Chef Goes Nanners
Encyclopedia
"Chef Goes Nanners" is the seventh episode of the fourth season
of the animated television series South Park
, and the 55th episode of the series overall. "Chef Goes Nanners" originally aired in the United States
on Comedy Central
on July 5, 2000.
in the Mayor's office, arguing about the South Park town flag: Jimbo wants to keep it, for it has been around since the time of their forefathers; Chef, however, insists it is racist
. The South Park flag depicts four white figures hanging a black one on a gallows
. The blatant racism incites Chef's indignation and leads him to believe that the whole town is racist. Chef immediately starts to rally support in order to change the flag. Neither he nor Jimbo can gather a lot of support, as very few townspeople have strong opinions on the issue.
In school, the class is assigned to debate the "Change the Flag" issue. Stan and Kyle lead the team that wants to keep the flag the same, while Wendy and Cartman
lead the side that wants to change it (with Cartman only volunteering presumably to irritate Wendy). During lunch, Kyle and Stan ask Chef for help. Upon hearing that they think that the flag should be not changed, Chef gets agitated and verbally abusive towards the boys, who have no idea why Chef is so upset about the flag.
Wendy leads her team in the library when Cartman suddenly interrupts the process with his own strategy. He gets the team to dig up some dirt on Stan and Kyle, hoping to win the debate with ad hominem
attacks on their credibility. Meanwhile, Kyle and Stan are at Kyle's father's law office studying how freedom of speech is an issue with the flag. Kenny eats 60 antacid tablets, believing they are mints, and then takes a drink of water, causing him to explode. The debate team now has one less member.
At the City Hall the Ku Klux Klan
suddenly marches up, loudly voicing their support for the current flag as a symbol of "white power
". This makes Jimbo, Ned and a number of the other flag supporters uneasy: they do not want to be sided on any issue with the Klan. To remedy this issue, Jimbo and Ned infiltrate in the clan and suggest that if they want the flag to remain unchanged they should advocate that the flag should be changed, because the majority of the people will always vote against what the Klan wants. The leader embraces the idea, and the Klan switches sides. Upon leaving the meet they run into Chef while still wearing the Klan robes. Chef believes they are in fact KKK members, and drives off in anger before they can explain.
The mayor cops out of the situation, deciding not to make the decision herself; the fate of the flag will instead be decided by the kids' debate. This puts a lot of pressure on Wendy, who, in their study sessions, suddenly begins to feel attracted to Cartman. This scares Wendy, because Stan is her boyfriend and she and Cartman actually hate each other. Bebe later explains the concept of sexual tension
to her, advising that she should kiss Cartman just to get it out of her system.
During the debate, Wendy is totally distracted because she is attracted to Cartman and cannot deliver her opening remarks; she walks over and kisses him in front of the whole town, breaking the built-up tension and leaving Stan shocked. After this, she is able to continue her standpoint. When the turn of Stan's team comes, Kyle gives their side of the issue by saying that killing is a natural part of life and is not a big deal. Chef and the rest of the adults find out that the children had not even perceived that the flag was racist, instead thinking that the issue at hand was capital punishment
. Chef is angry at first and thinks the kids are ignorant, but then Kyle says that they didn't even notice the racist message and Chef soon realizes that when the children looked at the flag, they only saw five people, with no regard to their colors, and is touched. He realizes that when he believed the whole town was racist and he threw the slur "cracker" around, he was being the racist one. Jimbo also apologizes for being on the KKK's side and tells Chef that he has no problem with black people. After Jimbo and Chef decide to come to a compromise
, Kyle declares that they do not need to debate anymore, although Stan is still frozen with a shocked expression about Wendy kissing Cartman.
In the end, ethnic diversity is added to the flag: the black man is now being hanged by a group of people of all races, including another black man, hand-in-hand. Chef delivers the moral of this story: his inclination to anti-racism almost made him a racist himself; perceiving things according to race leads only to further racism. In the final scene, Wendy says that she is glad that everything is over with and that her feelings for Cartman have disappeared. Cartman agrees and laughs nervously. Wendy runs after Stan, calling his name, leaving Cartman completely alone. After a few moments, Cartman sighs and walks away sadly, implying that he might have started to develop genuine feelings for Wendy.
South Park (season 4)
Season four of South Park, an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, began airing on April 5, 2000. The fourth season concluded after 17 episodes on December 20, 2000.- Episodes :-External links:...
of the animated television series South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, and the 55th episode of the series overall. "Chef Goes Nanners" originally aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
on July 5, 2000.
Plot
The episode begins with Jimbo and ChefChef (South Park)
Jerome "Chef" McElroy is a fictional character on the Comedy Central series South Park. He was voiced by Isaac Hayes. A cafeteria worker at the local elementary school in the town of South Park, Colorado, Chef was generally portrayed as more level-headed than the other adult residents of the town...
in the Mayor's office, arguing about the South Park town flag: Jimbo wants to keep it, for it has been around since the time of their forefathers; Chef, however, insists it is racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. The South Park flag depicts four white figures hanging a black one on a gallows
Lynching in the United States
Lynching, the practice of killing people by extrajudicial mob action, occurred in the United States chiefly from the late 18th century through the 1960s. Lynchings took place most frequently in the South from 1890 to the 1920s, with a peak in the annual toll in 1892.It is associated with...
. The blatant racism incites Chef's indignation and leads him to believe that the whole town is racist. Chef immediately starts to rally support in order to change the flag. Neither he nor Jimbo can gather a lot of support, as very few townspeople have strong opinions on the issue.
In school, the class is assigned to debate the "Change the Flag" issue. Stan and Kyle lead the team that wants to keep the flag the same, while Wendy and Cartman
Eric Cartman
Eric Theodore Cartman is a fictional character in the American animated television series South Park. One of four main characters, along with Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick, he is generally referred to within the series by his last name...
lead the side that wants to change it (with Cartman only volunteering presumably to irritate Wendy). During lunch, Kyle and Stan ask Chef for help. Upon hearing that they think that the flag should be not changed, Chef gets agitated and verbally abusive towards the boys, who have no idea why Chef is so upset about the flag.
Wendy leads her team in the library when Cartman suddenly interrupts the process with his own strategy. He gets the team to dig up some dirt on Stan and Kyle, hoping to win the debate with ad hominem
Ad hominem
An ad hominem , short for argumentum ad hominem, is an attempt to negate the truth of a claim by pointing out a negative characteristic or belief of the person supporting it...
attacks on their credibility. Meanwhile, Kyle and Stan are at Kyle's father's law office studying how freedom of speech is an issue with the flag. Kenny eats 60 antacid tablets, believing they are mints, and then takes a drink of water, causing him to explode. The debate team now has one less member.
At the City Hall the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
suddenly marches up, loudly voicing their support for the current flag as a symbol of "white power
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
". This makes Jimbo, Ned and a number of the other flag supporters uneasy: they do not want to be sided on any issue with the Klan. To remedy this issue, Jimbo and Ned infiltrate in the clan and suggest that if they want the flag to remain unchanged they should advocate that the flag should be changed, because the majority of the people will always vote against what the Klan wants. The leader embraces the idea, and the Klan switches sides. Upon leaving the meet they run into Chef while still wearing the Klan robes. Chef believes they are in fact KKK members, and drives off in anger before they can explain.
The mayor cops out of the situation, deciding not to make the decision herself; the fate of the flag will instead be decided by the kids' debate. This puts a lot of pressure on Wendy, who, in their study sessions, suddenly begins to feel attracted to Cartman. This scares Wendy, because Stan is her boyfriend and she and Cartman actually hate each other. Bebe later explains the concept of sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
to her, advising that she should kiss Cartman just to get it out of her system.
During the debate, Wendy is totally distracted because she is attracted to Cartman and cannot deliver her opening remarks; she walks over and kisses him in front of the whole town, breaking the built-up tension and leaving Stan shocked. After this, she is able to continue her standpoint. When the turn of Stan's team comes, Kyle gives their side of the issue by saying that killing is a natural part of life and is not a big deal. Chef and the rest of the adults find out that the children had not even perceived that the flag was racist, instead thinking that the issue at hand was capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. Chef is angry at first and thinks the kids are ignorant, but then Kyle says that they didn't even notice the racist message and Chef soon realizes that when the children looked at the flag, they only saw five people, with no regard to their colors, and is touched. He realizes that when he believed the whole town was racist and he threw the slur "cracker" around, he was being the racist one. Jimbo also apologizes for being on the KKK's side and tells Chef that he has no problem with black people. After Jimbo and Chef decide to come to a compromise
Compromise
To compromise is to make a deal where one person gives up part of his or her demand.In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations from an original goal or desire.Extremism is often considered as...
, Kyle declares that they do not need to debate anymore, although Stan is still frozen with a shocked expression about Wendy kissing Cartman.
In the end, ethnic diversity is added to the flag: the black man is now being hanged by a group of people of all races, including another black man, hand-in-hand. Chef delivers the moral of this story: his inclination to anti-racism almost made him a racist himself; perceiving things according to race leads only to further racism. In the final scene, Wendy says that she is glad that everything is over with and that her feelings for Cartman have disappeared. Cartman agrees and laughs nervously. Wendy runs after Stan, calling his name, leaving Cartman completely alone. After a few moments, Cartman sighs and walks away sadly, implying that he might have started to develop genuine feelings for Wendy.
External links
- "Chef Goes Nanners" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Chef Goes Nanners" Episode guide at South Park Studios