.gif)
Margaritaville (South Park)
Encyclopedia
"Margaritaville" is the third episode of the thirteenth season
of the American animated television series South Park
, and the 184th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central
in the United States on March 25, 2009. The episode is a satire and commentary on the global recession
affecting much of the industrialized world at the time of the episode's broadcast. Kyle
is portrayed as a Jesus
-like savior working to save the economy, and Stan
spends much of the episode trying to return a personal Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville
machine.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. Parker and Stone long planned to create an episode about the economy and considered making it the season premiere, but decided they needed more time to craft the script, and instead opened the season with "The Ring", a spoof of the Jonas Brothers
boy band. In their original idea for an economy episode, Parker and Stone considered having Cartman dress as a superhero who fights the economy. That idea was ultimately scrapped, and elements were transferred to the episode "The Coon
".
"Margaritaville" reflected Parker and Stone's belief that most Americans view the economy in the same way as religion
, in that it is seldom understood but seen as an important, elusive entity. The Margaritaville blender featured in the episode serves as a metaphor for American consumerism
, as well as the housing bubble
. The script proved challenging for Parker and Stone, and they did not finish writing it until the night before the episode first aired. Parker and Stone themselves were not entirely pleased with the final product of "Margaritaville", but it received generally positive reviews by television critics.
According to Nielsen Media Research
, the episode was seen by 2.77 million households in its original airing, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. "Margaritaville" won the 2009 Emmy Award
for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
. "Margaritaville" was released on DVD
and Blu-ray
along with the rest of the thirteenth season on March 16, 2010.
that the economy is failing due to people spending their money on luxuries. Ironically, he continues his tirade while making himself a margarita
in a Margaritaville-brand mixer, the noise of which drowns out his voice. People in South Park are struggling with the recent economic downturn, and many people on the street are castigating those whom they would blame. Cartman is there too, and predictably blames the Jews, claiming they hid the money in a "Jew Cave". Randy convinces everyone to reduce their spending to only "bare essentials" in order to propitiate the economy's anger though defending his own frivilous purchase by saying the essentials include margaritas. His recommended changes make the town resemble first-century Galilee. Kyle
, getting annoyed, responds that the economy is not actually angry with them, and that they should be out spending money. Kyle continues to preach that the economy only exists as a mental construct, and that if they want the economy to be strong, they must have faith in it. Randy and the council, upon hearing this, decide that they need to kill Kyle. Cartman
, in his desire to obtain a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
, says that he will deliver Kyle to Randy and his friends in exchange for the game.
In a scene resembling that of the Last Supper
, Kyle and his friends go out for pizza where he laments that he feels they will not be able to get together like this anymore because he thinks one of his friends will betray him. The next day, Kyle sets up a table with a credit card machine in the town and begins "paying everybody's debts" with his American Express
Platinum Card. Kyle's mother begs him to stop because he will be in debt for life, but Kyle feels he must to help everybody in the town. The episode ends with a news report giving credit to Barack Obama for the recovery of South Park's economy, rather than Kyle.
As a subplot
, Stan spends most of the episode trying to return the aforementioned Margaritaville mixer. The trendy retailer Sur La Table
will not accept the return because it was bought on a payment plan. He tries to find out to whom he can return it, each person saying the debt has been packaged and sold to someone else (much like real-life mortgage-backed securities). Eventually he goes all the way to the United States Treasury, where a group of associates "consult the charts" and tell him the mixer is worth $90 trillion. One of the three treasury workers says that another insurance company is failing and asks what they should do. They say they have to "consult the charts" again. Stan follows the men inside. He sees a round lit-up gameshow style board. The men cut off a chicken
's head and let the decapitated chicken run on the board while one of them plays Yakety Sax
on a kazoo. The chicken falls on the "bailout!" spot, so that is what the men do. In anger at the ridiculousness of the system, Stan breaks the mixer on the platform by the chicken and walks off.
"Margaritaville" was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker
. It first aired on March 25, 2009 in the United States on Comedy Central
. Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone
said they had long planned to do an episode about the global recession
, and they argued over whether to start the season with an episode about the economy, or an episode mocking the Jonas Brothers
, a boy band who had recently grown in popularity. Stone argued the season premiere should focus on the economy because it was the biggest news item at the time, but Parker felt they needed more time to craft the script, and that the Jonas Brothers would be a funny season opener. Stone ultimately agreed, and later admitted it was the right decision. During an interview a few weeks before the episode aired, Stone said, "That's one of those big things we want to get right. We'll be talking about what kind of social commentary we want to make and do it right."
Parker and Stone originally planned for their economy-related episode to involved Cartman dressing as a superhero named "The Coon" and fighting the recession. Eventually, Cartman would discover the recession stemmed from the sale of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
blenders, and he would have to battle singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett
and investor Warren Buffett
, who would be portrayed as Jimmy's brother. Eventually, the idea was scrapped, and the superhero elements were incorporated into the episode "The Coon
", which aired just before "Margaritaville". The opening scene of "The Coon", in which Cartman discussed the poor economic state of the nation and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama
, were left remnants of the original economy-related idea. Certain elements of the original idea, such as the Margaritaville blenders, were eventually incorporated into "Margaritaville".
As with most South Park episodes, Parker, fellow co-founder Matt Stone
, and their team created the episode within a week of its broadcast date. The script was not finished until late March 24, the night before the episode aired. "Margaritaville" featured a 70-second shot which panned over several characters speaking about the recession on pedestals before finally settling on Randy wearing robes and preaching about the economy. It was the longest shot in South Park history to that point, although it would be surpassed later in the season by "Dances with Smurfs
", which featured an 86-second single shot in which a South Park elementary student is murdered while reading the morning announcements.
Within a week of "Margaritaville's" original broadcast date, the online retailer Zazzle
and South Park Studios, the official South Park website, released t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on "Margaritaville", including shirts with Randy dressed in rags saying "Finger pointing gets us nowhere!" and "We must mock the economy no longer!" Other shirts included the finance company executive saying "Ooh, yeah, no, you know what, yeah, no..." and an image of The Last Supper-inspired pizza dinner between Kyle and his friends.
The Margaritaville blender itself served as a metaphor for consumerism
and the tendency of Americans to buy luxuries that they do not need. Stone said, "We didn't want to make an episode where it was like, 'Oh, those Wall Street guys took our money.' It was one of those things where we all screwed up and nobody really knows what's going on, but it has something to do with buying shit like Margaritavilles." The Margaritaville also serves as a metaphor for the housing bubble. Parker himself actually owns a Margaritaville, of which he said, "It's pretty stupid because it really is just a blender". Randy's approach to resolving the recession, calling for frugality and stigmatizing spending on luxuries, and the result of causing the quality of life in South Park to deteriorate, is a demonstration of the paradox of thrift
. Kyle's counter-movement could be broadly interpreted as Keynesian, given Kyle's heavy emphasis on the demand-driven causes of the recession, his assertion that an entire economy is not a personal being and not driven by a moral imperative, and his final act of liquidating the town's bad debts in order to stimulate demand. Stone said the original script included a great deal more philosophy about the economy, but most of it was cut for time, and "we kept just all the funny stuff in".
The episode's title comes from the Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville blender featured in the episode, which serves as a metaphor for the housing bubble. "Margaritaville
" is also the name of a popular 1977 song by Jimmy Buffett, who has been the butt of South Park humor in the past. In "Margaritaville", Kyle is portrayed as a Jesus
-like savior who makes a tremendous sacrifice to save the economy. A dinner he has with his friends is portrayed as the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus had with his Twelve Apostles before his death
. Cartman takes on the role of Judas
, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, while some of the South Park residents form a council
. Kyle uses a platinum American Express
card
to pay off the debts of all South Park residents.
Cartman says he wants the soon to be released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
game for the handheld game console
Nintendo DS
. The game was released within a week of the original "Margaritaville" broadcast date. Representatives from game developer Rockstar Games
told video game blog Kotaku
they liked the reference, and did not know in advance it would be in the episode.
, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
said of the episode, "The episode was the most back-handed endorsement imaginable of President Obama's economic bailout plan. Or the most withering dismantling of it. As usual, South Park had it both ways." Tucker also said of Cartman's blaming the Jews for the recession, "Among its many achievements, South Park has exposed anti-Semitism to such relentless ridicule over the years, it deserves some sort of humanitarian award."
Financial writer Roger Nusbaum said the episode was not only "humorous" but provided a decent analysis of the recession. He particularly praised Randy's inclusion of margaritas with the barest of necessities; Nasbaum said most people tend to take on absurd expenses that they fail to realize are unnecessary, even as they discuss the plight of the economy. Brad Trechak of TV Squad called "Margaritaville" a highlight of the season. Mike Fahey of Kotaku said the episode had "a clever little plot". Zac Bissonnette of BloggingStocks said of the episode, "It isn't quite as trenchant as some of the other Wall Street satire that's been making the rounds, but it's definitely worth watching." Carlos Delgado of If magazine said the episode included many excellent moments, including the headless chicken method of making economic decisions, but otherwise felt "Margaritaville" was not as strong as previous episodes like "The Ring". Delgado said, "Maybe I'm too depressed about the current economic situation, who knows, but although "Margaritaville" was well written and poignant, I wasn't bursting out in laughter every two minutes."
because they had received a large amount of positive feedback about the episode from adults and older viewers. Since most Emmy voters are older, they decided "Margaritaville" stood the best chance of winning. Stone joked, "If an Emmy voter were to watch this, they might think the show was smarter than it was, so they might be fooled into voting for us." "Margaritaville" ultimately won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
. It competed against Robot Chicken
, The Simpsons
and American Dad at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
, which was held September 12, 2009.
set and two-disc Blu-ray
set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show Inside xBox.
South Park (season 13)
The 13th season of South Park, an American animated television comedy series, originally aired in the United States on Comedy Central between March 11 and November 18, 2009. The season was headed by the series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who served as executive producers along with Anne...
of the American 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 184th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in the United States on March 25, 2009. The episode is a satire and commentary on the global recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
affecting much of the industrialized world at the time of the episode's broadcast. Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
is portrayed as a Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
-like savior working to save the economy, and Stan
Stan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
spends much of the episode trying to return a personal Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based casual dining American restaurant chain and a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise...
machine.
The episode was written and directed by series co-founder Trey Parker
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
, and was rated TV-MA L in the United States. Parker and Stone long planned to create an episode about the economy and considered making it the season premiere, but decided they needed more time to craft the script, and instead opened the season with "The Ring", a spoof of the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
boy band. In their original idea for an economy episode, Parker and Stone considered having Cartman dress as a superhero who fights the economy. That idea was ultimately scrapped, and elements were transferred to the episode "The Coon
The Coon
"The Coon" is the second episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 183rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 18, 2009...
".
"Margaritaville" reflected Parker and Stone's belief that most Americans view the economy in the same way as religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, in that it is seldom understood but seen as an important, elusive entity. The Margaritaville blender featured in the episode serves as a metaphor for American consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
, as well as the housing bubble
United States housing bubble
The United States housing bubble is an economic bubble affecting many parts of the United States housing market in over half of American states. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and may not yet have hit bottom as of 2011. On December 30, 2008 the...
. The script proved challenging for Parker and Stone, and they did not finish writing it until the night before the episode first aired. Parker and Stone themselves were not entirely pleased with the final product of "Margaritaville", but it received generally positive reviews by television critics.
According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, the episode was seen by 2.77 million households in its original airing, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. "Margaritaville" won the 2009 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
. "Margaritaville" was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
along with the rest of the thirteenth season on March 16, 2010.
Plot
Stan tries to save money by depositing it into the bank but it "disappears" moments after. A recession then hits the nation and South Park. Randy explains to StanStan Marsh
Stanley Randall "Stan" Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
that the economy is failing due to people spending their money on luxuries. Ironically, he continues his tirade while making himself a margarita
Margarita
The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...
in a Margaritaville-brand mixer, the noise of which drowns out his voice. People in South Park are struggling with the recent economic downturn, and many people on the street are castigating those whom they would blame. Cartman is there too, and predictably blames the Jews, claiming they hid the money in a "Jew Cave". Randy convinces everyone to reduce their spending to only "bare essentials" in order to propitiate the economy's anger though defending his own frivilous purchase by saying the essentials include margaritas. His recommended changes make the town resemble first-century Galilee. Kyle
Kyle Broflovski
Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman...
, getting annoyed, responds that the economy is not actually angry with them, and that they should be out spending money. Kyle continues to preach that the economy only exists as a mental construct, and that if they want the economy to be strong, they must have faith in it. Randy and the council, upon hearing this, decide that they need to kill Kyle. 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...
, in his desire to obtain a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a video game for Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and iOS, developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with Rockstar North. It is the thirteenth game in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the very first for Nintendo DS and iOS.-Gameplay:Chinatown Wars has a...
, says that he will deliver Kyle to Randy and his friends in exchange for the game.
In a scene resembling that of the Last Supper
Last Supper
The Last Supper is the final meal that, according to Christian belief, Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. The Last Supper provides the scriptural basis for the Eucharist, also known as "communion" or "the Lord's Supper".The First Epistle to the Corinthians is...
, Kyle and his friends go out for pizza where he laments that he feels they will not be able to get together like this anymore because he thinks one of his friends will betray him. The next day, Kyle sets up a table with a credit card machine in the town and begins "paying everybody's debts" with his American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
Platinum Card. Kyle's mother begs him to stop because he will be in debt for life, but Kyle feels he must to help everybody in the town. The episode ends with a news report giving credit to Barack Obama for the recovery of South Park's economy, rather than Kyle.
As a subplot
Subplot
A subplot is a secondary plot strand that is a supporting side story for any story or the main plot. Subplots may connect to main plots, in either time and place or in thematic significance...
, Stan spends most of the episode trying to return the aforementioned Margaritaville mixer. The trendy retailer Sur La Table
Sur La Table
Sur La Table, Inc. is a privately held American retail company based in Seattle, Washington, that sells kitchenware products, including cookware, cutlery, cooks' tools, small electrics, tabletop and linens, bakeware, glassware and bar, housewares, food and outdoor...
will not accept the return because it was bought on a payment plan. He tries to find out to whom he can return it, each person saying the debt has been packaged and sold to someone else (much like real-life mortgage-backed securities). Eventually he goes all the way to the United States Treasury, where a group of associates "consult the charts" and tell him the mixer is worth $90 trillion. One of the three treasury workers says that another insurance company is failing and asks what they should do. They say they have to "consult the charts" again. Stan follows the men inside. He sees a round lit-up gameshow style board. The men cut off a chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
's head and let the decapitated chicken run on the board while one of them plays Yakety Sax
Yakety Sax
"Yakety Sax" is a piece of music written by James Q. "Spider" Rich and popularized by saxophonist Boots Randolph.The composition includes pieces of assorted fiddle tunes such as "Chicken Reel", and was written for a performance at a venue called The Armory in Hopkinsville, Kentucky...
on a kazoo. The chicken falls on the "bailout!" spot, so that is what the men do. In anger at the ridiculousness of the system, Stan breaks the mixer on the platform by the chicken and walks off.
Production
Trey Parker
Trey Parker is an American animator, screenwriter, director, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of the television series South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short...
. It first aired on March 25, 2009 in the United States on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
. Parker and fellow co-creator Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
said they had long planned to do an episode about the global recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
, and they argued over whether to start the season with an episode about the economy, or an episode mocking the Jonas Brothers
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers are an American boy band. The band gained its popularity from the Disney Channel children's television network. From the shore region of New Jersey, the band consists of three brothers: Paul Kevin Jonas II , Joseph Adam Jonas , and Nicholas Jerry Jonas...
, a boy band who had recently grown in popularity. Stone argued the season premiere should focus on the economy because it was the biggest news item at the time, but Parker felt they needed more time to craft the script, and that the Jonas Brothers would be a funny season opener. Stone ultimately agreed, and later admitted it was the right decision. During an interview a few weeks before the episode aired, Stone said, "That's one of those big things we want to get right. We'll be talking about what kind of social commentary we want to make and do it right."
Parker and Stone originally planned for their economy-related episode to involved Cartman dressing as a superhero named "The Coon" and fighting the recession. Eventually, Cartman would discover the recession stemmed from the sale of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville is the name of a United States-based casual dining American restaurant chain and a chain of stores selling Jimmy Buffett-themed merchandise...
blenders, and he would have to battle singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett
Jimmy Buffett
James William "Jimmy" Buffett is a singer-songwriter, author, entrepreneur, and film producer. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffett's musical hits include "Margaritaville" , and "Come Monday"...
and investor Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
, who would be portrayed as Jimmy's brother. Eventually, the idea was scrapped, and the superhero elements were incorporated into the episode "The Coon
The Coon
"The Coon" is the second episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 183rd overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on March 18, 2009...
", which aired just before "Margaritaville". The opening scene of "The Coon", in which Cartman discussed the poor economic state of the nation and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, were left remnants of the original economy-related idea. Certain elements of the original idea, such as the Margaritaville blenders, were eventually incorporated into "Margaritaville".
As with most South Park episodes, Parker, fellow co-founder Matt Stone
Matt Stone
Matthew Richard "Matt" Stone is an American screenwriter, producer, voice artist, musician and actor, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with creative partner and best friend, Trey Parker....
, and their team created the episode within a week of its broadcast date. The script was not finished until late March 24, the night before the episode aired. "Margaritaville" featured a 70-second shot which panned over several characters speaking about the recession on pedestals before finally settling on Randy wearing robes and preaching about the economy. It was the longest shot in South Park history to that point, although it would be surpassed later in the season by "Dances with Smurfs
Dances with Smurfs
"Dances with Smurfs" is the thirteenth episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park, and the 194th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Comedy Central in the United States on November 11, 2009...
", which featured an 86-second single shot in which a South Park elementary student is murdered while reading the morning announcements.
Within a week of "Margaritaville's" original broadcast date, the online retailer Zazzle
Zazzle
Zazzle is an online retailer that allows users to upload images and create their own merchandise , or buy merchandise created by other users, as well as use images from participating companies...
and South Park Studios, the official South Park website, released t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts based on "Margaritaville", including shirts with Randy dressed in rags saying "Finger pointing gets us nowhere!" and "We must mock the economy no longer!" Other shirts included the finance company executive saying "Ooh, yeah, no, you know what, yeah, no..." and an image of The Last Supper-inspired pizza dinner between Kyle and his friends.
Theme
"Margaritaville" is a satire and commentary on the global recession affecting much of the industrialized world at the time of the episode's broadcast on March 25, 2009. Parker and Stone believed many viewed the economy as an important, elusive entity without truly understanding how it works, and felt it mirrored faith in religion. The duo had difficulty writing the script due to their limited familiarity with religion and Christian history, and they relied heavily on executive producer Anne Garefino for help. In describing the economic elements of the episode, they sought assistance from Stone's father, who works as an economist. The scenes in which Stan explains how his Margaritaville blender was purchased on a payment plan that was eventually combined into securities sold to the banks required particular assistance from Stone's father. Parker said the dialogue proved so difficult, they were working on the script right up until the night before the episode was first broadcast.The Margaritaville blender itself served as a metaphor for consumerism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
and the tendency of Americans to buy luxuries that they do not need. Stone said, "We didn't want to make an episode where it was like, 'Oh, those Wall Street guys took our money.' It was one of those things where we all screwed up and nobody really knows what's going on, but it has something to do with buying shit like Margaritavilles." The Margaritaville also serves as a metaphor for the housing bubble. Parker himself actually owns a Margaritaville, of which he said, "It's pretty stupid because it really is just a blender". Randy's approach to resolving the recession, calling for frugality and stigmatizing spending on luxuries, and the result of causing the quality of life in South Park to deteriorate, is a demonstration of the paradox of thrift
Paradox of thrift
The paradox of thrift is a paradox of economics, popularized by John Maynard Keynes, though it had been stated as early as 1714 in The Fable of the Bees, and similar sentiments date to antiquity...
. Kyle's counter-movement could be broadly interpreted as Keynesian, given Kyle's heavy emphasis on the demand-driven causes of the recession, his assertion that an entire economy is not a personal being and not driven by a moral imperative, and his final act of liquidating the town's bad debts in order to stimulate demand. Stone said the original script included a great deal more philosophy about the economy, but most of it was cut for time, and "we kept just all the funny stuff in".
Cultural references
Margaritaville
"Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. This song was written about a drink in Austin, Texas, and the first huge surge of tourists who descended on Key West almost two decades ago. He wrote...
" is also the name of a popular 1977 song by Jimmy Buffett, who has been the butt of South Park humor in the past. In "Margaritaville", Kyle is portrayed as a Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
-like savior who makes a tremendous sacrifice to save the economy. A dinner he has with his friends is portrayed as the Last Supper, the final meal Jesus had with his Twelve Apostles before his death
Crucifixion of Jesus
The crucifixion of Jesus and his ensuing death is an event that occurred during the 1st century AD. Jesus, who Christians believe is the Son of God as well as the Messiah, was arrested, tried, and sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be scourged, and finally executed on a cross...
. Cartman takes on the role of Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, while some of the South Park residents form a council
Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus
The Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the Canonical Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus before the Jewish Council, or Sanhedrin, following his arrest and prior to his trial before Pontius Pilate...
. Kyle uses a platinum American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
card
Charge card
A charge card is a card that provides an alternative payment to cash when making purchases in which the issuer and the cardholder enter into an agreement that the debt incurred on the charge account will be paid in full and by due date or be subject to severe late fees and restrictions on card...
to pay off the debts of all South Park residents.
Cartman says he wants the soon to be released Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is a video game for Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and iOS, developed by Rockstar Leeds in conjunction with Rockstar North. It is the thirteenth game in the Grand Theft Auto series, and the very first for Nintendo DS and iOS.-Gameplay:Chinatown Wars has a...
game for the handheld game console
Handheld game console
A handheld game console is a lightweight, portable electronic device with a built-in screen, game controls and speakers. Handheld game consoles are run on machines of small size allowing people to carry them and play them at any time or place...
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. The game was released within a week of the original "Margaritaville" broadcast date. Representatives from game developer Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games
Rockstar Games is a major video game developer and publisher based in New York City, owned by Take-Two Interactive following its purchase of UK video game publisher BMG Interactive. The brand is mostly known for Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, L.A...
told video game blog Kotaku
Kotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
they liked the reference, and did not know in advance it would be in the episode.
Reception
Parker and Stone themselves were not entirely pleased with the final result of "Margaritaville". Although they liked the idea, they felt the main storyline involving the economy and the subplot involving Stan and the Margaritaville blender did not come together in the end like the duo originally hoped they would when they started writing the script. Parker said of the episode, "I give the concept on this an A, and the execution like a C-." In its original American broadcast, "Margaritaville" was watched by 2.77 million overall households, according to the Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, making it the most-watched Comedy Central production of the week. The episode received generally positive reviews from television critics. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
said of the episode, "The episode was the most back-handed endorsement imaginable of President Obama's economic bailout plan. Or the most withering dismantling of it. As usual, South Park had it both ways." Tucker also said of Cartman's blaming the Jews for the recession, "Among its many achievements, South Park has exposed anti-Semitism to such relentless ridicule over the years, it deserves some sort of humanitarian award."
Financial writer Roger Nusbaum said the episode was not only "humorous" but provided a decent analysis of the recession. He particularly praised Randy's inclusion of margaritas with the barest of necessities; Nasbaum said most people tend to take on absurd expenses that they fail to realize are unnecessary, even as they discuss the plight of the economy. Brad Trechak of TV Squad called "Margaritaville" a highlight of the season. Mike Fahey of Kotaku said the episode had "a clever little plot". Zac Bissonnette of BloggingStocks said of the episode, "It isn't quite as trenchant as some of the other Wall Street satire that's been making the rounds, but it's definitely worth watching." Carlos Delgado of If magazine said the episode included many excellent moments, including the headless chicken method of making economic decisions, but otherwise felt "Margaritaville" was not as strong as previous episodes like "The Ring". Delgado said, "Maybe I'm too depressed about the current economic situation, who knows, but although "Margaritaville" was well written and poignant, I wasn't bursting out in laughter every two minutes."
Emmy Award
Parker and Stone decided to submit "Margaritaville" for an Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
because they had received a large amount of positive feedback about the episode from adults and older viewers. Since most Emmy voters are older, they decided "Margaritaville" stood the best chance of winning. Stone joked, "If an Emmy voter were to watch this, they might think the show was smarter than it was, so they might be fooled into voting for us." "Margaritaville" ultimately won the 2009 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for Programming Less Than One Hour
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming less than One Hour)
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program is a Creative Arts Emmy Award which is given annually to an animated series which is judged to have been the best...
. It competed against Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken
Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and American Dad at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
61st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on September 20, 2009. CBS broadcast the Primetime event and E! the Creative Arts event; both take place at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The nominations for the Awards were announced on July 16....
, which was held September 12, 2009.
Home release
"Margaritaville", along with the thirteen other episodes from South Parks thirteenth season, were released on a three-disc DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set and two-disc Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
set in the United States on March 16, 2010. The sets included brief audio commentaries by Parker and Stone for each episode, a collection of deleted scenes, and a special mini-feature Inside Xbox: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour of South Park Studios, which discussed the process behind animating the show Inside xBox.
External links
- "Margaritaville" Full episode at South Park Studios
- "Margaritaville" Episode guide at South Park Studios