South Park’s newest episode in large part centres around the ‘6-7’ meme, a Gen Alpha phrase which to anyone of other generations seems to have no meaning whatsoever.
South Park’s recent episodes have covered such a wide range of topics that fans can seemingly never know what current ongoing topic they will parody next.
From commentary on the size of Donald Trump’s penis, to the Israel-Palestine conflict, to Kristi Noem’s penchant for shooting dogs, South Park’s latest season has been arguably the most current since the TV show’s inception in 1997.
Their newest episode, however, has Cartman obsessed with the internet’s newest viral meme, saying the numbers 6-7.
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All of the kids at the school become obsessed with saying 6-7, with Cartman’s obsession reaching the point that he vomits anytime someone mentions it – leading the school to bring in an expert on the Antichrist, Palantir and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel.
Where did the 6-7 meme originate and how did it become so viral?
The 6-7 meme originates from rapper Skrilla’s song ‘Doot Doot (6-7)’ in which he raps: “6-7, I just bipped right on the highway”, something which was used in edits online of 6”7 NBA player, Lamelo Ball.
This then became popularised through those edits and a viral video of a kid now known as the ‘6-7 kid’ (who is now creating his own meme cryptocurrency).
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The 6-7 kid posted videos of his local amateur basketball game in which he repeatedly yelled 6-7 from the crowd, going viral.
The meme, however, has taken on a nonsensical life of its own, with videos at the time being purposely vague so that it is indecipherable for confused Millennials and older Gen-Zers.
Usually accompanied by a juggling hand motion, the meme has now reached the point of celebrities as varied as Kim Kardashian, Shaq, Natasha Bedingfield, and Michail Antonio all joining in.
What are the South Park 6-7 jokes parodying?
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Specifically, the episode deals with complaints from teachers that the ‘6-7’ meme has taken over classrooms.
One of the core jokes of the meme is saying 7 as an answer to anyone saying 6, with The Independent reporting that many educators had banned the phrase from their classrooms.
More importantly, it is part of the episodes moves to mock Peter Thiel, the shadowy billionaire behind even more shadowy corporation Palantir.
Whilst Palantir presents itself as a company that helps create software to connect data, it is linked to the IOF, the Trump administration, and a £480m NHS contract that led to major concerns over data privacy.
Thiel is mocked in the episode for his ‘obsession’ with the anti-Christ, a topic he has given several lectures on in Silicon Valley, including one that went viral for suggesting that Greta Thunberg is the anti-Christ.
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In the episode, Thiel’s views are mocked by comparing them to the bizarre 6-7 meme trend, with him trying to carry out an exorcism on Cartman to figure out why he keeps saying 6-7.
Topics: South Park, TV and Film, Viral, Social Media, TV
Michael Slavin