  17. ^
    Penton Media. Archived from the original
    on March 29, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
  18. ^ "Brian Graden's Bio". VH1. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
  19. ^ Claire Bickley, "Charlie Brown they ain't", Toronto Sun (September 25, 1997). LexisNexis (subscription required). Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  20. ^ a b c Abbie Bernstein (October 27, 1998). "South Park – Volume 2". AVRev.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  21. ^ "CannibalTheMusical.Net". www.cannibalthemusical.net. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  22. ^ "Making Fun Of Everyone On 'South Park'". www.wbur.org. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  23. ^ South Park - Season 24 - TV Series | South Park Studios US, retrieved April 6, 2021
  24. ^ "South Park FAQ". South Park Studios. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  25. ^ "40 Questions". South Park Studios. October 4, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
  26. ^ Jake Trapper; Dan Morris (September 22, 2006). "Secrets of 'South Park'". ABC News. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  27. ^ Frazier Moore (December 14, 2006). "Loud and lewd but sweet underneath". The Age. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
  28. ^ Parker, Trey (November 2002). South Park: The Complete Fifth Season: "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
  29. ^ Rennie, James and Weinstock, pp. 195–208
  30. ^ Terence Blacker (January 5, 1999). "Crude, violent – but quite brilliant". independent.co.uk. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  31. ^ Melanie McFarland (October 2, 2006). "Social satire keeps 'South Park' fans coming back for a gasp, and a laugh". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  32. ^ Arp and Jacoby, pp. 58–65
  33. ^ a b Arp and Murtaugh, pp. 29–39
  34. ^ a b c Wills, Adam (September 10, 2004). "Jesus vs. Kyle". The Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2009.
  35. ^ Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2003). "South Park" – The Complete Fifth Season (DVD). Comedy Central. Mini-commentary for episode "The Entity"
  36. ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (April 7, 1999). "Rainforest Shmainforest". South Park. Season 3. Episode 301. Comedy Central.
  37. ^ "You Have 0 Friends". South Park. April 7, 2010. Comedy Central.
  38. ^ O'Neal, Sean (October 13, 2010). "SOUTH PARK "It's A Jersey Thing"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
  39. ^ Pulver, Andrew (August 27, 1999). "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  40. ^ "Various – Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut". www.discogs.com. 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  41. ^ "News – Pythons cut train crash from funny show". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  42. ^ "HBO Documentary Films: The Aristocrats". HBO. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
  43. ^ Ortega, Tony (September 27, 2001). "Sympathy For The Devil: Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics. Until she met the darkest detractor of all". New Times Los Angeles.
  44. ^ Trey Parker, Matt Stone (2000). The Gauntlet (Television special). MTV, Comedy Central. Short that aired during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards
  45. ^ Browne, David (January 8, 1999). "Shower Hooks". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  46. ^ Nazareth, Errol. "'Chef' Hayes cooks crazy stew". jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  47. ^ Moorhead, M.V. (December 23, 1999). "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2009.
  48. Allgame. Archived from the original
    on December 10, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  49. ^ "Review: South Park: Chef's Luv Shack". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  50. ^ "South Park: Chef's Luv Shack Review". Gamespot.com. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
  51. ^ "South Park Rally Preview". IGN. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  52. ^ Brudvig, Erik (October 6, 2009). "South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play Review". IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  53. ^ Filari, Alessandro (February 14, 2014). "Preview: South Park: The Stick of Truth is ambitious". Destructoid. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  54. ^ Stapleton, Dan (October 16, 2017). "South Park: The Fractured But Whole Review". IGN. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  55. ^ a b c Robert Bolton (July 23, 1998). "The Media Report: South Park". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  56. ^ William Cohen (November 4, 2005). "Respect Its Authoritah!". The Cornell American. Archived from the original on January 29, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  57. ^ Frank Rich (May 1, 2005). "Conservatives 'South Park'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  58. Manhattan Institute. Archived from the original
    on January 18, 2016. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  59. ^ Amber Conrad (June 3, 2008). "25 Things I Learned About Business from "South Park"". InsideCRM. Archived from the original on March 18, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  60. ^ Dan Lienert (July 5, 2006). "Greenest Machines". Forbes. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  61. ^ Ken Tucker (March 25, 2009). ""South Park" solves the economic crisis". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  62. ^ a b Jaime J. Weinman (March 12, 2008). "South Park grows up". Macleans.ca. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved May 5, 2009.
  63. ^ Thomas H. Maugh II (April 14, 2006). "South Park duo criticise network". BBC News. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
  64. ^ South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today Archived September 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Blackwell Publishing, Series: The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, Retrieved January 21, 2008.
  65. ^ Fallows and Weinstock, p. 165
  66. ISBN 978-0-8126-9613-4
    .
  67. ISBN 978-0-8264-1731-2
    .

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kyle_Broflovski&oldid=1229921670"