South Park: the End of Obesity Review
Everyone, we have been robbed of seeing a skinny Cartman. And according to South Park, we have the American Healthcare System to blame for it.
In all seriousness, many American’s agree that their country’s healthcare system needs an overhaul. The sheer amount of red tape people could face to get the drugs they need to survive can reach nightmare levels. If they’re not insured, they have to pay out of pocket. Even if they are, the meds they need can get taken by those who want them for pettier reasons, like vanity. As a result, only the wealthy can afford to spend money on potential weight-loss drugs like Ozempic when they don’t need it. Those who can’t afford it? According to South Park’s newest special, ‘The end of obesity’, they get Lizzo and her upbeat messages about body positivity.
Before this, I didn’t know who Lizzo was, but I still laughed at South Park’s dismissal of her and America’s healthcare system.
Cartman Can’t Get the Drugs to Become Skinny Cartman
After a visit to his Doctor reaffirms how serious his weight problem is, Cartman learns about a new form of weight-loss drug called Ozempic. Initially made for those with diabetes, the drug and others like it have gone viral thanks to people online showing it can be used for weight loss. For someone who’s always hated being called fat, this sounds like a dream come true for Cartman. However, there’s a catch: since he’s (somehow) not diabetic, his insurance won’t cover it. And since his Mom can’t afford it out of pocket, he’s stuck with the poor man’s Ozempic. In other words, the useless spiel of “having more willpower,” “body positivity,” and listening to Lizzo’s music.
That last one is shown to be so bad, people start pooping out of their ears later in the special.
Even if he’s only interested in losing weight so he can insult people and not get clap-backs for being fat (which is hilarious), I couldn’t help but feel bad for Cartman. Many people in the US are in Cartman’s shoes: they want to lose weight but have no idea how to do it. Well-intentioned people like Kyle, who takes pity on Cartman when he sees how genuinely upset he is, say it’s a matter of willpower and eating right. While they have a point, South Park makes a counterpoint: America’s healthcare system makes it really hard.
No Punches Pulled on the American Healthcare System
Exhibit A, we have the healthcare system itself. Kyle, Butters, and Cartman try and file claims with Cartman’s insurance to get him his medicine, but as the following montage shows, willpower isn’t always enough.
It’s funny and sad how accurate this must feel to many people. But they’re just one part of the web of conspiracy that South Park weaves to demonstrate why obesity remains such a problem in America. The second part is in the form of the companies that sell sugary cereals and junk foods, all of whom are represented by the actual cereal mascots. Tony the Tiger, the Coco-Coco Puffs bird, the Trix Rabbit, and more work together as part of a mafia gang determined to keep America hooked on their most significant drug: sugar. And when the boys’ dare to try and make their own, affordable weight-loss drug, they go to India and destroy the factory producing the main ingredient. It would be horrifying to watch if it weren’t for the fact that cartoon mascots were doing this.
Though not as horrifying as seeing a bunch of Moms abuse Ozempic.
The Moms of South Park Start Baring their Midriffs When no one Asked
In the last part of the web of problems determined to keep Cartman from getting the meds he needs, we’ve got the moms of South Park…and Randy. The Moms of South Park have taken to abusing Ozempic as an easy way to lose weight and get the hot-mom bod that all the guys will stare at. And the fact that they constantly walk around with midriff-baring crop tops makes it clear to everyone that they’re doing this for all the wrong reasons. They’re a clever stand-in for everyone who uses drugs meant to save lives for petty reasons such as their vanity. And soon enough, Randy finds himself hooked on them.
There’s the irony if you’re wondering how this blows up in Randy’s face. Because Ozempic is meant to be an inherently good drug, he starts considering them wrong because they don’t make him crave more or mess up his body. He gets roped into the Moms attempts to steal the drugs, bringing the entire unique together with an epic car chase straight out of Mad Max.
No One Wins in the American Healthcare System
By the time the dust settles, nothing’s changed for South Park. Cartman remains as fat as ever (but he still decides to insult everyone, anyway), the Mom’s are without their fix, and Randy goes back to beer and weed. The only ones that do come out on top are the American Healthcare System, which maintains its status quo. In other words, nobody wins.
South Park has tackled various topical issues over the decades, and whenever they do, they usually have something to say about them. In this case, they didn’t pull any punches regarding how America’s healthcare works. And while this means that skinny Cartman remains only a dream, I still loved every minute of this special. The nightmare that was the system. The moms absuing Ozempic to the point of robbing pharmacies. And the junk food mascots running the sugar industry like mafiosos? That was the cherry on top. This might have been the best South Park has given us in a while! Way to make fun of the AHS (American Healthcare System) for everyone, South Park!
And also Lizzo, I guess.
