Ginger Kids
| "Ginger Kids" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 9 Episode 11 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Production code | 911 |
| Original air date | November 9, 2005 |
"Ginger Kids" is the eleventh episode in the ninth season of the American animated television series South Park. The 136th episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 9, 2005. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Trey Parker. It caused controversy after its ironic premise was misunderstood by people who acted violently against redheads.
For a class presentation, Cartman delivers a hate speech, against what he calls "gingers": people with red hair, freckles, and pale skin due to a disease called "Gingervitis". He describes them as being disgusting, inhuman, unable to survive in sunlight, and having no souls. When Kyle points out that he too has red hair, Cartman says that there is a second class of redheads, the "daywalkers", who have red hair but not pale skin and freckles.
In Kyle's attempt to prove Cartman wrong, he decides to do a presentation countering Cartman's facts, arguing that being a "ginger kid" is an inheritable trait. To prove this, Kyle and Stan visit a family who have redhead children. To their shock, the parents of the Ginger kids, who each carry a recessive gene that has caused them to have Ginger kids, possess the same prejudice towards Ginger kids as Cartman. The father of the Ginger kids informs Kyle that marrying an Asian woman ensures that the recessive gene is not passed down, and mentions a friend who is marrying an Asian woman for that reason. When Kyle makes his presentation, Cartman stands up for his claims and uses Biblical references, alleging that Judas Iscariot was a Ginger. As a result, Cartman's speech causes a new-found prejudice towards Ginger kids in the school. The gingers are treated as outcasts and forced to eat in the hallway rather than the cafeteria. Stan, Kyle, and Kenny agree that they need to teach Cartman a lesson.
At night, the three sneak into Cartman's room and use skin bleach to make his skin pale, dye his hair red, and put Henna tattoos of freckles on his face. Cartman wakes up in the morning to discover that he now has the disease "gingervitis" and has become a Ginger himself. Cartman is taken to the doctor, who turns out to be prejudiced himself and soon insults him, even suggesting that Mrs. Cartman have him put down, which she considers. At school, Cartman is laughed at by Butters, and faces discrimination from the very people he himself convinced to despise Gingers. He is forced to join the gingers in eating in the hallway despite his attempts to convince them that he is still who he was. In response to this, Cartman establishes the "Ginger Separatist Movement" to promote the better aspects of being ginger.
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