Story

Description

Cartman notices a disturbing increase in hippie activity around South Park. They have taken up residence in people's attics, in their walls everywhere. At first he tackles the infestation himself, personally locking up 63 beatniks in his basement. But the problem soon becomes too much for him to handle solo. Desperate, he takes his fears to South Park's city council. He tells them that unless something is done, the exploding hippie population will cause a catastrophic hippie music festival the likes of which have never been seen.

The city council listens, then tells Cartman he's insane and throws him out. Shortly after, Officer Barbrady discovers the hippies "wrongfully" imprisoned in Cartman's basement and throws him in jail. Even worse, while he's locked up, the Mayor informs Cartman she's signed a permit allowing the hippies to stage the music festival.

Meanwhile, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are out selling magazine subscriptions for their community youth program. They encounter a group of college hippies who inform them that selling magazines is turning the boys into a tool of "the corporations." Horrified at the sound of this, the boys start dressing like hippies and join the hippie clan so they can do something about "the corporations." They even turn up at the music festival -- Hippie Jam Fest 2005 -- which quickly grows to disastrous proportions.

Almost too late, the town realizes the mistake, and seeks Cartman's aid. He agrees to help, on the condition that he be provided with a Tonka remote-controlled bulldozer and be allowed to play with it in the school parking lot while Kyle watches. He gets his terms and develops a daring plan -- drill through the miles-thick festival crowd using a special vehicle called the Hippie Digger. Once at the stage, he will play a death metal song over the sound system. The hippies will disperse because, as everyone knows, hippies hate death metal.

At the same time Stan, Kyle, and Kenny grow bored with the music and pot smoking at the concert and ask the hippies when they actually plan to do something. The hippies think getting high and listening to tunes is doing something. Disgusted, the boys try to leave, only to discover they're walled in on all sides by miles of hippies.

Just then, the Hippie Digger (manned by Cartman, Butters' mom, Stan's dad, and Chef) hacks its way through the dreadlocked, patchouli-scented throng to the stage. Cartman commandeers the sound system and blasts the Slayer song "Raining Blood," which instantly disperses the crowd. The boys, now free, reject the hippie lifestyle. And later, Cartman gets his Tonka bulldozer -- which Kyle, as agreed, must watch him enjoy.

What I Learned Today

"Maybe instead of complaining about corporations being selfish, we should look at ourselves. I mean, is there anything more selfish than doing nothing but getting high and listening to music all day long?"

Memorable Quotes

• "They're not people, they're hippies!" Cartman
• "So it seems like we have enough people now. When do we start taking down the corporations?" Stan
• "Problem is, if you see one hippie there's probably a whole lot more you're not seeing." Cartman
• "Look, when hippies start to nest in a new area, it draws other hippies in. With the right weather conditions and topography, it can lead to a music festival." Cartman
• "I can't wait to see the look on those little Eichmann's faces when they hear this crunchy groove!" Crunchy
• "You ate too much acid, man!" Stan's mom
• "Along with me, I'm going to need a scientist, an engineer and of course, a black person who can sacrifice himself in case something goes wrong." Cartman
• "I don't want you to worry about me, Clyde Frog. You're the best stuffed animal I ever had." Cartman

Characters

Stan Marsh

Kyle Broflovski

Eric Cartman

Kenny McCormick

Butters Stotch

Randy Marsh

Sharon Marsh

Gerald Broflovski

Sheila Broflovski

Linda Stotch

Stephen Stotch

Mayor McDaniels

Principal Victoria

Mr. Garrison

Mr. Mackey

Officer Barbrady

Chef

Jimbo Kern

Character Debuts

A whole buttload of stoners, nonconformists, and hippies -- literally millions of them. Although they aren't specifically named in the episode, the hippies from the University of Colorado at Boulder have names in the script: Chachi (the leader), Crunchy (the dude with a guitar), Granola (the guy constantly eating granola), and the two girls, Rain (with the "Fish" shirt) and Navel (with the hippie coat).

Body Count

Numerous hippies ground to bits by the blade of the Hippie Digger. Also, a number of band members mutilated and crushed when the drill crashes into the stage. While trying to stop Stan's dad from entering the hippie mob, Jimbo says that the hippies "just trampled Mrs. Farkle to death." We haven't been introduced to her, but she's dead now anyway.

Locations

City Hall

Park County Community Center

Behind The Scenes

Where Did The Idea Come From

Trey and Matt met while going to college in Boulder, Colorado, where they observed lots of hippies in their natural environment. They're particularly amused by the unshakable hippie belief that smoking weed and listening to music will somehow change the world. You may notice that a number of hippies in this episode are shown as specifically from University of Colorado at Boulder.

Pop Culture References

Shout Outs

Cartman's encounter with hippie-fied versions of Stan, Kyle, and Kenny is a parody of a scene from the zombie thriller 28 Days Later. Also, Cartman's speech before the city council on the growing hippie problem recalls a similar moment in the 2004 disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow. Finally, the idea of using a giant drill to bore through the concert crowds is taken from the movie The Core, in which a similar vehicle carries humans to the center of the earth.

One of the college hippies is wearing a "Fish" shirt, a take-off on the popular stoner jam band Phish. The first band performing on stage looks an awful lot like them.

While warning the city counsel, Cartman claims that, "Raggae on the River, Woodstock, Burning Man -- they would all pale in comparision." These are all immensely famous music festivals.

Hippie Kyle is wearing a t-shirt with the picture of revolutionary leader Che Guevara, who was largely responsible for the Cuban Socialist Revolution.

Bonus Factoids

Pointless Observations

Butters' mother is apparently an engineer (although we have previously seen her working at a telemarketing office in "Jared Has Aides"). There's also a flashback of Stan's parents circa 1969, attending the acid-soaked Woodstock Music Festival. This is the first episode where we see Stan playing guitar, although it looks as if he's still learning the chords. He will master the process in "Smug Alert".

A wealth of information is revealed about hippies. They usually live in colonies, have no money, and are deathly afraid of "the corporations." More specifically, they come in three types: "Giggling Stoners," a pretty common form usually found in attics; "Drum Circle Hippies," which usually form colonies if not treated; and worst of all, the "College Know It All Hippies." Cartman states that he's been keeping the town free of hippies since he was 5-1/2 years old.

The bumper sticker on the hippie's car reads: "My karma ran over your Dogma." There's also a modified Jesus Fish with two little legs sprouting from it, labeled "Darwin."

Finally, we learn that Chef (who speaks newly recorded dialogue for the last time in this episode) is a member of South Park's city council and is responsible for public safety.

The hippies regularly call Cartman "Little Eichmanns." It's a nod to University of Colorado-Boulder professor Ward Churchill, author of a paper asserting that the US provoked the 9/11 attacks. He called the victims Little Eichmanns, after Nazi holocaust architect Adolf Eichmann.

When Mayor McDaniels realizes that signing a permit for the concert unleashed a hippie holocaust, she presses a large-caliber handgun to her head and fires, splattering a nearby wall with blood and brain matter. But a few scenes later she's back on her feet, sporting a head bandage covering still-bleeding entrance and exit wounds.

Season 9

e1 Mr. Garrison's Fancy New Vagina

e2 Die Hippie, Die

e3 Wing

e4 Best Friends Forever

e5 The Losing Edge

e6 The Death of Eric Cartman

e7 Erection Day

e8 Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow

e9 Marjorine

e10 Follow That Egg!

e11 Ginger Kids

e12 Trapped in the Closet

e13 Free Willzyx

e14 Bloody Mary