Cartman Joins NAMBLA

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“Cartman Joins NAMBLA”
South Park episode
Cartman becomes the NAMBLA poster child.
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 53
Written by	Trey Parker
Directed by	Eric Stough
Production no.	406
Original airdate	June 21, 2000
Season 4 episodes
South Park - Season 4 April 5, 2000 – December 20, 2000
Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000 The Tooth Fairy Tats 2000 Quintuplets 2000 Timmy 2000 Pip Cartman Joins NAMBLA Cherokee Hair Tampons Chef Goes Nanners Something You Can Do with Your Finger Do the Handicapped Go to Hell? Probably 4th Grade Trapper Keeper Helen Keller! The Musical Fat Camp The Wacky Molestation Adventure A Very Crappy Christmas

← Season 3	Season 5 →
List of South Park episodes

"Cartman Joins NAMBLA" is episode 406 (#53) of South Park. It originally aired on June 21, 2000.

1 Synopsis
2 Incidental music
3 Censorship
4 Pop culture references

[edit] Synopsis

Cartman decides he is too mature to be with Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, so he starts to look for older male friends in an Internet chat room. He stumbles upon the topic "Men Who Like Young Boys" and talks to some eager men who Cartman believes want to be friends with him. In reality, they are sexually attracted to young boys.

Meanwhile, Kenny's mom is trying for another baby. Kenny doesn't like the idea, so, while playing catch with his father, throws the ball at his dad's testicles, shattering his left testicle. Through doing this Kenny hopes to render his father infertile. The next day Cartman meets Tony316, a pedophile, who is arrested for soliciting sex from a minor. The next day, to Cartman's surprise, "Mr. Hammerhead" turns out to be Mr. Garrison who is also arrested (this is part one of a three-part mini-arc, including Cherokee Hair Tampons and 4th Grade, in which Mr. Garrison comes to terms with his homosexuality). Cartman, being too naïve to know what's really going on, concludes that Stan and Kyle are behind this.

Despite Kenny's effort, his mother gets pregnant anyway (and at the hospital confirming this, his father gets his shattered left testicle fixed). Kenny adds abortion pills in his mom's vodka, but his dad accidentally drinks it instead and gets heavy diarrhea and vomits. After seeing a commercial for an amusement park ride, (The John Denver Experience) informing that pregnant women should not ride, he goes with his parents where Kenny's dad's nose is broken. Finally, tired of his failed attempts, Kenny chases his mom through the town with a plunger.

Dr. Mephisto advises Cartman to join an organization known as NAMBLA, saying "you look about right." Cartman joins and becomes poster boy for the North American Man/Boy Love Association, and a banquet is thrown in his honor with all the boys in town invited. Cartman is supposed to invite all the boys, but in revenge, disallows Stan and Kyle.

The police raid a meeting of Dr. Mephisto's organization, but it is a mistake (this group is the National Association of Marlon Brando Look Alikes, who are not affiliated with the North American Man/Boy Love Association). They rush to stop the other NAMBLA's banquet.

All the boys in town are there (including Stan and Kyle, who invited themselves in); however, when the men take them to their hotel rooms, the boys realize what it really is, and a chase ensues. The other NAMBLA comes and so do the cops. Soon even Kenny comes chasing his mother and Mr. McCormick chasing them. The NAMBLA men and Mr. McCormick finally end up in a dark room, and they "make love to him in the ass" thinking he's a young boy. In the end, all of the NAMBLA people (except for Mephisto and his organization) are arrested. Cartman then apologizes to his friends, saying that they will 'blossom into maturity someday', hoping that it doesn't take too long. The leader of NAMBLA gives a touching speech, saying that America is all about the freedom to be whatever you want to be, be it black, gay, or a pedophile. Kyle rebuts this saying, "Dude. You have sex with children!"

Kenny is then run over by the ambulance taking his father to the hospital. Afterwards, Mrs. McCormick gives birth to an identical child they name Kenny. Mr. McCormick claims this is the 50th time such has happened, but Mrs. McCormick corrects him: it is actually the 52nd time (a humorous explanation of Kenny's deaths and reappearances between the 53 episodes aired at the time).

[edit] Incidental music

The song playing during the chase scene is "Page d'écriture" by Yves Montand.
The music playing during the "North Park Funland" commercial is the same music from the commercials for "Wild Wacky Action Bike" and "Alabama Man" on the season 3 episode, Chinpokomon. Cartman took over the same theme park in Cartmanland, a future episode.

[edit] Censorship

The British satellite channel Sky One has banned this episode from showing due to the strong pedophilia references in the main plot (and the subplot being centered on Kenny killing his mom's unborn child). The digital channel Paramount Comedy Channel and terrestrial channel Channel 4, however, have aired this episode and it does appear on the UK DVD release of South Park's fourth season.
The scenes of Stuart McCormick repeatedly vomiting and defecating into a toilet and garbage can (in addition to blowing his nose from an excessive nosebleed after riding the John Denver Experience) were removed for syndication.

[edit] Pop culture references

The dream that Kenny has is a spoof of the cult classic "It's Alive".
The chase through the hallway is reminiscent of those on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and other shows to use the same gag, such as Josie and the Pussycats and The Clue Club).
The hallway scene also references the Yellow Submarine with the surreal objects crossing from one door to another.
Cartman plays an AIDS card when playing a board game in the beginning of the episode, thus giving Kyle AIDS within the game. Cartman really does give Kyle AIDS in the 12th season's Tonsil Trouble. It should be noted this is not the only time Cartman has wished AIDS upon Kyle.
NAMBLA is not a fictional group. They have been the subject of numerous controversies.
The ride that Kenny and his family go on is the John Denver Experience, and shows a plane-like platform being violently smashed. This is a reference to the folk singer's death in a plane crash on the Pacific coast.