Matt Parker and Trey Stone, the creators of "South Park," have had their finger on the pulse of what outrages Americans since they first started crudely drawing the four foul-mouthed protagonists of the show. So it was only a matter of time before the duo did an episode revolving around George Zimmerman.
The episode found a way to have Cartman imagine himself as Brad Pitt from "World War Z" and connect it to the riots that followed Zimmerman's not guilty verdict.
"There are 'controversies' - debates that are kind of dumb to begin with - and there are Controversies - the debates that define who we are as a populace in the 21st century," Marcus Gilmer wrote at the AVClub.com. "'World War Zimmerman,' which takes on the nation debate over something very visceral and real: the acquittal of Neighborhood Watch vigilante George Zimmerman in the shooting deat of Trayvon Martin. And what results is one of the better episodes of the show tackling a Controversy in a long time."
The episode revolves around Cartman thinking that his only African American classmate, Token, blames him for Zimmerman verdict. Cartman has dream sequences where he envisions African Americans reacting angrily to the verdict in the same manner as the zombies from "World War Z," according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The episode ends up dealing with the race issue in the bluntest way possible (SPOILER ALERT); it has George Zimmerman shoot Cartman dressed as a black kid and get off scot-free. Until it is revealed that Cartman was white and then Zimmerman is convicted and executed almost immediately. Cartman ends up shooting Token from point-blank range and gets off with no consequences as well, although Token does survive the ordeal, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
"Delicately treading a fine line between hilarious and heinous, 'World War Zimmerman' was a return to form for 'South Park,' as it handily lampooned both the Trayvon Martin Case and World War Z in one fell swoop," Max Nicholson wrote for IGN.com.
