Let's see: Stan is emotionally complex, Kyle is morally complex, Cartman is mentally complex and Kenny has a complex type of maturity... (Butters is a weird mix of the first three, mostly mentally and emotionally)
stan is emotionally complex in the sense that heâs justâŠextremely sensitive and empathetic. stan fits the âempathâ type pretty well; heâs not much of a fighter (unless itâs in regards to something he really values), heâs deeply empathetic towards animals, etc. but whatâs kind ofâŠunsettling, not about stan himself, but in regards to others, is that I see people often calling stan âweakâ or a âpussyâ, etc. because of how hard he takes break-ups, easily gets his feelings hurt, etc. both in the show, and fanon.
see, for the longest time, I too tended to view stan as the âsensitiveâ one of the group, but honestly, if you think about it, stanâs emotions arenât evenâŠthatâŠover-reactive. theyâre actually pretty normal and healthy (up until season 15, when he literally falls into a depression).
the unsettling thing about this, is actually the way kyle handles stanâs emotional highs and lows, because earlier on into the show, and even later on (âyouâre getting oldâ/âassburgersâ), kyleâs cold disregard for his hurt feelings and depressive mood swings, are actually eerilyâŠdetached and cruel. stanâs feelings are not invalid. I actually find his reactions to be the healthiest, of the group, even if heâs mentally plagued.
now, kyleâŠokay, so, hereâs why I love kyle so much as a character: heâs self-righteous and holier-than-thou, with a superiority complex, as he leads himself on into the belief that he is morally sound member of the groupâŠand yet, heâs one of the most insensitive and occasionally sociopathic characters on the entire show.
this is actually one of the reasons I take issue with the stan/kyle pairing â though kyle consistently tries to prove himself to be a sincere and generous character, he shows blatant disregard towards stanâs feelings. stan canât handle visiting kenny in the hospital, as heâs terrified to watch someone he cares about on their death bed. heâs eight-years-old, at this point. there is nothing selfish about that. and yet, kyle calls him âselfishâ, for it (âkenny diesâ s5). stan is broken-up about being dumped by wendy. kyle calls him a âpussyâ, and spends time with the other kids, instead (âraisinsâ s8). stan is depressed, his entire world perception is off, and his parents are getting divorced. kyle ditches him, and when wendy asks for help with stan, he literally tells her âhis negativity is poison to himâ (YGO/AB s15).
this is why I dislike a lot of the fan-content regarding kyle â people tend to erase these scenarios, as frequently as theyâve occured, and play kyle up as someâŠmorally sound, genius boyâŠand a victim, when in reality, kyle often lacks the very most basics, of not just empathy, but sympathy.
kyle most often does good things, but not because he wants to do good things, he wants the recognition. in âtoilet paperâ (s7), kyle acts all high and mighty, and toilet-papering their art teacherâs house plagues his mindâŠbut the moment he hears he can receive a âbetter offerâ, he doesnât give a shit. kyle doesnât care about stanâs anti-bullying video, or buttersâ âkissingâ business, until stan starts getting positive attention and butters starts pulling in real money. then, suddenly, he thinks he has the moral high-ground.
âginger cowâ (s17) is such a good episode for thisâŠitâs the perfect example of the classic kyle and cartman dynamic; the thing is, theyâre both bad, in different ways: cartman is wrong in the sense, that heâs just looking for another new way to get under kyleâs skin. kyle is wrong, because his obsession with image and status (âIâm like gandhi!â), overrides his sincerity. I mean, even stan calls kyle out for his holier-than-thou uppity bullshit, in this episode. itâs ridiculous. kyleâs ego, will always outweigh his actual sympathy and moral values â this is the same reason why cartman can so easily manipulate him, into doing things kyle would otherwise consider morally corrupt. âcrack baby athletic associationâ (s15), is such a good episode for this. kyle is furious upon discovering their organization, until cartman strokes his ego, and mentions money, too. then, âmoral compass, kyle broflovskiâ, is suddenly all ears. kyle can be such a fucking egomaniac, and I feel like so often, people throw that part of him aside.
one thing, I would like to add: the highest form of irony, on behalf of kyleâs character, is the fact that while he lacks sympathy for stan, he can go all out for cartman, in that same regard. itâs actuallyâŠkinda hilarious, how the ONE person, that this conceited, fake-woke douchebag can show any real form of sincere empathetic feelings towards, is his âarch-nemesisâ, eric fucking cartman.
cartmanâs mental complexity, stems fromâŠso many different places, I mean, Iâm really not even sure where to start on this one. I could do any entire college thesis on cartman, and it would probably still be missing a whole lot of content. Iâll just try to remain as simplified as I possibly can:
what makes cartman such a highly ironic character, is that heâs the teetering on downright dangerous combination of being both overly-exposed and incredibly naĂŻve. the perfect example of this, being his attitude in regards to love and sex.
cartman has an incredibly warped view on both. canonically, itâs been proven that he views it as an act of violence, rather than something loving, though he knows itâs often paralleled to a romantic setting. some select examples of this:
finding a kissing couple in the park, and accusing the man of ârapingâ her (ofc, this could just be cartman purposely looking for drama, too, but itâs a good point) (âThe CoonââŠs13, I believe)
his instant reaction to seeing tweek and craig preparing for a fight (s19), is to excitedly shout âtheyâre about to have sex!â
kyle having to explain to cartman, that your dad âfuckingâ your mother, is not a tragic backstoryâŠparents have sex lovingly, to have children, etc. (TFBW)
upon finding out that sheila âcheatedâ on gerald with a UPS man, cartman insists that liane purchase a better security system, because heâs afraid sheâll be ârapedâ (âinsecurityâ s16)
I think cartman struggles with the concept of romantic sex, likely because he was exposed at such a young age. this aspect of his personality comes up in other context too; his racism typically presents itself in the form of sincerely blissful ignorance (i.e. âpassion of the jewâ, where both he AND kyle are manipulated by a misleading film, to the extent where cartmanâs casual antisemitism manifests into true disillusioned hatred). another good example (and a good example of actual character development on cartmanâs part, as twisted as it is) is cartmanâs fixation on token and nichole, and wanting to set them up because theyâre both black. heâs racist and ignorant, but heâs simultaneously incredibly naĂŻve.
Iâve mentioned something like this before in another post, but cartman and butters are probably the two most repressed characters of the main five, which likely accounts for a lot of toxic masculinity. the difference being ofc, that butters is repressed by his environment, and cartman is typically more repressed by himself.
TXC is such a great example, of what is most likely, his repressed homosexual side, revealing itself. cartman is so, deeply in denial of so many aspects of his life. itâs actually really sad. there are many parts of him, that actually suggest sincere vulnerability. cartman is actually incredibly sensitive â heâs just, predominantly only sensitive to himself. but he does appear to possess a great deal of shame, in any buried âgayâ parts within himself, as well as the side of him that loves stuffed animals, and tea parties, maybe even journalling and other typically âgirlyâ or childish activities and interests. heâs self-hatred and self-sabotage, personified.
itâs also notable, that one of cartmanâs biggest fears, is revealing self-sincerity. in âle petit touretteâ, when he starts accidentally spilling secrets, heâs instantly thrown into a state of vulnerability and as a result, desperation and panic. this is likely due to:
lianeâs lack of sincere affection and support towards him, when heâs upset (typically presented in earlier seasons)
embarrassment stemming from being used to getting rejected (in all aspects of life)
the only person who has actually given cartman a sincere amount of conscious affection, and a shoulder to cry on, is kyle, which indefinitely plays into their dynamic. just a note, I wanted to finish on, not planning on elaborating. this is intended to be singular character analysis.
now, kenny: kenny is, in a wayâŠboth a parallel of, and simultaneously the opposite of cartman. kennyâs overexposure comes in a different form, but while cartmanâs has translated into trauma and a desperate need to grip onto parts of early childhood, in perhaps, a pathetic attempt to maintain more naĂŻvety, kennyâs trauma, has translated into maturity.
people who have suffered traumatic events such as death, abusive, assault, etc. (kennyâs being domestic violence between his parents and literal death), typically tend to either have a warped world view (cartman), or an adapted perspective (kenny). what I mean by this, is that kenny has seen the very worst, the world has to offer, and from that it translated into compassion and a protective side of himself.
this is most likely why kenny has such high empathy. he doesnât trivialize other peopleâs issues like kyle does. he doesnât project and repress like cartman does. his traumatic experiences have translated into positive traits (not that it would ever justify any of his suffering). best examples of kennyâs compassionate attitude; the way he treats butters in âgoing nativeâ (s16), and ofc, the way he looks out for karen and puts her happiness and safety before his own needs and wants (several episodes, see The Coon episodes, âthe poor kidâ (s15 finale), and s19).
ofc, this is all pretty funny, in comparison to the other side of kennyâs âmaturityâ in earlier seasons, which like cartman, reveals itself in sexual over-exposure (although itâs hinted that this is because of his fathersâ porno-mags, rather than cartman who has actual firsthand experience). two sides of a coin, I guess.
I wish I could say more about kenny, I really, really do, but unfortunately Iâm scrapping the bottom of the barrel for content with him.
I donât even put this much effort into homework, unfortunately, but if you made it to the end of this essay, congrats, and as usual: there are just my own, personal thoughts and interpretations.