Band in China
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Episode 2
- "Useless Sacrifice" by Death Decline
- "Second Skin" by Dying Fetus[1]
| "Band in China" | |
|---|---|
| South Park episode | |
Randy stares in horror as he watches a man be beaten by guards through the Chinese jail's window. | |
| Episode no. | Season 23 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Trey Parker |
| Written by | Trey Parker |
| Featured music |
|
| Production code | 2302 |
| Original air date | October 2, 2019 |
| Guest appearance | |
| Brock Baker as Winnie the Pooh | |
"Band in China" is the second episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series South Park. The 299th episode overall of the series, it premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on October 2, 2019.[2] The episode parodies media censorship in China, and the manner in which the American entertainment industry purposefully compromises its productions in order to be acceptable to Chinese censors.[3]
The episode generally positive reviews from American critics, while triggering a negative response from China. The Chinese government banned South Park entirely following this episode's release, a move which in turn drew criticism from the creators of the show.[4]
As fourth grader Stan Marsh composes a song for his new death metal band, Crimson Dawn, his father Randy announces to the family that he plans to travel to China to expand the family's Tegridy Farms marijuana business. Upon boarding a plane to China, Randy sees many other people, including NBA players and characters belonging to Disney, who are also going there to expand their businesses. He is arrested at a Chinese airport when marijuana is discovered in his luggage, and incarcerated. In prison, Randy witnesses the practice of summary execution, and is subjected to re-education through labor, torture, and Communist Party re-education.
During a Crimson Dawn rehearsal, the band is visited by a music producer who wants to make a biographical film of the band, as traditional music resources such as albums and tours are no longer profitable. Stan, who desperately wants to leave his farm home, is thrilled. When the film's structure is discussed, the bandmates learn that certain aspects of their lives will have to be edited out in order to make the film marketable in China due to that nation's censorship of the media.
In prison, Randy meets fellow prisoners Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, who are there because they were banned in China after Internet memes comparing Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping to Disney's version of Pooh became popular.[5] When Randy is brought before a court, he criticizes the Chinese government for the way it treats its prisoners, accusing them of lacking "tegridy" (his term for integrity). When Mickey Mouse learns of Randy's criticism, he angrily confronts Randy over the Chinese business he is losing because of it, but Randy holds firm in his belief that business should not be conducted on the basis of intimidation, and expresses his marijuana import idea to him. When Mickey and Randy make their case to the Chinese officials, their offer is rejected, which Mickey attributes to the Winnie the Pooh matter. Randy responds by using honey to lure Pooh to a secluded alley and strangling him to death as Piglet watches in horror.
During filming on the Crimson Dawn movie, the censorship continues to the point that Chinese officials are on set to approve its content. The producer asks Stan to rewrite the script "from his heart", but Stan is frustrated by a Chinese censor standing over his shoulder as he writes in his bedroom, erasing passages he disapproves of. Later with his bandmates, Stan realizes that the only film that will even be accepted in China is something "vanilla and cheesy". Stan's best friend, Kyle Broflovski, disembarks from a bus with Eric Cartman following their stay in an ICE detention center in the previous episode. The friends' reunion inspires Stan to re-form his previous band Fingerbang for a new biopic, but he changes his mind during filming, saying that no matter how badly he wishes to leave the farm, he cannot bring himself to compromise for China, and commenting that anyone who does is worthless. Meanwhile, Tegridy Weed has become legal in China. As a dump truck unloads a load of cash at the farm during a family meal, Stan asks Randy why he is covered in honey and blood. When Randy admits that he murdered Pooh, Stan calmly leaves the table to write another song about his father.
Production
The day prior to the episode's release, the series' producers released a statement asking for both male and female voice actors to portray Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet, respectively. The audition request did not specify what the episode would entail, simply asking for interested voice actors.[6] During the scene of Stan's band performing at a festival, the song "Useless Sacrifice" by the French metal group Death Decline plays. Later, during the rehearsal scene, the song "Second Skin" by the American metal group Dying Fetus plays.[7]