The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs

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"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs"
South Park episode
Episode no.Season 14
Episode 2
Directed byTrey Parker
Written by
  • Trey Parker
  • Matt Stone
Production code1402
Original air dateMarch 24, 2010 (2010-03-24)
Episode chronology
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"Sexual Healing" 		Next →
"Medicinal Fried Chicken"
South Park season 14
List of episodes

"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" is the second episode of the fourteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 197th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 24, 2010. The plot centers upon a prank book manuscript anonymously written by fourth grade classmates Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman, whose vulgar content nauseates all who read it, but who also laud it as a masterpiece. The prank backfires when classmate Butters, whom the boys convinced is the actual author of the book, is hailed a genius, and the book is analyzed for profound subtext that the boys never intended.

The episode was written and directed by series co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. It serves as a satire of pop culture criticism, and mocks people who find hidden messages in works which are not intended to be analysed. The episode includes other themes, including the lack of interest in reading among American youths, and also mocks the idea that a book alone can inspire someone into committing violent crimes.

The novel The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger plays a major part in the episode, as the South Park boys are inspired to write their own book when they feel Salinger's book does not live up to its controversial reputation. The episode also satirizes actress Sarah Jessica Parker and the Kardashian family.

"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" received generally positive reviews, with many commentators praising the episode's themes of the over-analysis of works of culture. According to

Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by 3.24 million viewers. After the episode aired, Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé Kardashian
praised their portrayal.

Plot

The fourth grade students of South Park Elementary are assigned to read The Catcher in the Rye, and are excited when

Stan's parents find and read the manuscript. Their disgust is such that they cannot read it without vomiting profusely, but they appreciate the quality of its writing and inform the other parents. Fearing that they will be reprimanded, the boys convince Butters that he wrote the book while sleepwalking. Butters believes them because after reading The Catcher in the Rye, he feels as though he has been entering into altered states of consciousness
that make him want to kill others, only to find that his intended targets have long been deceased.

Butters confesses to writing the novel, but is surprised at the adults' positive response. To the other boys' anger, a representative from Penguin Books agrees to sign Butters for a book deal. The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs becomes a success, to which consumers attest despite vomiting as they read the book. As Butters' success grows, the other boys unsuccessfully campaign to have the book banned. They are annoyed to find readers interpreting passages from the novel as allegories for contentious political issues, which was never their intent. Since Sarah Jessica Parker is routinely mocked in the book, Cartman and Kenny plan to have her killed, assuming that the public reaction and media attention would result in the book's ban. They fit Parker with antlers to disguise her as a moose, before abandoning her in the woods during hunting season.

Butters later writes his own book, The Poop That Took a Pee, which consists solely of simple descriptions of

toilet humor. The four boys are convinced that the book will be a failure and publicly expose Butters as a fraud over the first book. Much to their annoyance, however, while readers are not as disgusted by the new book, they nonetheless perceive it as even more profound and continue making their own interpretations. After finishing the book, one crazed reader crashes a taping of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and kills the entire Kardashian family in a mass shooting
.

Both The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs and The Poop That Took a Pee are banned as a result, and Butters is devastated, mainly because he was a devoted fan of Kim Kardashian. Stan and Kyle suggest that rather than reading books and mindlessly interpreting them, people should simply watch television instead. Cartman also convinces Butters that he was responsible for Parker's death. Butters is initially shocked to learn this but then calms down, saying, "Oh well, at least she was ugly."

Production and theme

South Park co-creator Trey Parker wrote "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs".

"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" was written and directed by series co-creator

pro-life advocates, attempt to claim that the same work conveys and validates their own ideology.[5] The script serves as a criticism of people who take such works of pop culture too seriously.[1][4][5] Although this is demonstrated specifically through literary criticism in the episode, the theme can be extended to film criticism and television criticism as well.[2][5] The episode suggests people are so desperate for inspiration, they are willing to impose their hopes and dreams into works of art, even if they completely lack those qualities.[4] Some commentators thought South Park creators Parker and Matt Stone were implicitly mocking the amount of analysis into deeper meaning South Park itself often receives in its reviews.[2][5] Others have suggested this over-analysis is a reference to the number of adult themes identified in the Harry Potter and Twilight young adult novel series.[3][6]

"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerBalls" portrays young children as almost entirely uninterested in reading. The South Park boys exhibit excitement for their reading assignment only based on the promise of offensive and controversial material in the book.

Ronald Reagan!", until he disappointingly learns they are already dead. Later, a reader of The Poop That Took a Pee murders the Kardashian family.[3]

Cultural references

The Catcher in the Rye, the 1951 novel about teenage confusion and alienation by

attempt to assassinate former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Lennon, a former member of The Beatles and long-time peace activist, is referred to by Cartman as "the king of hippies".[1][3]

The episode also prominently features the Kardashian family, who are the focus of the E! reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Sarah Jessica Parker, an actress mocked on South Park before, is also lampooned in the story.[7]

During one scene, Butters appears on

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed and signed the same week the South Park episode first aired.[2]

Release and reception

In its original American broadcast on March 24, 2010, "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" was watched by 3.24 million viewers, according to the

Blu-ray set in the United States on April 26, 2011.[11] The episode was also released on the two-disc DVD collection A Little Box of Butters.[12]

It was classic South Park. Smart, crude, and hilarious. With one episode, there is a renewed sense of hope that season fourteen will live up to the expectations set before it. ... It's pure gold, South Park style.

Carlos Delgado
iF Magazine[4]

"The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" received generally positive reviews. Carlos Delgado of iF Magazine called the episode a potential classic and a "phenomenal follow up showing" to the season premiere "Sexual Healing", which he did not enjoy. Delgado said the script was intelligent and praised the theme of over-analyzing art. He also praised the vomiting jokes and said he could not remember the last time he laughed so hard during a South Park episode.[4] Entertainment Weekly television columnist Ken Tucker said it was better than the season premiere, which he also praised. Tucker particularly enjoyed the satire of pop culture criticism, and wrote, "I'd compare the Scrotie episode to the work of Rabelais, Henry Miller, and Dennis Cooper, but then I'd be part of the boys' satire, wouldn't I?"[1]

TV Fanatic said the episode was not as strong as previous seasons, but an improvement over "Sexual Healing". The site praised the emphasis on Butters and the pop culture references to The Catcher in the Rye, John Lennon, Sarah Jessica Parker and "the useless Kardashian Klan".[3] The A.V. Club writer Sean O'Neal said he "chuckled a few times", but found the vomit jokes acted like a substitute for "actual dialogue". However, O'Neal praised the satire of people looking too deeply into the meaning of meaningless art, and how easily that theme can be applied to South Park itself.[5] Not all reviews were entirely positive. Ramsey Isler of IGN said Butters was "awesome, as usual", and thought the jokes about the Kardashians were funny, but that the positive elements of the episode were "not enough to balance out the failures". He particularly criticized the Sarah Jessica Parker jokes as "flat and random", and the constant vomiting as "just one long-running 'joke' that was just plain awful".[2]

The day after "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" aired, members of the Kardashian family responded positively to their portrayal and on-screen deaths. On her blog, Kim Kardashian wrote that the family found the episode very funny and were honored to be featured in the episode. She wrote, "We were all dying when we saw this clip from South Park that aired last night... literally, LOL. They killed us all!!!"[13][14] She also wrote, "I managed to survive the longest... of course!"[13][14] Kourtney Kardashian joked on her Twitter page, "How rude! Southpark!!",[13] Khloé Kardashian wrote she did not know about her appearance on the show until she suddenly received numerous messages on her Twitter page. Khloé also said she found the scene funny, and laughed at how unattractively she and her sisters were portrayed, although she said the Bruce Jenner cartoon looked very realistic. She wrote, "Even though we all weren't portrayed as the most attractive South Park characters, I was still so flattered since I love that show haha."[15]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Tucker, Ken (2010-03-25). "'South Park' and 'The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerBalls': Writing a bestseller, killing the Kardashians". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Isler, Ramsey (March 25, 2010). "South Park: "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hochberger, Eric (March 25, 2010). "South Park Review: "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs"". TV Fanatic. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e Delgado, Carlos (March 25, 2010). "TV Review: South Park – Season 14 – 'The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs'". iF Magazine.
  5. ^ a b c d e f O'Neal, Sean (March 24, 2010). "South Park: "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  6. Zimbio
    . March 25, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  7. Metro. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original
    on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  8. ^ "FAQ". South Park Studios. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  9. ^ Seidman, Robert (March 25, 2010). "More Good Numbers for "South Park" + "Ugly Americans" and Other Wednesday Cable Finals". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  10. ^ Woods, Tamara (March 25, 2010). "South Park Episode Scrotie McBoogerballs Trending Twitter Gives Lessons On Books". IndyPosted. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  11. ^ Lambert, David (July 2, 2011). "South Park - 'The Complete 14th Season' Formally Announced; Seems it Really IS Complete!". TVShowsOnDVD. Archived from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
  12. ^ "South Park: A Little Box of Butters". DVD Talk.
  13. ^ a b c "Kim Kardashian "Honored" to Be Killed on South Park". Us Weekly. March 26, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Kardashian, Kim (March 25, 2010). "South Park Wiped Out the Kardashians". Kim Kardashian official web site. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  15. ^ Kardashian, Khloé (March 25, 2010). "Spoiler Alert: Kardashians Killed on South Park!!". Khloé Kardashian official web site. Archived from the original on March 28, 2010. Retrieved March 26, 2010.

External links

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