374:; Stone said Garefino was a "good sport about it" and did not get offended by the show's jokes about Catholicism. Parker also said the show's elements about flatulence causing spontaneous combustion stemmed from his own serious belief that holding in farts can indeed cause humans to spontaneously combust. Parker said, "I honestly think it could be what spontaneous combustion is because I've seen some dudes light their farts, and the fireballs were big. And that was just one fart. I'm serious, I think it's totally possible."
301:). After going through extensive researching, Randy finds out that people need to flatulate only in moderation in order to fight against the global warming. This works well, and he ends up winning the town's accolades again, and gets his Nobel Prize back three weeks later, at which point the boys suddenly remember they had left Cartman out on the cross that long. They run to get him, and find him still alive but
287:. Randy, blamed for the crisis, is stripped of his Nobel Prize, and stoned and forced to walk through the town with his own statue on his back, being denied by his friends (as Jesus was in the Stations of the Cross). Meanwhile, Gerald manages to get an erection, after seeing some attractive, young female clients undress in his office (to show him the
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episodes, by portraying the children as wiser and more reasonable in seeking a solution to the spontaneous combustion problem. Although the adults follow trends and solutions that contradict common sense, namely avoiding spontaneous combustion by passing gas at all times, only the children are able
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Randy does not want to try to find a solution for his problem, since all the people in town would still hate him, even if he managed to solve the combustion/global warming conundrum. However, Stan tells him that he learned something from the
Stations of the Cross: Even though Jesus was hated by all
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again!" Religious writer Michel
Clasquin said the episode also demonstrates the way in which people "go through the right motions" in practicing religion by attending church, but disregard religion in their everyday lives; he cites the example that when Stan asks his father where their copy of the
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Meanwhile, Cartman (still on the cross) is getting upset and tired that Stan and Kyle will not take him down, even going as far as claiming his mother Liane is worried and "calling" for him. He is later taken down by Chef until he tells him it was all "just a dream" and he is still on the cross,
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co-creator, had never heard of
Stations of the Cross until Parker explained it to him during a meeting, to which Stone said, "I just thought it was the funniest thing". While making the episode, Parker and Stone were simultaneously making their
305:, having survived for three weeks on his accumulated body fat. Angered, Cartman then says (in a high pitched voice) that once he is taken down, he'll kick their groins. The song in Randy's daydream montage plays during the end credits.
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the people he knew and denied by his friends, he still did what he had to do and, as he was dying, raised his right hand and stated, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" (which Kyle later points out is a quote from
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quote. Nevertheless, Clasquin said Stan does ultimately learn lessons of sacrifice and selflessness from the story of Jesus' crucifixion, so the episode ultimately upholds some of the more positive aspects of religion and
412:". Clasquin said "Spontaneous Combustion" also demonstrates the ease with which people blend their religious convictions with lessons from pop culture, particularly with Stan's confusion of a biblical verse and a
248:" to give to Gerald. Meanwhile, Randy manages to find out that the combustions are caused by people refusing to flatulate in front of their partners (Kenny was spending some time with Kelly, his girlfriend from
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football team, has also been described as a satire on the way sports can take on a religious status due to the seriousness with which fans regard it. Maxi also suggests Kenny might not have been killed if the
244:, after repeated pleading that he could not play any other role. Afterwards, the boys take the cross and put it up outside the church, with Cartman still attached, so that he will die and get a "
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contributor, gave "Spontaneous
Combustion" a negative review; he called it "pretty dopey" and said "Sure, it's funny if you like passing gas jokes, but its aspirations are limited."
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described it as "another highly-recommended episode, although if you have sensitive
Christian values perhaps you would be better off missing this episode". Paul Thompson, of the
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Another crisis then comes up, when a heat wave hits the town, and again Randy is hired to figure out the cause. However, Mephesto beats him to it. He discovers that it is the
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for which they claim Randy is responsible); after telling Kyle everything is going to be alright, Kyle is so glad for his father that he forgets about
Cartman on the cross.
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recommended the episode, but said it was "almost certain to offend large segments of the population", particularly for its take on the
Stations of the Cross. Although the
521:, which was released around the same time "Spontaneous Combustion" was broadcast, took exception to the episode's portrayal of the Stations of the Cross reenactment.
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The episode satirizes religion in more ways than its reenactment of the
Stations of the Cross. A church prayer, in which Priest Maxi prays for the success of the
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residents had attended church more regularly, which satirizes the use of guilt to encourage participation in religion; this is further demonstrated by
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events Parker witnessed as a child. Parker said he thought it was funny to watch young children participate in the events, particularly in seeing the
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executives were not happy with the arrangement and preferred for Parker and Stone to stop working on the television series to focus on the film.
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to find a reasonable solution in the middle of two extremes: only passing gas when absolutely necessary or when it is "really, really funny".
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recommended the episode, they said it proved, "silliness and outrageousness continue to be this cartoon's calling card".
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episodes illustrating the show's tendency to tackle controversial subjects, particularly with regard to religion.
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discovers that his father Gerald and his mother Sheila are having marital difficulties caused by Gerald's
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The episode also satirizes adult pretentiousness, a common theme in
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Doug Pratt's DVD: Movies, Television, Music, Art, Adult, and More!
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This article is about the South Park episode. For other uses, see
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In the episode, Kenny and many other townsfolk start dying from
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In writing the episode, Parker and Stone regularly consulted
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Quagga kultuur: reflections on South
African popular culture
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Cartman and the other South Park children reenact the
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954:9
949:8
944:7
939:6
934:5
929:4
924:3
919:2
914:1
889:e
882:t
875:v
819:.
715:)
711:(
670:.
637:.
165:"
134:"
122:"
102:)
33:"
29:"
20:.
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