Stan Marsh
Stan Marsh | |
---|---|
South Park character | |
First appearance |
|
Created by | Jimbo Kern (maternal uncle) Flo Kimble (great-aunt; deceased) |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Nationality | American |
Residence | 260 Avenue de los Mexicanos, South Park, Colorado, United States |
Stanley "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the
Stan is an elementary school student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his fictional hometown of South Park, Colorado. Stan is generally depicted as logical, brave, patient and sensitive. He is outspoken in expressing his distinct lack of esteem for adults and their influences, as adult South Park residents rarely make use of their critical faculties.
Like the other South Park characters, Stan is animated by computer in a way to emulate the show's original method of cutout animation. He also appears in the full-length feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999), as well as South Park-related media and merchandise. While Parker and Stone portray Stan as having common childlike tendencies, his dialogue is often intended to reflect stances and views on more adult-oriented issues and has been frequently cited in numerous publications by experts in the fields of politics, religion, popular culture and philosophy.
Role in South Park
Prior to season 22, Stan lives in South Park at 260 Avenue de los Mexicanos with his parents
Whereas Kyle, his best friend, is the only Jewish boy in the main cast, Cartman is an obese, racist, sociopath, and Kenny is poverty-stricken (and in early seasons prone to suffer violent deaths), Stan was originally the everyman, described as "a normal, average, American, mixed-up kid".[3] Stan would also occasionally provide a "moral of the story" lesson at the end of certain episodes, such as in Season 7's "Grey Dawn", and Season 8's "The Passion of the Jew". However, beginning in season fifteen as part of the show's overall shift to more complex characterization, Stan has been cynical and depressed due to his dysfunctional family, particularly in Ass Burgers which shows him abusing alcohol on a daily basis simply to tolerate normal social interaction.[4]
Stan is modeled after Parker, while Kyle is modeled after Stone. Stan and Kyle are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real-life friendship between Parker and Stone,
Character
Creation and design
An unnamed precursor to Stan 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
In the tradition of the show's animation style, Stan is composed of simple geometrical shapes and primary colors.[11][14] He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is mostly shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.[11][14][15] Ever since the show's third episode, "
Stan is usually depicted in winter attire which consists of a brown jacket, blue jeans, red gloves/mittens, and a red-brimmed blue
Stan's birthday is October 19, which is also Trey Parker's birthday.[20]
Personality and traits
Stan is foul-mouthed (a trait present in his friends as well) as a means for Parker and Stone to display how they claim young boys really talk when they are alone.
Stan is an avid animal lover. He is highly against his uncle Jimbo's hunting, and was also known to commit to vegetarianism after feeling compassion for baby calves in a farm, even going as far to hide them in his room to protect them from being slaughtered. Later, he was forced to quit vegetarianism because of a severe illness he developed, however, he still fights for animal rights, becoming a member of PETA in "Douche and Turd" as well as saving whales and dolphins in "Whale Whores".[24][25]
The only adult on the show that Stan liked was Chef, the cafeteria worker at his school, as Stan generally holds the rest of the show's adult population in low regard due to their tendency to both behave irrationally when subjected to the scams, cults, and sensationalized media stories of which he is often skeptical,[10] and engage in hypocritical behavior.[26] He doubts the legitimacy of holistic medicine,[27] declares cults to be dangerous,[28] and regards those claiming to be psychic mediums as frauds,[29] specifically by declaring John Edward to be "the biggest douche in the universe".[30]
In the
Cultural impact
In 2014, Stan was ranked by IGN at third place on their list of "The Top 25 South Park Characters", commenting that he "often acts as the voice of reason in the midst of the show's insane events, and in many ways he's more mature than his father Randy". The website concluded that "his history as one of the more stable and thoughtful characters in the series made him the perfect choice for the voice of Trey and Matt's own creative/professional frustrations".[34]
Stan frequently offers his perspective on religion,
In the show's 26 seasons, Stan has addressed other topics such as
See also
References
- ^ a b Jake Trapper and Dan Morris (September 22, 2006). "Secrets of 'South Park'". ABC News. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
- ^ [email protected], LESLIE JAMES. "Celebrate 22 years of 'South Park' with its 22 most memorable characters". Colorado Springs Gazette.
- ^ "Stan Marsh". South Park Studios. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- ^ O'Neal, Sean (June 8, 2011). "South Park: "You're Getting Old"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c Jeffrey Ressner and James Collins (March 23, 1998). "Gross And Grosser". Time. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
- ^ "Eric Cartman – Characters – South Park Studios". www.southparkstudios.com. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (March 30, 2005). "Best Friends Forever". South Park. Season 9. Episode 904. Comedy Central.
- ^ Kaplan, Don (April 8, 2002). "FOXNews.com – South Park Won't Kill Kenny Anymore – Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment". www.foxnews.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ Devin Leonard (October 27, 2006). "'South Park' creators haven't lost their edge". CNN. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Arp and Jacoby, pp. 58–65
- ^ Penton Media. Archived from the originalon March 29, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2009.
- ^ "Brian Graden's Bio". VH1.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 10, 2008.
- ^ "South Park turns 10". theage.com.au. September 27, 2006. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c Abbie Bernstein (October 27, 1998). "South Park – Volume 2". AVRev.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ Jaime J. Weinman (March 12, 2008). "South Park grows up". Macleans.ca. Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Making Fun Of Everyone On 'South Park'". WBUR. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ South Park - Season 24 - TV Series | South Park Studios US, retrieved April 6, 2021
- ^ "South Park FAQ". South Park Studios. February 10, 2009. Archived from the original on May 11, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ^ "40 Questions". South Park Studios. October 4, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- ^ "You Have 0 Friends". South Park. April 7, 2010. Comedy Central.
- ^ Jake Trapper and Dan Morris (September 22, 2006). "Secrets of 'South Park'". ABC News. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
- ^ Frazier Moore (December 14, 2006). "Loud and lewd but sweet underneath". The Age. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
- ^ Parker, Trey (November 2002). South Park: The Complete Fifth Season: "Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow" (DVD). Paramount Home Entertainment.
- ^ Pagels, Jim (July 9, 2013). "This Is the Ultimate Episode of South Park". Slate Magazine. Retrieved March 7, 2022.
- ^ Modell, Josh (October 29, 2009). "South Park: Whale Whores". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved January 28, 2010.
- ^ Randy Fallows (January 2002). "The Theology of South Park". The Institute for the Study of American Popular Culture. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ Manhattan Institute. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ "The brats take on religion". Chicago Tribune. March 22, 2006. p. 49.
- ^ David Williams (October 3, 2003). "Differences between a predator and prey". The Daily Barometer. Retrieved May 3, 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (November 27, 2002). "The Biggest Douche in the Universe". South Park. Season 6. Episode 615. Comedy Central.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (June 9, 2011). "'South Park' – 'You're Getting Old': Getting ready to say goodbye?". HitFix.
- ^ Trey Parker and Matt Stone (October 6, 2011). "Ass Burgers". South Park. Season 15. Episode 1508. Comedy Central.
- ^ Staff, Comedy Central Web site (November 16, 2006). "Things Scientologists Actually Believe". South Park. Comedy Central. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved October 20, 2007.
- ^ Ramsey Isler; Jesse Schedeen (February 28, 2014). "The Top 25 South Park Characters". IGN. p. 5. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- . Retrieved January 15, 2014.
- ^ Todd Leopold (August 24, 2006). "Welcome to the Emmy 'mess'". CNN. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ Jake Trapper and Dan Morris (September 22, 2006). "Secrets of 'South Park'". ABC News. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
- ^ Tracy Baim (September 16, 1997). "Snyde & Sneak". Lambda Publications Inc. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ Justine Hankins (September 20, 2003). "Not so queer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ Frank Rich (May 1, 2005). "Conservatives ♥ 'South Park'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c d Fallows and Weinstock, p. 165
- ^ Eric Griffiths (June 21, 2007). "Young offenders". New Statesman. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ Arp and Gray, pp. 121–128
- ^ Vanessa E. Jones (January 29, 2008). "No offense, but ..." The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
- ^ a b 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
- ISBN 978-0-8126-9613-4.
- ISBN 978-0-8264-1731-2.
- Gray, John Scott; Jacoby, Henry (2006). Arp, Robert (ed.). South Park and Philosophy: You Know, I Learned Something Today. Blackwell Publishing (The Blackwell Philosophy & Pop Culture Series). ISBN 978-1-4051-6160-2.
- Fallows, Randall (2008). Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew (ed.). Taking South Park Seriously. ISBN 978-0-7914-7566-9.
External links
- Stan Marsh Archived October 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at South Park Studios