When the NBA kowtowed to China this week, it disappointed America. Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of the Hong Kong protesters was enough to send the NBA into full apology mode, which earned bipartisan critique from Sens. Ted Cruz to Chuck Schumer.
It’s almost as if South Park knew this was coming. Last week, the show’s latest episode lambasted the growing trend of American companies pandering to Chinese interests. In “Band in China,” one character travels to China to drum up business for his farm, but he’s surprised how many other people had the same idea. On the flight over, one passenger explains that he’s from the NBA, “doing some press with the players and trying to get more Chinese viewers.”
Meanwhile, the character’s son, Stan, is trying to make a documentary about his band, but the manager gives the group bad news: They’ve got to appease China, so when they’re talking about books they enjoyed growing up, they’re not allowed to mention Winnie the Pooh.
And no, this type of irrational submission to Chinese interests isn’t fictional. Last year, the Chinese government banned the film Christopher Robin after protesters decided Winnie the Pooh looked a lot like Chinese leader Xi Jinping. China’s most censored photo in 2015? One that compared the leader to the beloved bear.
“Well you know what they say,” the manager explains. “You gotta lower your ideals of freedom if you want to suck on the warm teat of China.”
You gotta lower your ideals of freedom if you wanna suck on the warm teat of China. #southpark23
Watch “Band in China”: https://t.co/GQEQL9ynCs pic.twitter.com/RepekgO3j9
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
Appearing less than a week before the NBA’s pathetic concession to the totalitarian state, this South Park episode couldn’t have come at a better time and China knows it, too. So after the episode aired, China scrubbed South Park from what little part of the internet is available to Chinese citizens behind the Great Firewall.
As the Hollywood Reporter explains, “Now, those very same government censors, in the real world, have lashed back at South Park by deleting virtually every clip, episode and online discussion of the show from Chinese streaming services, social media and even fan pages.”
Unlike the NBA, Nike, and the creators of the Top Gun sequel, South Park chose not to bow to China’s interests. Not only did it stand apart from other American businesses, it ruthlessly critiqued them. Someone has to.
As the band’s manager explains to his disbelieving audience, “Everyone else is fine with China approving our entertainment. Even the PC babies don’t seem to mind, and PC babies cry about everything!”
After South Park got on China’s bad side, instead of crumbling with an apology, show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone released the perfect satirical statement.
Watch the full episode – https://t.co/oktKSJdI9i@THR article – https://t.co/nXrtmnwCJB pic.twitter.com/Xj5a1yE2eL
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
“Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts,” the statement read. “We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn’t look like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300th episode this Wednesday at 10! Long live the Great Communist Party of China! May the autumn’s sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?”
The NBA wouldn’t stand up for American principles, but oddly enough, South Park would. You could boycott the NBA next time you turn on the television, or you could just watch the full South Park episode here.
