The biggest reason is his mom enabling his behavior and this was most obvious in the episode with Caesar Milan where he managed to train Cartman into being a decent person. However the second Caesar left, she went back to her old ways of enabling him and recreated the monster.
The relationship between Cartman and Liane is a phenomena called “emotional incest”. Liane’s self-esteem is so low that she’s convinced that the only person who will ever be close to her is her son. She pleasures him with food and keeps him as pampered and comfortable as possible, all while ensuring that he can never grow up, take care of himself and eventually leave her. She respects none of his boundaries and talks to him like he’s 3, which visibly annoys him in early eps like Volcano and Roger Ebert Should Lay Off The Fatty Foods. In the very first interaction between the two, Cartman is actively RESISTING the gross food she keeps feeding him. She manages to tempt him into it anyway. Being a mother is the only fulfilling thing Liane has in her life, and if Cartman ever developed into something other than a giant, dependant piece of crap, he’d establish boundaries and eventually develop into something other than her son. At the end of Tsst, reformed Cartman is off-put and embarrassed by how overly affectionate she is. He doesn’t need to be treated that way, but she insists on doing it for her own emotional reasons. It’s a wildly exaggerated cartoon, but these exact dynamics are so common in real-life, especially in massively overweight children from broken families. Just as Cartman convinces himself he’s an awesome, respected person, people like Liane convince themselves that they’re wonderful mothers. They’re super doting and affectionate and unconditionally provide, even if it means that they’re irreparably harming their kids.
This is another thing that marks South Park as superior to Family Guy; this fandom is generally more open to deconstruction and information. If this were a Family Guy video, people would be telling you to shut up and that it's just a cartoon, almost like they're trying to stifle anything that isn't blind praise of the show to create an echo chamber.
@@fablethewolf825 dude I hate to break it to you but I'm here to say that there's a stupid f****** idea, he's eight. they tried to jam that into like one episode because it was hot in the news. and yeah I guess the difference between people who like South Park and really f****** hate Family Guy and people who like Family Guy is that South Park fans jerk themselves off and take themselves super seriously and family guy fans point and laugh. this reminds me of the time I read a comment on an episode of Rick and Morty **insert Rick and Morty iq quote as cutaway gag**
Leanne tries to get a job in the last season to have a separate private life and Cartman ruins it, she tries to get a personal life Ironically in the episode that you're referencing that actually tries to make that point, she's literally trying to hire a nanny in the Cesar Millan episode, why would she even do that if she needs him to solely depend on her? she asks him to make his own food and does various other stuff there are just a couple instances where 'friends of Dennis Prager' Matt and Trey are demonizing single mothers on purpose because it was on the hot thing to do at the time and it's a topical, not narrative based, show. there's only this much lore because it's been 25 years
@@FrancisR420 It wasn't just about mocking single mothers, it's because Liane was based on, and even named after, Trey's college girlfriend who cheated on him. That's why for the first few seasons they gave her every possible negative trait like making her racist and homophobic, putting her on the cover of Crack Whore magazine, and it's why she's always portrayed as a "slut". The reason they chilled out with the insulting jokes later and started making her act like an actual parent is because he finally got over it.
@@FrancisR420 I think the video says it best then me,but she also in the final of the episode goes back and undo all the good work and she is jusitng receiving what she created in the other episode. What i think you are mising is taking the words of subsonic as that Liene is dong all 100% concious, and ignoring the fact that is quite common that we project things in relaitonships without realizing it
Reminder He wanted to go to the past to kill Kyle and Stan as children But since he didn't want to take the blame He tried to manipulate Clyde into doing it He didn't change Not at all
About his actions in post covid, his wife said that "ever since they went to south park he began acting differently". this means we can probably guess that his friends/south park itself has a huge negative effect on him (and his kids).
I think if Chef was still in the show and had a different voice actor Cartman would have been a little bit less evil and manipulated than he is now. Chef was the closest person to be like a father to Cartman even as a father figure. To be honest Chef was more of a good father/father figure to Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and even Butters than their actual fathers
"South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" was the only theatrically released film in the series' franchise to have the involvement of Mary Kay Bergman and Isaac Hayes before their deaths in 1999 and 2008 respectively.
to add to this, Chef was the only adult that Cartman really respected. He never ripped on him or seen him as a threat or a future victim of some sort I believe. I honestly think if Chef was still an active character, Cartman could’ve turned out different
The ending of "Tsst" really made me think. I think Liane is spoiling Cartman to the point he is because he's the only one left in her life and she's scared of losing him.
I think that's also true. I also feel like there's a bit of a cycle where Eric is such a rotten kid because Liane spoils him so much because she's afraid of losing him and being alone...but part of why he's all she has is likely because he's such a rotten kid that not many people want to be a long-term part of Liane's life, and even if someone did try to get close to her, I wouldn't be surprised if Cartman...got rid of them someone, because he's become so co-dependent on his mother that he goes to extreme measures to keep her from having basically any life outside of him.
South Park is a really interesting show because of how it doesn’t take itself seriously at all, but how well it represents certain issues and people. Eric Cartman is unironically the most realistic cartoon narcissist I’ve ever seen.
I blame his mother. She enabled his behavior & her sleeping around had a negative effect on him. Him not having a positive role model in his life makes it even worse.
People excuse his mom a lot , but he could’ve changed or atleast be decent if she raised him right . And tbh her loosing the house bc of Eric’s behavior was her facing the muse
Cartman is a victim of emotional incest. But that's the only thing he's a victim of. The bigger problem is, he's a sociopath, so rather than internalize that damage or seek to mitigate it, he seeks to inflict it on others.
He's less of a sociopath and more of a narcissist. A sociopath lacks empathy but it doesn't make them malicious, a narcissist has impaired empathy much like a spoiled child that never grew up. In both the dog whisperer episode and the alternate future, he's shown to have the capacity for growth and maturity but is stifled
@@CyberdarkHellKaiser I was gonna ask if he couldn't be both but then I remembered just how much he loves cats enough to hide them in his attic Anne Frank style.
@@Parasolhyena yea that one scene with the cats actually disqualified him from being classified as a sociopath or psychopath Since lack of empathy is a trait that is absolutely required for that
Wisecrack has done a few thoughts on cartman and the best way to describe him ive found is "post ideology supremacist" basically cartman does not believe in anything but himself, the episode "ginger kids" is a good example of this going from hate speech against gingers -then for gingers- then for peace, just depending on whats better for him at the moment
The ending of “Post Covid” isn’t accurate for Cartman at all. Cartman is too smart and resourceful to end that way. He would be a disgraced politician or disgraced televangelist.
I disagree, he is only smart and resourceful when motivated. I could totally see a scenario where he spirals out of control and can't motivate himself enough to be smart or resourceful.
@@thomashernandez1004 even when Cartman is at his lowest, he jumps right back on top. Maybe alcohol changed that for him but I picture Cartman in the future being arrested and his compound raised by the FBI for stolen documents
It would be enough if he was still around. Sadly, he isn´t. Although in the south park universe, they could just bring him back. And I would be in favor of that.
A lot of people attribute Scott Tenorman Must Die with his character development, birthing the Cartman we know today, but I’d like to argue that it was actually Cherokee Hair Tampons that should be credited with this, not the Scott Tenorman episode. THAT was the first episode where you can recognize and see modern Eric Cartman. The episodes between these two were also sprinkled with classic Cartman behavior, but none before Cherokee Hair Tampons, so I’d very much say that it’s that episode that deserves that credit. Scott Tenorman Must Die was just extreme on the list of things he’s done both around that time and up to that point. He’s done far far far worse after.
Refusing to give your kidney to save your friend's life out of sheer spite is a really terrible thing to do. Kenny was also pretty terrible in that episode. He leaves his friend Stan crying for Kyle because nobody ever cares when he dies. He's not wrong, but Kyle isn't immortal like him. Kenny even says Kyle's illness is "Not that fucking serious." Fuck you, Kenny!!
@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan Don’t worry, I’ll think of them for you. Several attempts of genocide, successful attempts of genocide, sexual assault, and mass voter fraud just to name a few. You need to watch more South Park.
Any analysis of a character like Cartman is going to be inherently inconsistent because of how long South Park has been running. Some episodes portray him simply as a troublemaker, some as a narcissist, some as a unfixable psychopath. I mean, Wendy went from being a crazed yandere after Stan in S1 who killed people to get to him, to being the sensible soft spoken voice of reason and progress in later seasons.
Well, him not discriminating against the disabled isn't entirely true. He did think he would win the special Olympics just by not being disabled, ignoring his terrible health. It's even implied that he finds disabled people to be humorous.
His treatment of disabled individuals is very different from his treatment of Jews and other groups he isn't a part of, though. It's not really discrimination but rather a failed attempt at exploitation out of ignorance. He's usually driven by his aversion towards groups of people but when it comes to the disabled, he just sees the easy money.
True and in the game the fractured butthole he insults Timmy as a stupid cripple in a wheelchair which Timmy hits back so sweet at least I'm not a fat little phone stealer nice giving Timmy a voice there Parker and stone.
- Counting Butters as part of "The Boys" ✔️ - Using Mr. Krabs as example of Flanderization ✔️ - Viewing Cartman as a tragic figure who wasn't born as a hellspawn, but rather became one throw years of bad upbringing and abuse ✔️✔️ But seriously, I highly agree on your opinion on Cartman, especially parts about his friends being part of the reason why he's so evil. That's kinda why I often find Kyle to be a huge hypocrite, rather then good hearted person. Of course, Cartman is a psycopath and attention seeker who would do anything to stay relevant in any way or form. Kyle on the other hand is constantly correcting him, how he shouldn't judge or make fun of other people based on their appearance and origin, while Kyle was doing the exact same thing in the earlier seasons, calling Cartman fat, even tho Cartman expressed huge grudge towards it.
Well except Kenny, I mean hell he made that kid cry because he ate the skin off all the kfc and he still didn't call him fat. Well that and the fact they were still friends in the good future.
Never thought it was up for discussion. Butters is without a doubt one of the boys. It bothers me whenever I see South Park merch, only the original 4 boys are featured. There isn’t much out there with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Butters all together.
I actually really relate to Cartman…can someone please tell me if that’s a red flag or if that’s just because we both had a tough childhood/rough things pushed on towards us??
I love how Cartman’s mom stood up for herself in the later season and after Cartman sell their own house. His mom was over it and doesn’t feed into Cartman’s lies and tricks anymore which is awesome and funny at the same time.
Cartman’s evil primarily comes from his own personality as well as his mom’s enabling And probably whatever the black goo inside him is Also I think there was an episode where Cartman insulted the disabled. The special Olympics where he believed he could make some easy money by faking a disability
@@user-nm1lx8qb3u In the episode with Cesar Millan, there is a scene where Millan's training begins to change Cartman's behavior (he tries to murder his mom in her sleep but hesistates) and in a parody of a demon possession/exorcism Cartman begins to vomit out black goo, presumably to Purge himself of the evil within him.
The "big boned" thing was making fun of that the phrase was commonly used by parents of overweight children to explain or excuse their child's weight being unhealthy. It fell out of favor because it was made fun of on South Park and was also made fun of in Harry Potter, as it is something Petunia says about Dursley. The joke is that the parent is naive or looking for something to blame on their child's weight other than themselves.
Interesting thought: One of the people that Cartman will hang out with one on one is often Butters. Yes, taking into account that Cartman knows Butters is a sweetheart and is super easy to manipulate, as well as one of the few kids that will give Cartman the benefit of a doubt, but while Cartman manipulates him...He doesn't outwardly pick on him. At least as much as Kyle, Wendy, Token, etc. Look at Butters' dad. One of the worst dads in the show. So maybe it's easier for him to be around Butters because, well, at least he doesn't have a great dad. Maybe I'm reading too much into things.
He constantly picks on Butters every chance he gets. He uses him as a scapegoat when his plans fail. He tries to put things in his mouth. I'd say the verbal and physical abuse Butters suffers is way worse than most anything else in the show, aside from Kenny repeatedly dying.
i kinda disagree here, there was TONS of things cartman did to butters that was just as bad if not worse than more of his other antics cartman locked butters away making him think the world has ended when he found out butters was going to kyle's b-day party at casa bonita and was only able to go by hiding him away all of awesom-o was a prank gone wrong if i remember right a few episodes (and the games) had cartman ether think/wish, attempt or actually do sexual abusive actions onto butters the only difference is kyle fights back, butters takes it and even forgets it most of the time, he's just the perfect target to cartman's abuse
also thank you for pointing out his friends because I also find it interesting how the boys play a role the best example is smug alert when kyle moves away cartmen are happy but when stan points out is life will be empty and hollow, and then cartmen go out of his way to save him and not take the credit.
Does anyone remember that Tourettes episode where Cartman admitted he was sexually abused by his cousin, well I always thought believed that event could have made Cartman more prone to his messed up ways. Heck, the sudden way that Cartman becomes a Rabbi in the future could make sense with this in mind since some people use religion as a way to cope and process their abuse.
Honestly I feel sorry for Cartman and his family. It’s the only time where Cartman isn’t an asshole and actually learns from his past so he can become a better person.🐱
Very nice look into Eric Cartman's character and why he is so evil, I see there being many reasons: Eric's mom, Lianne, spoiled him rotten and would make excuses for him (like him being "big boned", not fat in her eyes), later seasons thankfully have had her actually stand up to him. But she's sadly become co-dependant on him so she still feeds into some of his worst vices and impulses. Eric is a sociopath, Eric started out as a spoiled, selfish, dim-witted kid, but the Scott Tenorman incident pushed him over the edge and revealed the true monster inside. Eric has become more intelligent over time, but also alot more unhinged and vile, as the world around him as changed, a world he does not like. Eric makes for a good writing tool for Matt and Trey, whenever someone problematic or controversial happens in society, Eric is more likely than not going to have an opinion on it. Often the most controversial and problematic opinion possible. So Eric makes a helpful stand-in to represent the side Matt and Trey most strongly disagree with. I wouldn't say Eric was flanderised, he was always a selfish, mean, cruel kid, but he lacked the intellect to truly exploit it. Eric was never a deep, multi-faceted kid, over time he's become more faceted if anything. His evil was just a byproduct of fleshing out his character. All that said I never noticed how toxic Eric's friends really were, but those clips put it into perspective that, they are bad friends to him. Not undeserved, but they don't help him to better himself.
Eric literally even became an SJW for a while despite usually being a racist sexist bully. Maybe to reflect their view that racist sexist bullies often hide behind social justice and find in that a place where they can bully others and still be socially acceptable.
I see the Aspergers take as more of showing how the WORLD treats it as not real. Stan is shown to struggle still, even at the end of the episode, and it’s really shown that his experience is separate from the norm of society. Honestly the fact Stan is now canonically an alcoholic to cope with living is devastating…
@@nidohime6233 Right off the bat in Season 1 Episode 5, Cartman mentions how his mom humiliated him in such a way. And there's other examples that give hints to past experiences like this.
The Tourettes episode, when Cartman starts having real vocal tics and confesses stuff unwillingly. He mentions a cousin making him do something I'm not repeating. Just gave you the episode so go look yourself.
Two Things: 1. One of the earliest moments of Cartman in the series is when he's watching news coverage of a little girl who survived some traumatic incident. She says something to the effect of, "We were mostly scared... Mostly..." Cartman repeats that line then and there, alone, rehearsing it. Throughout the season, he would keep turning to that "Mostly" phrase any time he wanted to make things sound more dramatic or serious. 2. You mention that Cartman, ultimately, might just need someone who doesn't give up on him and is firm with him. I think the reason why he likes Kyle most (and therefore gives him most of his, usually negative, attention) is because Kyle is always the first person to challenge him and try to instill some sense of morality into him. If it weren't for the fact that Cartman viewed their relationship as equals, Kyle would be exactly the kind of positive male influence that he needed in his life.
Cartman is this way for a few reasons. Partially his mom plays a HUGE part in his insane, inhumane behavior. He has no father figure and his friends hate him.
The primary reason Cartman is so terrible, he acts as the mouthpiece for "wrong". Every time Mat and Trey want to voice someone who's obviously wrong and holding a terrible opinion, they put those words in Cartman's mouth. They sometimes do this with Garrison or Randy instead.
To be fair Cartmen would spend 40 years just to screw with Kyle. Kyles not wrong. He has shown as a child he would go very far to perform one of his schemes so this wouldn't be out of character at all.
The most insane of people wouldn’t spend 40 years doing that. Infact, it would be more of a Kyle victory, since Kyle managed to stay in his mind for 40 years. Cartmen wouldn’t want Kyle to win in that regard, I would think
I wouldn’t say not having a dad is the main problem as when people say that not having a dad is the problem what they mean is there is no one to put the foot down and be the disciplinarian which is something Liane certainly lacks.
I've been longing for a psychological analysis video on Eric Cartman for a while now. Thank you for being one of the few who's made one to better understand if he was truly born evil or not and if such a child like him would ever exist irl.
Oh, it'd be curious to also see your take on Kenny Cause he came a loooong way from "pervert-kid who dies all the time" to "caring brother with a heroic figure as alter-ego"
He is growing up to be a narcissist. Cartman definitely does not act like a real life psychopath. Psychopaths are extremely callous not just towards others but they basically don't feel anything. Cartman still gets offended frequently and is always angry just like narcissists.
Plus he HAS shown he does care about certain things, like when he tried hiding those cats in his attic and took care of them. If he was pure psychopath, he wouldn't have given a shit. And even though most of the time he uses his friends when it's convenient for himself, he has shown to actually help them/ even save them at certain times when he could easily have just let them die. He saved Kyle's life more than once in the series, even though he 'hates' him. Cartman is narcissistic for sure, but not pure psychopath i think.
in the video they actually claimed cartman was a sociopath (which I don’t think he’s that at all) also sociopath is a pop culture term that falls under aspd but there seems to be a difference between the two. Not everyone who was diagnosed antisocial personality disorder falls under the definition of sociopath it appears. I do believe cartman has antisocial personality disorder though as traits like up with the dsm as far as I’m aware but I think it coincides with narcissistic personality disorder as well rather than him being a sociopath or psychopath From what I’ve seen cartman does have narcissistic personality disorder traits. I’m not a psychologist though. I’ve just taken interest to the topic of sociopaths. So I am likely to be wrong but i really don’t think Cartman is a sociopath. I looked some things up and it doesn’t seem to be a diagnosis same as how sociopath and psychopath aren’t but there’s a term called Malignant narcissist that I think fits Cartman.
The way I looked at Cartman's "happy ending" future was that the only way Cartman is happy and content is if everyone else is miserable even if he isn't the direct cause of their misery, you know like the psychopath he is. So I didn't feel bad about him loosing this future, especially because of ALL he has done. I only wish that instead of making him a bum, they would make him a scheming yet miserable politician, a perfect job for a psychopath.
But then that would imply that he still has money and influence, and people who agree with his stances that put him there in the first place. He's honestly better as a bum.
In My Future Self N Me, Cartman owned his own time travel company and actually turned his life around for the better, but the problem was his future self met his past self and Cartman resolved to be as unhealthy as possible out of spite. So instead he became a mechanic LOL.
@@KittyMonk It would be better in the Cartman's "happy ending" future that he ended up in The Hague and was doing a video call with his friends. Also, on an unrealted note for the future transgender themed video is to show what they should have done instead and elaborate on it. One idea that I had for "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" was instead of comparing it to transratiallism and transpeciesism was to explore other parts of the transgender topic such as gender dysphoria with my idea of Kenny dying and being reborn in the wrong body. Basically he is reborn in a female body and his parents treat him such as calling him Penny, giving him a pink parka, etc. I would honestly keep Ms. Garrison as it conveys that the transgender are people they can be good they can be evil, therefore to disprove the conservative claim that "in the progressives mind a transgender person must automatically be a good person."
@@KittyMonk That Future Cartman should have known better especially since that Present Cartman just had to deal with a company who scams kids with fake time travel doubles.
The most unrealistic part of the Dr.Phil episode is not only does nobody arrest Liane but also that anybody sees a problem with a mother sexually abusing her son
Me and my husband actually have a theory about why Lianne finally put her foot down in the later episodes and why she was so lenient back then. We think she stopped doing drugs 😂
To answer your concern, the episode title "Tsst", is based on the sound Caesar Milan (and later Liane) uses on Cartman to assert his dominance, so you would have to pronounce as it was heard in the episode.
In earlier season Stan and Kyle left him to die for 3 weeks insulted him after he invited them to go swimming with him for the summer Stan and Kyle are just as bad they threw butters under the bus a lot. his mom also lies to him a lot and when the truth comes out it feels like a gut punch when she told him that he was just fat if anything the only person too really help him out was chef he was like a father figure for the boys being the only reasonable adult cartman even cried when he died and left
My mom has a theory that Cartman has hidden gay thoughts that he tries hard to keep to himself and that his attitude is just his way of covering up those thoughts. It's kind of evident in how he interacts with Kyle someone who is all too happy to call him out on his BS. It's also evident in his play style when he plays alone with his toys and why he has no issues with cross dressing sometimes.
I kinda agree except on the crossdressing part. Crossdressing has nothing to do with sexual orientation, and most of the crossdressers are actually heterosexual
Cartman doesn't like himself. Clyde Frog says Cartman is a fat piece of crap. Since Cartman is of course pretending his toy is talking, this is how he sees himself.
Unfortunately, this is common in children without a strong father figure where the mother uses the child as an emotional replacement for the father. His mom is notoriously loose and promiscuous.
Dang, this is really well made! I've been binging some of your videos lately while doing some chores or puzzles and this was a great one to listen to. I never considered Cartman being a victim of his circumstances and being influenced by those around him to explain him being the way he is. Looking forward to the next one!
You actually have a point with this theory that even the creators put into the show. With the pandemic special showing that if cartman is away from Southpark he could change
Caesar was controversial back then because a lot of animal experts said that was he was doing was dangerous to the animals and actually incorrect. That they warned the studio not to show his show but they didn't listen until years later
I didn’t like the post pandemic episode ending cause I thought even cartman deserved a happy ending despite being a sociopath. I wish in the second ending they redeemed him.
The ending hit hard. 34:10 to 34:30 felt like a targeted quote to me and the part about "maby the best thing is to leave every thing behind" makes me think. Maby I should leave my home town to find a better environment.
Satan would probably be a good influence on him, if he was still alive that is... However, Jesus did banish Cartman to Mexico at the end of one season which is considered worse than Hell in the show.
It's not just his mom but his friends as well. In the reality Cartman becomes a rabbi he cuts off all his friends. He became a much better person for it but at the cost of everyone else suffering.
Have you noticed in almost all adult cartoons theres at leaste one Token Evil Teammate ? Eric Cartman for South Park . Bart Simpson for The Simpsons Bender for Futurama King of the Hill Dale Stewie Griffin for Family Guy Rodger Smith for American Dad Rallo Tubbs for Cleveland Show and Louise Belcher for Bob's Burger's Rick and Morty Rick
I disagree with Bart Simpson as well as Stewie Griffin because Brian and Peter are way more morally degenerate than him. And the clear antagonist of The Simpsons is Mr C Montgomery Burns
when south park definitely ends its either trey and matt gonna kill cartman off(or go to prison) because of the sins he commited throughout the years or maybe even actually seek help,treatment,therapy or whatever.But its hard to say that'll he'll change or even get help because of how manipulative and sociopathic he is and even going as far as him feeding you your own parents.
Just like Cartman's future family, his father and sister also got Thanos'd out of existence. Full circle. In fact, it's more like the anime Shakugan no Shana, where people can disappear from existence and it was as if they never existed at all. For the first 8 episodes, and then it flip-flops between being a shōnen action anime and a shitty high school anime 🤣
I was formally diagnosed with Asperger's, but the episode "Ass Burgers" didn't offend me. In fact, it made me kek. The only part of South Park that genuinely offends me is the fact that Trey and Matt won't stop beating the everloving fuck out of the dead horse that is Tegridy Farms. "DUDE WEED LMAO" is painfully unfunny.
Always keep in mind that Cartman doesn't think he does bad things, often times he even thinks that he is the only one seeing the danger and tries to stop it. Of course that doesn't excuse him for anything he does just a thing to keep in mind, he always thinks he is the good guy.
There's something you didn't mention in the video. Mat and Trey use Cartman as the voice of "wrong". Anytime they want to express an opinion that they want people to know is wrong, insensitive, or just plain evil, they put those words in Cartman's mouth. Cartman is shorthand for incorrect in the show. More recently they've also used Garrison and Randy for this as well.
2:11 as an aspergic person, this line is fuckin hilarous
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I think Wendy Testaburger is abusive, but Cartman's behaviour in response to her is dysfunctional. That Wendy got in trouble for challenging Cartman to a fight was completely justified, but Cartman was still dysfunctional in response to that too.
who else forgot the episode where cartmen was trying to find his bio dad and they said it was his mom only to find out later in the show that he had an actual dad even though it was told his mom was his dad???
6:42. I mean even a character’s best traits being flanderized can possibly indicate a show’s decline. As when you try to make a character have a perfect personality with only good traits without focusing on any flaws(more importantly major characters), then things become boring but it’s not as irritating as when bad traits become the sole trait.
The story of Cartman sitting on the couch while taking credit for Jimmy's work is a rip on the writing relationship between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I'd forgotten about it but there had been a story going around about Ben Affleck not actually pulling his weight in earlier years. The "big boned" thing is something people actually used to say (maybe still do) as an excuse, but it does refer to a real situation. Someone with a larger frame will weigh more and be larger. If some of that weight is fat, it will look worse than it is. So it's not that the bones are sticking out, rather it's that part of them being overweight and their appearance is due to their skeletal build.
Amazing video and I agree with a lot of your analysis, however there's one BIG thing you missed (not that I blame you, this was a pretty long video as is). Let me, as someone who wrote a five page essay, unprompted, about the fall of cartman for fun. In the more recent seasons, there are little to no instances of Cartman picking on jews, hippies or other minorities anymore. Sure there's a quip here and there to just get a word in against someone he's arguing with, or there's an episode specifically talking about a minority group, so of course they have to have Cartman put in his two cents. But overall, he hasn't said or done anything truly hateful recently. Most of his hateful moments could just be brushed off as normal kid insults or banter. Don't get me wrong, he still does bad things, but never intolerant. So perhaps he's getting better? I've yet to really dive deep into why this has happened. The other thing I wanted to mention was how his life changed for the better in the "bad" timeline. In the timeline where he supposedly lost contact with Stan,Kyle and maybe Butters, he ended up a better and happier person. There are a lot of reasons for why I think this could be, reasons that are entirely debatable, but my personal opinion (a headcanon, if you will) is that during his time isolated, he realized how absolutely boring and aimless his life was without somebody to pick on. Similar to how he acted in the episode "Smug Storm" when Kyle left. He realized that without his friends, he really had nothing except his mom, which at this point is a lot more firm with him. So, he set out a change. This could have started in middle school, start of high school or even in college, but eventually he did try to change. And he did. And according to Yentl in the special, in the time he had known her, he had never been violent or chaotic like the Cartman we've grown to know for 25 years. In the 40 years he had known her, he wasn't at all like the child he was. So, in a way, his friends are also enabling his behavior. I think this is simply because they put up with it. By either ignoring or not caring about what he says, this shows him that he can say or do whatever he wants to them and they'll still hang out with them. This is also shown in "The death of Eric Cartman" when he actually panics when his friends begin to ignore him, believing the only solution is that he had passed away. By tolerating someone's bad behavior, you're showing them that they face nothing for how they treat people, good and bad. Hence the reason a lot of men get excused for acting like dicks. This isn't to say that Liane is off the hook, but also to hold everyone else around Eric into account as well. His teachers, friends and neighbors all put up with him, and it was only until they didn't that he was able to get better. Makes you think, huh?
I think you hit the nail on the head. Many cases of Cause and Effect were in play regarding Cartman's development. His "friends", mother, hell basically everyone in South Park were the worst things to happen to him making him what he is now.
@@bakedbaker9882 i cant remember the exact episode but one of the hints is him referencing either his uncle or cousin molesting him. i think it might have been the tourettes episode? that or he says something in his sleep. also the whole thing with butters (him putting his penis in butters' mouth) i think he said something about learning the game from a family member. also doesnt he talk to a bunch of pedophiles once?
Cartman was originally supposed to have a father, but with Cartman having a father, Trey Parker and Matt Stone produced too much content for the pilot episode of Comedy Central. And Comedy Central had a shorter number of minutes of TV show episodes. One scene of the planned pilot showed Cartman's father AND EVEN HIS SISTER at a table down to dinner. To make the episode short enough for Comedy Central, the co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone cut down as much as the original pilot as possible, so at the end 'Cartman Gets An Anal Probe' only left Cartman with his mother; becoming the subplot for the modern series. You can learn more about this, Kitty Monk, on blameitonjorge's '[? number] Of Cartoon Characters That Were Never Seen Again' or something like that title.
South Park seems to be about the 1980s schoolyard, with contemporary stuff "Tacked on". Fortunately I never knew a "Cartman". I also began to see little of it after the 2000s and none since 2015.
Cartman: Actually Kitty, it is in fact you who are evil and simply trying to deflect your own sin by imprinting them on me.
NO KITTY THIS IS MY POTPIE!!!! >:(((((
NO KITTEH! THATS MEH POT PIE!!!!
Yeah that does sound like something Eric Cartman would say.
Shouldn't Mr. Kitty be changed to Ms. Kitty due to the character being a girl?
NO KITTY THAT'S A BAD KITTY!!!!
The biggest reason is his mom enabling his behavior and this was most obvious in the episode with Caesar Milan where he managed to train Cartman into being a decent person. However the second Caesar left, she went back to her old ways of enabling him and recreated the monster.
That is the problem the mother never acts like a parent to her son it wasn't until later seasons when she stopped letting her son walk all over her
Ha ha lol 😂!
@@animezilla4486 By then it was far too late
THANKFULLY Lian (I think that's how it's spelled) is putting her foot down from Season 25 and forward
@@atlasarcade5698 *Liane, you just missed the e at the end. 👍🏻
The relationship between Cartman and Liane is a phenomena called “emotional incest”. Liane’s self-esteem is so low that she’s convinced that the only person who will ever be close to her is her son. She pleasures him with food and keeps him as pampered and comfortable as possible, all while ensuring that he can never grow up, take care of himself and eventually leave her. She respects none of his boundaries and talks to him like he’s 3, which visibly annoys him in early eps like Volcano and Roger Ebert Should Lay Off The Fatty Foods. In the very first interaction between the two, Cartman is actively RESISTING the gross food she keeps feeding him. She manages to tempt him into it anyway. Being a mother is the only fulfilling thing Liane has in her life, and if Cartman ever developed into something other than a giant, dependant piece of crap, he’d establish boundaries and eventually develop into something other than her son. At the end of Tsst, reformed Cartman is off-put and embarrassed by how overly affectionate she is. He doesn’t need to be treated that way, but she insists on doing it for her own emotional reasons.
It’s a wildly exaggerated cartoon, but these exact dynamics are so common in real-life, especially in massively overweight children from broken families. Just as Cartman convinces himself he’s an awesome, respected person, people like Liane convince themselves that they’re wonderful mothers. They’re super doting and affectionate and unconditionally provide, even if it means that they’re irreparably harming their kids.
This is another thing that marks South Park as superior to Family Guy; this fandom is generally more open to deconstruction and information. If this were a Family Guy video, people would be telling you to shut up and that it's just a cartoon, almost like they're trying to stifle anything that isn't blind praise of the show to create an echo chamber.
@@fablethewolf825 dude I hate to break it to you but I'm here to say that there's a stupid f****** idea, he's eight. they tried to jam that into like one episode because it was hot in the news.
and yeah I guess the difference between people who like South Park and really f****** hate Family Guy and people who like Family Guy is that South Park fans jerk themselves off and take themselves super seriously and family guy fans point and laugh.
this reminds me of the time I read a comment on an episode of Rick and Morty
**insert Rick and Morty iq quote as cutaway gag**
Leanne tries to get a job in the last season to have a separate private life and Cartman ruins it, she tries to get a personal life Ironically in the episode that you're referencing that actually tries to make that point, she's literally trying to hire a nanny in the Cesar Millan episode, why would she even do that if she needs him to solely depend on her?
she asks him to make his own food and does various other stuff there are just a couple instances where 'friends of Dennis Prager' Matt and Trey are demonizing single mothers on purpose because it was on the hot thing to do at the time and it's a topical, not narrative based, show.
there's only this much lore because it's been 25 years
@@FrancisR420 It wasn't just about mocking single mothers, it's because Liane was based on, and even named after, Trey's college girlfriend who cheated on him. That's why for the first few seasons they gave her every possible negative trait like making her racist and homophobic, putting her on the cover of Crack Whore magazine, and it's why she's always portrayed as a "slut". The reason they chilled out with the insulting jokes later and started making her act like an actual parent is because he finally got over it.
@@FrancisR420 I think the video says it best then me,but she also in the final of the episode goes back and undo all the good work and she is jusitng receiving what she created in the other episode. What i think you are mising is taking the words of subsonic as that Liene is dong all 100% concious, and ignoring the fact that is quite common that we project things in relaitonships without realizing it
Surprisingly when he and the boys aren't friends anymore. He actually becomes a good person.
Because he has no one to blame but himself
Reminder
He wanted to go to the past to kill Kyle and Stan as children
But since he didn't want to take the blame
He tried to manipulate Clyde into doing it
He didn't change
Not at all
Marito Fuentes Did you not watch the part where his wife talked some sense into him and he helped Stan and Kyle stop Clyde from going through with it?
@@verscarii3238 that doesn’t mean he changed that means he doesn’t want to hurt his wife
About his actions in post covid, his wife said that "ever since they went to south park he began acting differently". this means we can probably guess that his friends/south park itself has a huge negative effect on him (and his kids).
I think if Chef was still in the show and had a different voice actor Cartman would have been a little bit less evil and manipulated than he is now. Chef was the closest person to be like a father to Cartman even as a father figure. To be honest Chef was more of a good father/father figure to Kyle, Stan, Kenny, and even Butters than their actual fathers
"South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" was the only theatrically released film in the series' franchise to have the involvement of Mary Kay Bergman and Isaac Hayes before their deaths in 1999 and 2008 respectively.
@@jakemarks7266 tbf as of right now blu is the only south park movie to be released theatrically
@@wool578 lol it’s the only south park movie
to add to this, Chef was the only adult that Cartman really respected. He never ripped on him or seen him as a threat or a future victim
of some sort I believe. I honestly think if Chef was still an active character, Cartman could’ve turned out different
Not to mention he’s the onIy character in the show Cartman aIways respected and Ioved
The ending of "Tsst" really made me think. I think Liane is spoiling Cartman to the point he is because he's the only one left in her life and she's scared of losing him.
I think that's also true. I also feel like there's a bit of a cycle where Eric is such a rotten kid because Liane spoils him so much because she's afraid of losing him and being alone...but part of why he's all she has is likely because he's such a rotten kid that not many people want to be a long-term part of Liane's life, and even if someone did try to get close to her, I wouldn't be surprised if Cartman...got rid of them someone, because he's become so co-dependent on his mother that he goes to extreme measures to keep her from having basically any life outside of him.
South Park is a really interesting show because of how it doesn’t take itself seriously at all, but how well it represents certain issues and people. Eric Cartman is unironically the most realistic cartoon narcissist I’ve ever seen.
To be honest, the only adult male that really meant anything for Cartman was Chef, he was even crying when he was leaving
Chef was the character that had wisdom in the whole show
I blame his mother. She enabled his behavior & her sleeping around had a negative effect on him.
Him not having a positive role model in his life makes it even worse.
YUP !!!!
His only positive role model was chef
@@The8B1tWarrior Til he died. 😢
People excuse his mom a lot , but he could’ve changed or atleast be decent if she raised him right . And tbh her loosing the house bc of Eric’s behavior was her facing the muse
@@ms.trashcan8187 Yep
Cartman is a victim of emotional incest. But that's the only thing he's a victim of. The bigger problem is, he's a sociopath, so rather than internalize that damage or seek to mitigate it, he seeks to inflict it on others.
He's less of a sociopath and more of a narcissist. A sociopath lacks empathy but it doesn't make them malicious, a narcissist has impaired empathy much like a spoiled child that never grew up. In both the dog whisperer episode and the alternate future, he's shown to have the capacity for growth and maturity but is stifled
Basically, he feels hurt, but, not having been taught any mechanisms to cope with that, he compensates by hurting others.
@@CyberdarkHellKaiser I was gonna ask if he couldn't be both but then I remembered just how much he loves cats enough to hide them in his attic Anne Frank style.
Emotional incest?
@@Parasolhyena yea that one scene with the cats actually disqualified him from being classified as a sociopath or psychopath
Since lack of empathy is a trait that is absolutely required for that
Wisecrack has done a few thoughts on cartman and the best way to describe him ive found is "post ideology supremacist" basically cartman does not believe in anything but himself, the episode "ginger kids" is a good example of this going from hate speech against gingers -then for gingers- then for peace, just depending on whats better for him at the moment
That's just your average white supremacist
Really makes you wonder if Cartman is any special in that regard.
Hate speech isn't a thing
@@Clown_the_Clown Kay,whitey
@@Clown_the_Clown ... Well at least your username is accurate
The ending of “Post Covid” isn’t accurate for Cartman at all. Cartman is too smart and resourceful to end that way. He would be a disgraced politician or disgraced televangelist.
He technically already has been those things. By putting a dollar in the box lol
your not wrong
I disagree, he is only smart and resourceful when motivated. I could totally see a scenario where he spirals out of control and can't motivate himself enough to be smart or resourceful.
@@thomashernandez1004 even when Cartman is at his lowest, he jumps right back on top. Maybe alcohol changed that for him but I picture Cartman in the future being arrested and his compound raised by the FBI for stolen documents
@@leahv5892 raided*
Chef definitely acted as a father figure to Cartman no doubt. I wish he was cartmans real dad
It would be enough if he was still around. Sadly, he isn´t. Although in the south park universe, they could just bring him back. And I would be in favor of that.
@@iammrbadguy9706 Chef's never coming back
@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan yeah the va died two years after he left
A lot of people attribute Scott Tenorman Must Die with his character development, birthing the Cartman we know today, but I’d like to argue that it was actually Cherokee Hair Tampons that should be credited with this, not the Scott Tenorman episode. THAT was the first episode where you can recognize and see modern Eric Cartman. The episodes between these two were also sprinkled with classic Cartman behavior, but none before Cherokee Hair Tampons, so I’d very much say that it’s that episode that deserves that credit.
Scott Tenorman Must Die was just extreme on the list of things he’s done both around that time and up to that point. He’s done far far far worse after.
Refusing to give your kidney to save your friend's life out of sheer spite is a really terrible thing to do.
Kenny was also pretty terrible in that episode. He leaves his friend Stan crying for Kyle because nobody ever cares when he dies. He's not wrong, but Kyle isn't immortal like him. Kenny even says Kyle's illness is "Not that fucking serious." Fuck you, Kenny!!
Worse than double homicide?
@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan Yes. Cartman has done much much *MUCH* worse than that
@@TheCopyNinja733 I can't think of anything.
@@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan Don’t worry, I’ll think of them for you. Several attempts of genocide, successful attempts of genocide, sexual assault, and mass voter fraud just to name a few. You need to watch more South Park.
Any analysis of a character like Cartman is going to be inherently inconsistent because of how long South Park has been running. Some episodes portray him simply as a troublemaker, some as a narcissist, some as a unfixable psychopath.
I mean, Wendy went from being a crazed yandere after Stan in S1 who killed people to get to him, to being the sensible soft spoken voice of reason and progress in later seasons.
I thought she was crazed after Stan only because he would never notice her?
Well, him not discriminating against the disabled isn't entirely true. He did think he would win the special Olympics just by not being disabled, ignoring his terrible health. It's even implied that he finds disabled people to be humorous.
His treatment of disabled individuals is very different from his treatment of Jews and other groups he isn't a part of, though. It's not really discrimination but rather a failed attempt at exploitation out of ignorance. He's usually driven by his aversion towards groups of people but when it comes to the disabled, he just sees the easy money.
True and in the game the fractured butthole he insults Timmy as a stupid cripple in a wheelchair which Timmy hits back so sweet at least I'm not a fat little phone stealer nice giving Timmy a voice there Parker and stone.
Well I mean... He ain't wrong.
- Counting Butters as part of "The Boys" ✔️
- Using Mr. Krabs as example of Flanderization ✔️
- Viewing Cartman as a tragic figure who wasn't born as a hellspawn, but rather became one throw years of bad upbringing and abuse ✔️✔️
But seriously, I highly agree on your opinion on Cartman, especially parts about his friends being part of the reason why he's so evil. That's kinda why I often find Kyle to be a huge hypocrite, rather then good hearted person. Of course, Cartman is a psycopath and attention seeker who would do anything to stay relevant in any way or form. Kyle on the other hand is constantly correcting him, how he shouldn't judge or make fun of other people based on their appearance and origin, while Kyle was doing the exact same thing in the earlier seasons, calling Cartman fat, even tho Cartman expressed huge grudge towards it.
Well except Kenny, I mean hell he made that kid cry because he ate the skin off all the kfc and he still didn't call him fat. Well that and the fact they were still friends in the good future.
Never thought it was up for discussion. Butters is without a doubt one of the boys. It bothers me whenever I see South Park merch, only the original 4 boys are featured. There isn’t much out there with Stan, Kyle, Cartman, Kenny and Butters all together.
I actually really relate to Cartman…can someone please tell me if that’s a red flag or if that’s just because we both had a tough childhood/rough things pushed on towards us??
I love how Cartman’s mom stood up for herself in the later season and after Cartman sell their own house. His mom was over it and doesn’t feed into Cartman’s lies and tricks anymore which is awesome and funny at the same time.
She did it far too late though, her selfishness ruined him psychologically and now she's paying for it.
@@garuelx8627 basically what happened between Chris Chan and his mom
@@sunkythe9953 Isn’t that the Sonichu person?
@@princesspikachu3915 Yes
Cartman’s evil primarily comes from his own personality as well as his mom’s enabling
And probably whatever the black goo inside him is
Also I think there was an episode where Cartman insulted the disabled. The special Olympics where he believed he could make some easy money by faking a disability
Black goo?
@@user-nm1lx8qb3u yeah when Caesar Milan came over Cartman barfed up black goo before becoming a better person.
@@user-nm1lx8qb3u In the episode with Cesar Millan, there is a scene where Millan's training begins to change Cartman's behavior (he tries to murder his mom in her sleep but hesistates) and in a parody of a demon possession/exorcism Cartman begins to vomit out black goo, presumably to Purge himself of the evil within him.
I thought it was a reference to Spider-Man
Evil is a human concept.
The "big boned" thing was making fun of that the phrase was commonly used by parents of overweight children to explain or excuse their child's weight being unhealthy. It fell out of favor because it was made fun of on South Park and was also made fun of in Harry Potter, as it is something Petunia says about Dursley. The joke is that the parent is naive or looking for something to blame on their child's weight other than themselves.
Interesting thought: One of the people that Cartman will hang out with one on one is often Butters. Yes, taking into account that Cartman knows Butters is a sweetheart and is super easy to manipulate, as well as one of the few kids that will give Cartman the benefit of a doubt, but while Cartman manipulates him...He doesn't outwardly pick on him. At least as much as Kyle, Wendy, Token, etc.
Look at Butters' dad. One of the worst dads in the show. So maybe it's easier for him to be around Butters because, well, at least he doesn't have a great dad.
Maybe I'm reading too much into things.
You might be on to something...
He constantly picks on Butters every chance he gets. He uses him as a scapegoat when his plans fail. He tries to put things in his mouth. I'd say the verbal and physical abuse Butters suffers is way worse than most anything else in the show, aside from Kenny repeatedly dying.
Great thought.
i kinda disagree here, there was TONS of things cartman did to butters that was just as bad if not worse than more of his other antics
cartman locked butters away making him think the world has ended when he found out butters was going to kyle's b-day party at casa bonita and was only able to go by hiding him away
all of awesom-o was a prank gone wrong
if i remember right a few episodes (and the games) had cartman ether think/wish, attempt or actually do sexual abusive actions onto butters
the only difference is kyle fights back, butters takes it and even forgets it most of the time, he's just the perfect target to cartman's abuse
@@ZeroTheHeartlessKing Exactly. The only person who's been off limits is Timmy, as far as my memory serves me.
also thank you for pointing out his friends because I also find it interesting how the boys play a role the best example is smug alert when kyle moves away cartmen are happy but when stan points out is life will be empty and hollow, and then cartmen go out of his way to save him and not take the credit.
Does anyone remember that Tourettes episode where Cartman admitted he was sexually abused by his cousin, well I always thought believed that event could have made Cartman more prone to his messed up ways. Heck, the sudden way that Cartman becomes a Rabbi in the future could make sense with this in mind since some people use religion as a way to cope and process their abuse.
It doesn't specify that it was sa. Just that he and his cousin "touched weiners"
Honestly I feel sorry for Cartman and his family. It’s the only time where Cartman isn’t an asshole and actually learns from his past so he can become a better person.🐱
Leanne:"I got a job Eric."
Cartman:"😐 I'm your job."
Literally raising a child in a nutshell
He still has a soft spot for cats so he's cool.
You have a very cool cat.
Very nice look into Eric Cartman's character and why he is so evil, I see there being many reasons:
Eric's mom, Lianne, spoiled him rotten and would make excuses for him (like him being "big boned", not fat in her eyes), later seasons thankfully have had her actually stand up to him. But she's sadly become co-dependant on him so she still feeds into some of his worst vices and impulses.
Eric is a sociopath, Eric started out as a spoiled, selfish, dim-witted kid, but the Scott Tenorman incident pushed him over the edge and revealed the true monster inside. Eric has become more intelligent over time, but also alot more unhinged and vile, as the world around him as changed, a world he does not like.
Eric makes for a good writing tool for Matt and Trey, whenever someone problematic or controversial happens in society, Eric is more likely than not going to have an opinion on it. Often the most controversial and problematic opinion possible. So Eric makes a helpful stand-in to represent the side Matt and Trey most strongly disagree with.
I wouldn't say Eric was flanderised, he was always a selfish, mean, cruel kid, but he lacked the intellect to truly exploit it. Eric was never a deep, multi-faceted kid, over time he's become more faceted if anything. His evil was just a byproduct of fleshing out his character.
All that said I never noticed how toxic Eric's friends really were, but those clips put it into perspective that, they are bad friends to him. Not undeserved, but they don't help him to better himself.
Eric literally even became an SJW for a while despite usually being a racist sexist bully. Maybe to reflect their view that racist sexist bullies often hide behind social justice and find in that a place where they can bully others and still be socially acceptable.
I see the Aspergers take as more of showing how the WORLD treats it as not real. Stan is shown to struggle still, even at the end of the episode, and it’s really shown that his experience is separate from the norm of society.
Honestly the fact Stan is now canonically an alcoholic to cope with living is devastating…
I thought Stan being an alcoholic was a one off thing 😨
Also, there's some hints in the series that Cartman has been sexual abused, so that would def be a contributing factor.
Where? In which episodes sugests that happend?
@@nidohime6233 Right off the bat in Season 1 Episode 5, Cartman mentions how his mom humiliated him in such a way. And there's other examples that give hints to past experiences like this.
@@KRPeart could you elaborate on that more? It seems like a very interesting take and I’d like to learn more
The Tourettes episode, when Cartman starts having real vocal tics and confesses stuff unwillingly. He mentions a cousin making him do something I'm not repeating.
Just gave you the episode so go look yourself.
Then again Cartman is also a liar
Two Things:
1. One of the earliest moments of Cartman in the series is when he's watching news coverage of a little girl who survived some traumatic incident. She says something to the effect of, "We were mostly scared... Mostly..." Cartman repeats that line then and there, alone, rehearsing it. Throughout the season, he would keep turning to that "Mostly" phrase any time he wanted to make things sound more dramatic or serious.
2. You mention that Cartman, ultimately, might just need someone who doesn't give up on him and is firm with him. I think the reason why he likes Kyle most (and therefore gives him most of his, usually negative, attention) is because Kyle is always the first person to challenge him and try to instill some sense of morality into him. If it weren't for the fact that Cartman viewed their relationship as equals, Kyle would be exactly the kind of positive male influence that he needed in his life.
Cartman is this way for a few reasons. Partially his mom plays a HUGE part in his insane, inhumane behavior. He has no father figure and his friends hate him.
The primary reason Cartman is so terrible, he acts as the mouthpiece for "wrong". Every time Mat and Trey want to voice someone who's obviously wrong and holding a terrible opinion, they put those words in Cartman's mouth. They sometimes do this with Garrison or Randy instead.
Absent father, bad influence friends, mother isn’t raising him right, and maybe just maybe he’s a narcissist.
To be fair Cartmen would spend 40 years just to screw with Kyle. Kyles not wrong. He has shown as a child he would go very far to perform one of his schemes so this wouldn't be out of character at all.
The most insane of people wouldn’t spend 40 years doing that. Infact, it would be more of a Kyle victory, since Kyle managed to stay in his mind for 40 years. Cartmen wouldn’t want Kyle to win in that regard, I would think
Hey don't be too down about Cartman not liking you for being from Jersey. He wouldn't get it anyway. It's a Jersey thing
It might be due to him not having a dad and his mom doesn’t set any boundaries.
I always said Cartwright was overrated. And rightfully terrible, that’s why I’ll never watch the show ever again.
@@goddessbettyd5614 what's cartwright
@@goddessbettyd5614 what the hell is cartwright
I wouldn’t say not having a dad is the main problem as when people say that not having a dad is the problem what they mean is there is no one to put the foot down and be the disciplinarian which is something Liane certainly lacks.
I've been longing for a psychological analysis video on Eric Cartman for a while now. Thank you for being one of the few who's made one to better understand if he was truly born evil or not and if such a child like him would ever exist irl.
Oh, it'd be curious to also see your take on Kenny
Cause he came a loooong way from "pervert-kid who dies all the time" to "caring brother with a heroic figure as alter-ego"
He's still a "pervert" in the most recent episodes, and he was always a sweetheart. Those aren't really exclusive traits.
He is growing up to be a narcissist. Cartman definitely does not act like a real life psychopath. Psychopaths are extremely callous not just towards others but they basically don't feel anything. Cartman still gets offended frequently and is always angry just like narcissists.
Plus he HAS shown he does care about certain things, like when he tried hiding those cats in his attic and took care of them. If he was pure psychopath, he wouldn't have given a shit. And even though most of the time he uses his friends when it's convenient for himself, he has shown to actually help them/ even save them at certain times when he could easily have just let them die. He saved Kyle's life more than once in the series, even though he 'hates' him. Cartman is narcissistic for sure, but not pure psychopath i think.
I think alot of yall have some misconceptions on how psychopaths actually operate.
in the video they actually claimed cartman was a sociopath (which I don’t think he’s that at all) also sociopath is a pop culture term that falls under aspd but there seems to be a difference between the two. Not everyone who was diagnosed antisocial personality disorder falls under the definition of sociopath it appears.
I do believe cartman has antisocial personality disorder though as traits like up with the dsm as far as I’m aware
but I think it coincides with narcissistic personality disorder as well rather than him being a sociopath or psychopath
From what I’ve seen cartman does have narcissistic personality disorder traits.
I’m not a psychologist though. I’ve just taken interest to the topic of sociopaths. So I am likely to be wrong but i really don’t think Cartman is a sociopath.
I looked some things up and it doesn’t seem to be a diagnosis same as how sociopath and psychopath aren’t but there’s a term called Malignant narcissist that I think fits Cartman.
The way I looked at Cartman's "happy ending" future was that the only way Cartman is happy and content is if everyone else is miserable even if he isn't the direct cause of their misery, you know like the psychopath he is. So I didn't feel bad about him loosing this future, especially because of ALL he has done. I only wish that instead of making him a bum, they would make him a scheming yet miserable politician, a perfect job for a psychopath.
But then that would imply that he still has money and influence, and people who agree with his stances that put him there in the first place.
He's honestly better as a bum.
In My Future Self N Me, Cartman owned his own time travel company and actually turned his life around for the better, but the problem was his future self met his past self and Cartman resolved to be as unhealthy as possible out of spite. So instead he became a mechanic LOL.
@@KittyMonk It would be better in the Cartman's "happy ending" future that he ended up in The Hague and was doing a video call with his friends.
Also, on an unrealted note for the future transgender themed video is to show what they should have done instead and elaborate on it. One idea that I had for "Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina" was instead of comparing it to transratiallism and transpeciesism was to explore other parts of the transgender topic such as gender dysphoria with my idea of Kenny dying and being reborn in the wrong body. Basically he is reborn in a female body and his parents treat him such as calling him Penny, giving him a pink parka, etc. I would honestly keep Ms. Garrison as it conveys that the transgender are people they can be good they can be evil, therefore to disprove the conservative claim that "in the progressives mind a transgender person must automatically be a good person."
@@KittyMonk That Future Cartman should have known better especially since that Present Cartman just had to deal with a company who scams kids with fake time travel doubles.
@@KittyMonk Seriously? Kitty it's okay to say "shot" or "get a shot". Stop trying to use euphemisms for every little thing!
the creators literally confirmed moms like Lianne are the cause of kids like Cartman.
The most unrealistic part of the Dr.Phil episode is not only does nobody arrest Liane but also that anybody sees a problem with a mother sexually abusing her son
Me and my husband actually have a theory about why Lianne finally put her foot down in the later episodes and why she was so lenient back then. We think she stopped doing drugs 😂
To answer your concern, the episode title "Tsst", is based on the sound Caesar Milan (and later Liane) uses on Cartman to assert his dominance, so you would have to pronounce as it was heard in the episode.
In earlier season Stan and Kyle left him to die for 3 weeks insulted him after he invited them to go swimming with him for the summer Stan and Kyle are just as bad they threw butters under the bus a lot. his mom also lies to him a lot and when the truth comes out it feels like a gut punch when she told him that he was just fat if anything the only person too really help him out was chef he was like a father figure for the boys being the only reasonable adult cartman even cried when he died and left
My mom has a theory that Cartman has hidden gay thoughts that he tries hard to keep to himself and that his attitude is just his way of covering up those thoughts. It's kind of evident in how he interacts with Kyle someone who is all too happy to call him out on his BS. It's also evident in his play style when he plays alone with his toys and why he has no issues with cross dressing sometimes.
I kinda agree except on the crossdressing part. Crossdressing has nothing to do with sexual orientation, and most of the crossdressers are actually heterosexual
@@AragornGhost15 I'd say thats pretty fking gay
@@AragornGhost15 this is just not tru
There was also that time Cartman tricked Butters into giving him a blowjob.
@@dmetriusmarch shut up how do you know
Cartman doesn't like himself. Clyde Frog says Cartman is a fat piece of crap. Since Cartman is of course pretending his toy is talking, this is how he sees himself.
so basicaly, kid needs therapy and a good support system
as I've just gotten hooked into South Park and still found Cartman to be truly definition of Devil Child of Evil
Unfortunately, this is common in children without a strong father figure where the mother uses the child as an emotional replacement for the father. His mom is notoriously loose and promiscuous.
Dang, this is really well made! I've been binging some of your videos lately while doing some chores or puzzles and this was a great one to listen to. I never considered Cartman being a victim of his circumstances and being influenced by those around him to explain him being the way he is. Looking forward to the next one!
Cartman is a real Psychotic narcissist. I'm so glad in the newer season's. His mum isn't a complete push over anymore
Cartman's "psychotic break" is also an homage to the movie "Altered States"
You should do an episode on Lorde. Because the real lord actually loved what they did with her in the show
You actually have a point with this theory that even the creators put into the show. With the pandemic special showing that if cartman is away from Southpark he could change
Which I see you use as an example in your hypothesis
Caesar was controversial back then because a lot of animal experts said that was he was doing was dangerous to the animals and actually incorrect. That they warned the studio not to show his show but they didn't listen until years later
If Cartmen existed in real life he might give serial killers and dictators a run for their money with regards to how evil he is.
he'd probably be executed tbh
It seems like 2022 is the year of South Park Content. So many new South Park Videos from so many people. I love it.
Ill never forget how cylde started acting after he had to tske Erics place
I didn’t like the post pandemic episode ending cause I thought even cartman deserved a happy ending despite being a sociopath. I wish in the second ending they redeemed him.
"Talks about flanderization"
Doesn't even talk about Ned Flanders :(
Can't wait to hear her take on it she made see South Park in a different light
The ending hit hard. 34:10 to 34:30 felt like a targeted quote to me and the part about "maby the best thing is to leave every thing behind" makes me think. Maby I should leave my home town to find a better environment.
I've always wanted to see an episode where Cartman spends time in Hell. I'm just curious how he would bounce off if Satan. Haha
Satan would probably be a good influence on him, if he was still alive that is...
However, Jesus did banish Cartman to Mexico at the end of one season which is considered worse than Hell in the show.
“Scott Tenorman Must Die” is to Cartman what “The Losing Edge” is to Randy: The episodes that set the standard for how we view the character today.
I feel like Something you can do with your finger was the first episode where Randy truly acted like a complete lunatic over something
I believe Eric's name is based off of a German ww2 pilot, Eric Hartmann, who got an extreme amount of kills while in service.
It's not just his mom but his friends as well. In the reality Cartman becomes a rabbi he cuts off all his friends. He became a much better person for it but at the cost of everyone else suffering.
Have you noticed in almost all adult cartoons theres at leaste one Token Evil Teammate ?
Eric Cartman for South Park .
Bart Simpson for The Simpsons
Bender for Futurama
King of the Hill Dale
Stewie Griffin for Family Guy
Rodger Smith for American Dad
Rallo Tubbs for Cleveland Show
and Louise Belcher for Bob's Burger's
Rick and Morty Rick
I disagree with Bart Simpson as well as Stewie Griffin because Brian and Peter are way more morally degenerate than him. And the clear antagonist of The Simpsons is Mr C Montgomery Burns
@@kernowpictures2002 I mean the token evil teammate who is part if the main characters like family members
Cartman throwing a hissy fit over not getting an iPad would always be my favorite moment
I can't think of my fave cartman moment thetes 2 many
when south park definitely ends its either trey and matt gonna kill cartman off(or go to prison) because of the sins he commited throughout the years or maybe even actually seek help,treatment,therapy or whatever.But its hard to say that'll he'll change or even get help because of how manipulative and sociopathic he is and even going as far as him feeding you your own parents.
Fun fact in the unaired version of the pilot episode, Cartman had a father and a sister.
Just like Cartman's future family, his father and sister also got Thanos'd out of existence. Full circle.
In fact, it's more like the anime Shakugan no Shana, where people can disappear from existence and it was as if they never existed at all. For the first 8 episodes, and then it flip-flops between being a shōnen action anime and a shitty high school anime 🤣
one thing i like about south park is they arent biased, they rip on everyone
As someone who’s father left last year, I’ll agree even as someone who knew my dad there’s a nagging feeling that he’s gone, and he was abusive
Not to be a creep, but I love how your avatar’s ears move with your emotions. The attention to detail is great
I don't see how that could be creepy. You're just pointing out good character design.
I was formally diagnosed with Asperger's, but the episode "Ass Burgers" didn't offend me. In fact, it made me kek. The only part of South Park that genuinely offends me is the fact that Trey and Matt won't stop beating the everloving fuck out of the dead horse that is Tegridy Farms. "DUDE WEED LMAO" is painfully unfunny.
True
Always keep in mind that Cartman doesn't think he does bad things, often times he even thinks that he is the only one seeing the danger and tries to stop it. Of course that doesn't excuse him for anything he does just a thing to keep in mind, he always thinks he is the good guy.
ive never watched a single episode of south park but i love your video essays!
Remember when pip was like they used to bully cart man but once cartman started bullying pip they stopped
Cartman speech to nanny 911 might as well be his super villain speech
20:47, not to mention that in season 16 episode 10, Cartman's nervous alarm goes off when the women mentions that his dad would enjoy cologne.
Cartman also doesn't discriminate against homosexuals. Mr. Garrison fills in for that role
There's something you didn't mention in the video. Mat and Trey use Cartman as the voice of "wrong". Anytime they want to express an opinion that they want people to know is wrong, insensitive, or just plain evil, they put those words in Cartman's mouth. Cartman is shorthand for incorrect in the show.
More recently they've also used Garrison and Randy for this as well.
2:11 as an aspergic person, this line is fuckin hilarous
I think Wendy Testaburger is abusive, but Cartman's behaviour in response to her is dysfunctional. That Wendy got in trouble for challenging Cartman to a fight was completely justified, but Cartman was still dysfunctional in response to that too.
who else forgot the episode where cartmen was trying to find his bio dad and they said it was his mom only to find out later in the show that he had an actual dad even though it was told his mom was his dad???
6:42. I mean even a character’s best traits being flanderized can possibly indicate a show’s decline. As when you try to make a character have a perfect personality with only good traits without focusing on any flaws(more importantly major characters), then things become boring but it’s not as irritating as when bad traits become the sole trait.
The story of Cartman sitting on the couch while taking credit for Jimmy's work is a rip on the writing relationship between Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I'd forgotten about it but there had been a story going around about Ben Affleck not actually pulling his weight in earlier years.
The "big boned" thing is something people actually used to say (maybe still do) as an excuse, but it does refer to a real situation. Someone with a larger frame will weigh more and be larger. If some of that weight is fat, it will look worse than it is. So it's not that the bones are sticking out, rather it's that part of them being overweight and their appearance is due to their skeletal build.
South Park was right to make fun of Ben Affleck and basically call him a butt face.
Amazing video and I agree with a lot of your analysis, however there's one BIG thing you missed (not that I blame you, this was a pretty long video as is). Let me, as someone who wrote a five page essay, unprompted, about the fall of cartman for fun.
In the more recent seasons, there are little to no instances of Cartman picking on jews, hippies or other minorities anymore. Sure there's a quip here and there to just get a word in against someone he's arguing with, or there's an episode specifically talking about a minority group, so of course they have to have Cartman put in his two cents. But overall, he hasn't said or done anything truly hateful recently. Most of his hateful moments could just be brushed off as normal kid insults or banter. Don't get me wrong, he still does bad things, but never intolerant. So perhaps he's getting better? I've yet to really dive deep into why this has happened.
The other thing I wanted to mention was how his life changed for the better in the "bad" timeline. In the timeline where he supposedly lost contact with Stan,Kyle and maybe Butters, he ended up a better and happier person. There are a lot of reasons for why I think this could be, reasons that are entirely debatable, but my personal opinion (a headcanon, if you will) is that during his time isolated, he realized how absolutely boring and aimless his life was without somebody to pick on. Similar to how he acted in the episode "Smug Storm" when Kyle left. He realized that without his friends, he really had nothing except his mom, which at this point is a lot more firm with him. So, he set out a change. This could have started in middle school, start of high school or even in college, but eventually he did try to change. And he did. And according to Yentl in the special, in the time he had known her, he had never been violent or chaotic like the Cartman we've grown to know for 25 years. In the 40 years he had known her, he wasn't at all like the child he was.
So, in a way, his friends are also enabling his behavior. I think this is simply because they put up with it. By either ignoring or not caring about what he says, this shows him that he can say or do whatever he wants to them and they'll still hang out with them. This is also shown in "The death of Eric Cartman" when he actually panics when his friends begin to ignore him, believing the only solution is that he had passed away. By tolerating someone's bad behavior, you're showing them that they face nothing for how they treat people, good and bad. Hence the reason a lot of men get excused for acting like dicks. This isn't to say that Liane is off the hook, but also to hold everyone else around Eric into account as well. His teachers, friends and neighbors all put up with him, and it was only until they didn't that he was able to get better.
Makes you think, huh?
The creators said Cartman is the way he is because his mom wants him to be his friend.
Accurate.
27:17 Hey, what's going on? *Gasp* WHEEEHHHH!!!!! *Runs on the bed* EEEEEEHHHH!!!!!
I think you hit the nail on the head. Many cases of Cause and Effect were in play regarding Cartman's development. His "friends", mother, hell basically everyone in South Park were the worst things to happen to him making him what he is now.
This video makes me feel bad about Cartman and feels so accurate it has to be Cannon.
I wish people would remember the fact that Cartman canonly suffered sexual abuse!
Wait, what episodes was this referenced in?
@@bakedbaker9882 i cant remember the exact episode but one of the hints is him referencing either his uncle or cousin molesting him. i think it might have been the tourettes episode? that or he says something in his sleep. also the whole thing with butters (him putting his penis in butters' mouth) i think he said something about learning the game from a family member. also doesnt he talk to a bunch of pedophiles once?
@@bakedbaker9882 The Tourettes episode where he admitted that his cousin took advantage of him
and fed a kid's parents to him
at least South Park is more Funnier and relevant today compared to Family Guy
Cartman was originally supposed to have a father, but with Cartman having a father, Trey Parker and Matt Stone produced too much content for the pilot episode of Comedy Central. And Comedy Central had a shorter number of minutes of TV show episodes. One scene of the planned pilot showed Cartman's father AND EVEN HIS SISTER at a table down to dinner. To make the episode short enough for Comedy Central, the co-creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone cut down as much as the original pilot as possible, so at the end 'Cartman Gets An Anal Probe' only left Cartman with his mother; becoming the subplot for the modern series. You can learn more about this, Kitty Monk, on blameitonjorge's '[? number] Of Cartoon Characters That Were Never Seen Again' or something like that title.
I found the Asperger's joke to be pretty funny
South Park seems to be about the 1980s schoolyard, with contemporary stuff "Tacked on". Fortunately I never knew a "Cartman". I also began to see little of it after the 2000s and none since 2015.
I loved your previous South Park video so I’m sure this going to be great!
Ever since your collab with the neon skeleton, I’ve loved your content! Keep up the good work!
you know shits gonna get real when you click on a south park video and a pink haired furry's character crosses their arms
my goodness in peter what is wrong with having a furry character
Cartman is the Evil version of himself from the bad universe in the halloween episode