The Passion of the Jew

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Passion of the Jew
Series = South Park


Caption = Kyle watches "The Passion of the Christ"
Season = 8
Episode = 114
Airdate = March 31, 2004
Production =
Writer = Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Director = Trey Parker
Guests =
Episode list = List of "South Park" episodes
Season list = Infobox South Park season 8 episode list
Prev =
Next =

"The Passion of the Jew" is episode 114 of the Comedy Central series "South Park" and was originally broadcast on March 31, 2004. The episode (and its title) is a satire of the movie "The Passion of the Christ", which was released in 2004.

Plot

The boys are playing "Shuttlecraft Spontaneity" in the new minivan that Cartman's mother has purchased. They go on an away mission, with Cartman, as usual, giving Kyle a hard time about being a Jew, in this case a "Vulcan Jew". Cartman informs him that, according to the movie "The Passion of the Christ" (which he has seen 34 times), the Jews are the devil. He points out that they had plenty of opportunity to save Jesus, but each time failed to do so.

Stan and Kenny, tired of hearing them argue, decide to leave. Cartman accuses Kyle of being scared to learn the truth about the Jews, claiming that the film would show him that they are evil people. Kyle briefly debates this before deciding to go and see for himself. He endures the film and its gruesome depiction of the final hours of Jesus's life in a state of constant horror and disgust. When he leaves the theater, he wonders how his people could possibly have brought themselves to do that.

Kyle goes to Cartman's house and says, sadly, "You were right." Cartman relishes this, calling on him to repeat the line multiple times. He later prays to a poster of Mel Gibson (from "Braveheart"), promising to organize the masses and spread the word about "The Passion".

Stan and Kenny decide that they, too, must see the film, but their subsequent feeling about it is rather less enthusiastic than everyone Else's: so let down are they, in fact, that they decide to get their money back. Stan derides it as a "snuff film", but the man at the box office tells them that they must see the producer (that is, Gibson) of the film if they want to get their money back.

Kyle, meanwhile, is having nightmares about the film. Stan and Kenny try to get into contact with Gibson by calling a 1-800 number that they find on a website. The person on the other end of the line claims to be running "Mel Gibson's "The Passion" Fan Club". Stan asks him how to contact Gibson and get his money back but, after exchanging numerous insults, learn that the person is Cartman, who lets slip that Gibson lives in Malibu. Stan decides that he and Kenny must go there: it is no longer a matter merely of getting their money back; it is about holding the filmmaker responsible for a poor film (which Stan recalls doing previously with "BASEketball").

Cartman dresses in a brown Hitler-esque uniform (including a black hairpiece) and prepares himself for the fan-club meeting that he is about to hold in his backyard. In front of his mirror, he practices his speech, saying adamantly, "Töten Sie die Juden! Wir können nicht stillstehen, bis sie alle tot sind!" ("Kill the Jews! We cannot stand still until they are all dead!")

The fan-club members have gathered in the yard to celebrate their rediscovery of Christianity, unaware that the club is actually a device with which Cartman plans to follow in Hitler's footsteps and create a second Holocaust. Cartman suggests that those in attendance each take one more person to see "The Passion" before they begin "the cleansing" — a phrase that they take to denote the spiritual variety (as opposed to the ethnic one).

Stan and Kenny, meanwhile, have made their way to Gibson's Malibu mansion, where they see the man himself, who goes mad in the process of telling them that he will not be giving them their money back. He also reveals himself to be a masochist, a reference to the many films with which he is associated that feature torture.

Back in South Park, Kyle talks to Father Maxi about Jesus and how he can deal with his guilt about the crucifixion, claiming that his questions are asked on behalf of a Jewish friend. Father Maxi points out that the Passion is a play traditionally used to stir up antisemitism but suggests "atonement" for Kyle's friend, which gives him an idea.

Stan and Kenny steal the money that they want from Gibson's wallet [So veracious are they that, on finding that the wallet contains only twenty-dollar bills, and in spite of the fact that Gibson is on the warpath, they pause to insert the two-dollars change.] and escape from the lunatic. In a rally outside the South Park theatre at which "The Passion" is being shown, meanwhile, Cartman yells antisemitic German at his followers, who mistake them for Aramaic, the language spoken in "The Passion of the Christ". He gets the crowd to march after him and, as he exclaims, "Es ist Zeit für Rache!" ("It is time for revenge!"), it replies with a slogan that he has taught it: "Wir müssen die Juden ausrotten!" ("We must exterminate the Jews!")

Kyle goes to his synagogue and suggests to the gathering that, as the American government apologised for racial segregation and slavery, and the Germans apologised for the Holocaust, so the Jewish community should apologise for the death of Jesus Christ. Kyle's parents and the other Jews are outraged, expressing their concern the effect that the movie is having on people generally, claiming that it stereotypes Jews. [This is a deliberately ironic ploy on the part of the writers, as every Jew in the synagogue is portrayed with a big nose and a thick Yiddish accent.] The rabbi tries to allay their fears, telling them that "we live in a rational community, and everyone knows this is just a movie". No sooner has he said this, however, than Cartman is heard and seen goose-stepping down the street outside the synagogue with his followers, who are still chanting ignorantly their racist slogan.

On the bus back from Malibu, Stan and Kenny spot Gibson chasing after them in a recreation of the famous truck-chase scene from "", honking his horn and shouting "Qapla!" to get his $18 back. The Jewish congregation, meanwhile, is marching on the theatre, demanding that the movie be removed, while Cartman and his group come from in the other direction. Their heated argument about the film is interrupted by the arrival of the truck chase. Gibson's tanker truck crashes and explodes in front of the theatre, but its occupant emerges unscathed. Cartman rushes over to offer the services of his following and seek Gibson's approval, but the latter has gone completely off the deep end. Seeing Gibson's moonstruck behaviour makes Cartman's followers disillusioned with his movie and makes Kyle wonder why he was freaked out by it. Stan makes a speech about how Christians should follow the teachings of Jesus, not the way in which he died, stating also that hundreds of people were crucified in the same way during Jesus's time. Cartman's followers agree and go home, much to Cartman's dismay. Kyle says that he feels much better about being a Jew. Gibson, meanwhile, gives expression once more to his insanity by hopping away happily after defecating on Cartman's face.

See also

* "The Passion of the Christ"

External links

* [http://www.tv.com/south-park/the-passion-of-the-jew/episode/319439/summary.html "The Passion of the Jew" episode summary at tv.com]