"Reverse Cowgirl" is the first episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated sitcom South Park, and the 224th episode of the series overall. It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on March 14, 2012. In the episode, a nationwide catastrophe occurs after Clyde's mother is killed because Clyde forgot to put the toilet seat down.
The episode was written by series co-creator Trey Parker and is rated TV-MA L in the United States. It parodies both the gender-divided social etiquette regarding toilet seats (particularly how most women prefer to have their male spouse or child put down the toilet seat for them, despite the fairness disparity this creates between genders), and the post-9/11 airport security measures imposed by the Transportation Security Administration.
Fourth grader Clyde Donovan unintentionally leaves the toilet seat up, leading his mother, Betsy, to scold him in front of his friends Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick after she nearly falls in. This embarrasses Clyde, who asks the boys not to say anything about it at school. Cartman nonetheless tells the entire class the next day, while Butters Stotch is dumbfounded to learn that everyone sits on the toilet facing away from the cistern, as he has been sitting facing it in order to use the cistern as a shelf for reading material and drinks. Betsy then appears and again excoriates Clyde for leaving the toilet seat up, and takes him home. Later that night, after Clyde again forgets to put the toilet seat down, Betsy falls into the toilet, causing a suction that rips out her organs, killing her.
Betsy's death spurs the Toilet Safety Administration (TSA) to implement new safety regulations for people's toilets, including requiring all toilets to be outfitted with seatbelts and security cameras, conducting surprise inspections in people's homes as they relieve themselves, and creating checkpoints in both private and public bathrooms that create huge lines. Cartman and the rest of the town are outraged, and speak out against these measures, though a schism develops between the women, who insist men should simply put the seat down, and the men, who opine that women should simply check to see if the seat is down before sitting on the toilet. Meanwhile, Stan, Kyle, Clyde and Jimmy Valmer seek legal recourse with an unscrupulous lawyer who says he specializes in suing dead people, and decides to conduct a "sue-ance" that will contact the spirit of John Harington, the inventor of the flush toilet, in order to sue him for Betsy's death. However, the lawyer's attempts fail to contact Harington, and after each attempt, he extorts more money from the boys.
A TSA employee who masturbates while monitoring bathroom security cameras sees that Cartman, armed with a gun, has taken a TSA checkpoint inspector and a baby hostage in his bathroom, before disabling his camera. Randy Marsh leads the public in speaking out against the TSA and the fact that it allowed a terrorist with a gun and a baby past a security checkpoint. Randy also calls for a public sueance, where Betsy's ghost appears, and tells Clyde that the lawyer is a fraud, and that her death is Clyde's fault for not putting their toilet seat down. The real ghost of Harington then appears and angrily announces that it is nobody's fault, saying that everyone is using his invention the wrong way. He explains that his toilet design requires people to sit facing the cistern, and not outward, much to the surprise of everyone in the courtroom, except Butters. When Randy states that doing so would require a person to have to remove their pants to use it this way, Harington responds that he indeed intended for users to do that and, pointing to the hole on one of the walls of the prop toilet, indicates that this was why he designed toilets with a laundry hole, much to the surprise of Randy and the others. Clyde eventually begins using the toilet in the manner shown by Harington, but defiantly places the seat up, looks up, and gives the finger to his dead mother.
Reception
Max Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a "Good" score of 7.5 out of 10, noting the "double whammy" of the tackling both the social etiquette of toilet seats and the Transportation Security Administration. Nicholson opined that while the former topic was not necessarily hilarious, it was nonetheless funny, and that Cartman was well-used to pace what would have otherwise been a difficult joke to mine for an entire episode. Nicholson also felt that while mocking the TSA was somewhat dated, there was still potential for humor in that topic to be exploited, in particular the masturbating TSA security camera monitor. Less funny, Nicholson felt, were the "sueance" scenes that harbored moments that were clever but not outstanding, and felt like padding, though he lauded the convergence of the two storylines by the episode's climax.[1]
Jacob Kleinman of International Business Times felt the funniest jokes of the episode were those featuring Cartman and Randy,[2] while Eve Conte of Geeks of Doom commented, "Everything about this episode is pure awesomeness".[3]
Ryan McGee of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A-", having enjoyed its satire of government encroachment onto American civil liberties, and the replacement of personal responsibility on the part of some Americans with superfluous litigation. While McGee felt that the "sueance" scenes dragged somewhat, he felt that Cartman's reaction to the TSA was a worthwhile payoff, and that the show's use of "non-sequitur weirdness" provided strong final moments.[4]
Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars, finding its gags at the expense of the TSA "hilarious", and the "sueance" scenes "clever", remarking that lawyer jokes never get old. Hochberger singled out the convergence of the two storylines in the episode's climax as his favorite part, and enjoying the fact that Butters' ideas for using the toilet turned out to be correct.[5]
Author and cultural theorist Simone Browne references "Reverse Cowgirl" in her 2015 text Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness. In the chapter "What Did the TSA Find in Solange's Fro?" Browne examines how the Black security officers depicted in the episode represent a "class of worker that makes airport security possible" while simultaneously racializing the annoyances of the twenty-first century security state as specifically Black.[6]
References
^Nicholson, Max (March 15, 2012). "South Park: "Reverse Cowgirl" Review". IGN. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
^Kleinman, Jacob (March 15, 2012). "South Park New Episode Takes On TSA, Toilet Seat Gender War". International Business Times. Retrieved March 12, 2022
^Conte, Eve (March 15, 2012). "Watch ‘South Park’ Reveal The Dangers Of Leaving The Toilet Seat Up". Geeks of Doom.
^McGee, Ryan (March 14, 2012). "South Park: "Reverse Cowgirl"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
^Hochberger, Eric (March 14, 2012). "South Park Season Premiere Review: You Can Always Sue Somebody". TV Fanatic.
^Browne, Simone (September 7, 2015). Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness. Duke University Press. ISBN978-0-8223-7530-2. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022 – via Google Books.
External links
"Reverse Cowgirl" Full episode at South Park Studios
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Reverse Cowgirl is the first episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated sitcom South Park and the 224th episode of the series overall It premiered on Comedy Central in the United States on March 14 2012 In the episode a nationwide catastrophe occurs after Clyde s mother is killed because Clyde forgot to put the toilet seat down Reverse Cowgirl South Park episodeEpisode no Season 16Episode 1Directed byTrey ParkerWritten byTrey ParkerProduction code1601Original air dateMarch 14 2012 2012 03 14 Episode chronology Previous The Poor Kid Next Cash for Gold South Park season 16 List of episodesThe episode was written by series co creator Trey Parker and is rated TV MA L in the United States It parodies both the gender divided social etiquette regarding toilet seats particularly how most women prefer to have their male spouse or child put down the toilet seat for them despite the fairness disparity this creates between genders and the post 9 11 airport security measures imposed by the Transportation Security Administration Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditFourth grader Clyde Donovan unintentionally leaves the toilet seat up leading his mother Betsy to scold him in front of his friends Stan Marsh Kyle Broflovski Eric Cartman and Kenny McCormick after she nearly falls in This embarrasses Clyde who asks the boys not to say anything about it at school Cartman nonetheless tells the entire class the next day while Butters Stotch is dumbfounded to learn that everyone sits on the toilet facing away from the cistern as he has been sitting facing it in order to use the cistern as a shelf for reading material and drinks Betsy then appears and again excoriates Clyde for leaving the toilet seat up and takes him home Later that night after Clyde again forgets to put the toilet seat down Betsy falls into the toilet causing a suction that rips out her organs killing her Betsy s death spurs the Toilet Safety Administration TSA to implement new safety regulations for people s toilets including requiring all toilets to be outfitted with seatbelts and security cameras conducting surprise inspections in people s homes as they relieve themselves and creating checkpoints in both private and public bathrooms that create huge lines Cartman and the rest of the town are outraged and speak out against these measures though a schism develops between the women who insist men should simply put the seat down and the men who opine that women should simply check to see if the seat is down before sitting on the toilet Meanwhile Stan Kyle Clyde and Jimmy Valmer seek legal recourse with an unscrupulous lawyer who says he specializes in suing dead people and decides to conduct a sue ance that will contact the spirit of John Harington the inventor of the flush toilet in order to sue him for Betsy s death However the lawyer s attempts fail to contact Harington and after each attempt he extorts more money from the boys A TSA employee who masturbates while monitoring bathroom security cameras sees that Cartman armed with a gun has taken a TSA checkpoint inspector and a baby hostage in his bathroom before disabling his camera Randy Marsh leads the public in speaking out against the TSA and the fact that it allowed a terrorist with a gun and a baby past a security checkpoint Randy also calls for a public sueance where Betsy s ghost appears and tells Clyde that the lawyer is a fraud and that her death is Clyde s fault for not putting their toilet seat down The real ghost of Harington then appears and angrily announces that it is nobody s fault saying that everyone is using his invention the wrong way He explains that his toilet design requires people to sit facing the cistern and not outward much to the surprise of everyone in the courtroom except Butters When Randy states that doing so would require a person to have to remove their pants to use it this way Harington responds that he indeed intended for users to do that and pointing to the hole on one of the walls of the prop toilet indicates that this was why he designed toilets with a laundry hole much to the surprise of Randy and the others Clyde eventually begins using the toilet in the manner shown by Harington but defiantly places the seat up looks up and gives the finger to his dead mother Reception EditMax Nicholson of IGN gave the episode a Good score of 7 5 out of 10 noting the double whammy of the tackling both the social etiquette of toilet seats and the Transportation Security Administration Nicholson opined that while the former topic was not necessarily hilarious it was nonetheless funny and that Cartman was well used to pace what would have otherwise been a difficult joke to mine for an entire episode Nicholson also felt that while mocking the TSA was somewhat dated there was still potential for humor in that topic to be exploited in particular the masturbating TSA security camera monitor Less funny Nicholson felt were the sueance scenes that harbored moments that were clever but not outstanding and felt like padding though he lauded the convergence of the two storylines by the episode s climax 1 Jacob Kleinman of International Business Times felt the funniest jokes of the episode were those featuring Cartman and Randy 2 while Eve Conte of Geeks of Doom commented Everything about this episode is pure awesomeness 3 Ryan McGee of The A V Club gave the episode an A having enjoyed its satire of government encroachment onto American civil liberties and the replacement of personal responsibility on the part of some Americans with superfluous litigation While McGee felt that the sueance scenes dragged somewhat he felt that Cartman s reaction to the TSA was a worthwhile payoff and that the show s use of non sequitur weirdness provided strong final moments 4 Eric Hochberger of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4 out of 5 stars finding its gags at the expense of the TSA hilarious and the sueance scenes clever remarking that lawyer jokes never get old Hochberger singled out the convergence of the two storylines in the episode s climax as his favorite part and enjoying the fact that Butters ideas for using the toilet turned out to be correct 5 Author and cultural theorist Simone Browne references Reverse Cowgirl in her 2015 text Dark Matters On the Surveillance of Blackness In the chapter What Did the TSA Find in Solange s Fro Browne examines how the Black security officers depicted in the episode represent a class of worker that makes airport security possible while simultaneously racializing the annoyances of the twenty first century security state as specifically Black 6 References Edit Nicholson Max March 15 2012 South Park Reverse Cowgirl Review IGN Retrieved March 12 2022 Kleinman Jacob March 15 2012 South Park New Episode Takes On TSA Toilet Seat Gender War International Business Times Retrieved March 12 2022 Conte Eve March 15 2012 Watch South Park Reveal The Dangers Of Leaving The Toilet Seat Up Geeks of Doom McGee Ryan March 14 2012 South Park Reverse Cowgirl The A V Club Retrieved March 12 2022 Hochberger Eric March 14 2012 South Park Season Premiere Review You Can Always Sue Somebody TV Fanatic Browne Simone September 7 2015 Dark Matters On the Surveillance of Blackness Duke University Press ISBN 978 0 8223 7530 2 Archived from the original on September 8 2022 Retrieved September 8 2022 via Google Books External links Edit Reverse Cowgirl Full episode at South Park Studios Reverse Cowgirl at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Reverse Cowgirl South Park amp oldid 1142909965, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
