"The Death Camp of Tolerance" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:File:614 image 02.jpg|250px]] | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 93 | ||||||
| Production no. | 614 | ||||||
| Original airdate | November 20, 2002 | ||||||
| |||||||
| List of all South Park episodes | |||||||
"The Death Camp of Tolerance" is episode 614 of the Comedy Central series South Park. It was originally broadcast on November 20, 2002.
Plot
In this episode, Mr. Garrison is promoted from being the kindergarten teacher to the fourth grade teacher, after having been previously demoted for admitting to being a homosexual. However, realizing that getting fired could allow him to sue the school for millions, he decides, along with his S&M partner, Mr. Slave to do outrageous acts in the classroom, culminating with performing gerbilling with the class pet, Lemmiwinks.
The children's parents, hearing the children complain about their gay teacher, feel they are intolerant and send them to the "Museum of Tolerance", and then a Auschwitz-like Tolerance "Camp" which uses arts and crafts, strict tactics, and painful labor to teach children tolerance (the story pays homage to Schindler's List). The only person who understands the childern is Chef and he himself of sent to a tolerance seminar when he told Principal Victoria.Back at school, Mr. Garrison is set to receive the "Courageous Teacher Award" for overcoming adversity. Frustrated that he has not been fired, he doubles his efforts. Meanwhile, Lemmiwinks traverses the regions of Mr. Slave's digestive system, receiving advice from three animal spirits who have been killed while trying to escape (a Frog King, a Sparrow Prince and a Catata Fish respectively). (They sing a The Ballad of Lemmiwinks, a parody of the title song from The Hobbit, along with other songs from the movie.)
At the awards ceremony, Mr. Garrison appears with his lover in an extremely stereotypical and flamboyant gay manner, and when people continue to call him "courageous" for his actions he finally breaks down and screams at them, telling them that tolerance of something one hates is different from acceptance of it as good, and that he should not be allowed to teach the way he does. Revealing his plan to get money, Principal Victoria deems him "intolerant of his own behavior". The parents apologize to their now-malnourished and emaciated kids, who have been released from Tolerance Camp, and despite the children's attempts to inform their parents of Garrison's behavior throughout the episode, the parents tell them that they should have told their parents about Mr. Garrison, and about how much they "suffered" when their children were in the camp, ignorant as usual to their obvious physical trauma.
Mr. Slave and Mr. Garrison are put into the camp, as per Principal Victoria's analysis of Garrison's "intolerance", and Mr. Slave thinks of the horrible torture as "kind of fun". He suddenly coughs up Lemmiwinks, who has freed the spirits of other animals who got killed inside Mr. Slave's body. They appear to Lemmiwinks, and crown him the Gerbil King. Lemmiwinks exits the scene with the Ballad of Lemmiwinks playing over the credits.
Continuity
When The Boys come to their parents saying that Mr Garrison was the 3rd grade teacher, it's a reference to the events happened until the episode Cartman Joins NAMBLA.
Notes
- This is the first appearance of Mr. Slave, Mr. Garrison's boyfriend and classroom assistant.
- It should be noted that Mr. Garrison would obviously know that Kenny is dead because he hosted his funeral.
- When Mr. Garrison puts Lemmiwinks the gerbil up Mr. Slave's ass, it is a reference to the urban legend about Richard Gere sticking a gerbil up his ass for sexual pleasure.
- The multiple bent, three-bladed fans inside the tolerance camp are reminiscent of Swastikas.