South Park takes on Asperger's Syndrome

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I thought it was less about autism and more about cynicism and how things can seem shittier than they really are when you're depressed even though things may, indeed, really be sh***y.

Well, at least it didn't do too much damage, then. Not like the Glee episode. I'm not a fan of SP but I understand why others like it.

I was noticing some things only people with aspergers or people who know about it would get. Like the group talking about aliens. That's taken from the idea that we feel like we're on the wrong planet sometimes as if i need to say that considering the name of the site. =p

I suppose you could be right about that part being influenced by Aspies' common experiences, but that's what I was referring to when I was saying there was a subtle nod to the movie They Live. It's well established that Matt and Trey have seen that particular movie-- the titular scene in the episode "Cripple Fight" was a shot-for-shot parody of the fight scene in the movie, between Roddy Piper and Frank Armitage. The whole plot of the movie revolves around aliens who disguise themselves as the most powerful and influential people among us, and project an illusion of the world into people's minds which keeps human beings in a state of unconscious enslavement. Stan's ability to see things for what they are is reminiscent of Neo's sight in The Matrix, of course, but also the sunglasses in They Live, which reveal the aliens for what they really are, and reveal advertisements and mass media as subliminal messages that say things like "Obey" and "Consume".

And they could have easily put that in there for both reasons. SP is a lot smarter than it sometimes comes off as.

I finally got around to watching this episode and I think that was the idea I got from it too. Especially when they were walking around that Asperger's Research Center and everyone was acting more like they were in a crazy house. That's when I laughed and realized they don't know what the hell they're doing at all. Considering that the characters think that AS is made up, that's probably how they would fake it.

I'm not into South Park, but I watched it just for that episode. My dad's like, "Do you really make burgers like that?"

Hey , they were selling great!

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

A lot of you are saying that AS people are not like they portrayed on SP.

I disagree. I think a lot of people on the spectrum do things like that.
or at least we do weird things...we are weird to them, they are just showing it like they see it,

no ones here has ever peed in public?

No one's seen people do things like that with their farts?

none of you acted out of control like they did?...

I know I've had my "ret*d" moments.

This seems appropriate:

http://i.imgur.com/7S39Z.png

I haven't watched it yet, but my brother Gabriel has watched it.
He said it makes fun of the ignorance surrounding Asperger's and Autism.
I'll have to for myself.

In the end, the episode is more about the despair of a life without meaning, once you see behind the curtain and realize that there's really no point to it all. Stan takes up drinking to cope with the darkness.

Recent studies indicate that people have a "religion center" in their brain which I suspect is evolution's way of keeping large-brained mammals from checking out due to the darkness.

Once Stan has kids, of course he'll be obsessed with them, and they'll distract him from the despair, until he's in old age and they no longer need him.

I just watched this and I got to say they held back. No "poor me" or "I have this now give me money" They could have had Cartman trying to get AS or talk Butters into thinking he had it. Have thw whole town have AS or nothing but a conspiracy theory that ended with the big medicine making up AS so they could treat it. I could have done with a little less ass jokes. What did hit home was the"like no real friends would"

I saw some of this episode...I hope to see the ending of this sometime.

I've peed in the forest but everyone does that when there are no restrooms nearby.

Eric always makes fun of everyone. that's his lifetime show career thing. but yeah who wouldn't want to make fun of asperger syndrome just for fun. i think people need to understand us. so maybe Eric Cartman should do that. but that's up to the developers of south park.