Kyle Broflovski

Name	Kyle Broflovski
Series	South Park
Caption
First	Jesus vs. Frosty (Short) Cartman Gets an Anal Probe (South Park)
Last
Creator
Episode
Portrayer	Matt Stone
Nickname
Alias
Species
Gender	Male
Age
Occupation	Student
Title
Family	Ike Broflovski (adopted brother)
Lbl21	Parents
Data21	Sheila Broflovski (mother) Gerald Broflovski (father)
Spouse
Children
Relatives	Cleo (grandmother) Kyle Schwartz (cousin)
Lbl23	Residence
Data23	South Park, Colorado
Religion	Jewish
Lbl24
Data24

Kyle Broflovski is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Matt Stone. Kyle is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Stan Marsh, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Stone and long-time collaborator Trey Parker in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa).

Kyle is a fourth grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his fictional hometown of South Park, Colorado. He often trades places with Stan as the protagonist of the show, customarily in opposition to Cartman's antagonist. Kyle is distinctive as one of the few Jewish children on the show, and because of this, he often feels like an outsider amongst the core group of characters. His portrayal in this role is often dealt with satirically, and has elicited praise and criticism from Jewish viewers.

Kyle is animated by computer in a way to emulate the show's original method of cutout animation. He also appears in , the 1999 full-length feature film based on the series, as well as South Park-related media and merchandise. While Parker and Stone portray Kyle as having common childlike tendencies, his dialogue is often intended to reflect stances and views on more adult-oriented issues, and has been frequently cited in numerous publications by experts in the fields of politics, religion, pop culture, and philosophy.

Role in South Park

Kyle attends South Park Elementary as part of Mr/Mrs. Garrison's fourth grade class. During the show's first 58 episodes (1997 until the season four episode "4th Grade" in 2000), Kyle and the other main child characters were in the third grade. He lives in South Park with his father Gerald, a lawyer, and his overprotective mother Sheila, a housewife who fits the mold of a Jewish mother stereotype. Kyle has no biological siblings, but does have a younger adopted brother from Canada named Ike.

Gerald often attempts to teach Kyle important morals. Though his mother's outspoken and manipulative nature usually overwhelms Kyle, he tends to show that he truly loves her, and takes offense to any insult Cartman may offer about her. Although he engages in the reckless act of playfully kicking him like a football, Kyle shows concern for his brother's well-being. He was initially reluctant to embrace Ike as his brother upon learning that Ike was adopted, but Ike's genuine affection for his older brother persuaded Kyle to love him in return, and regard him as "true family".

Kyle is modeled after Stone, while Stan is modeled after Parker. Kyle and Stan are best friends, and their relationship, which is intended to reflect the real-life friendship between Parker and Stone, is a common topic throughout the series. The two do have their disagreements, but always reconcile without any long-term damage to their friendship. The show's official website defines Kyle's role amongst his friends as "the smart one". He often provides a sober thought to plans or ideas made by the other boys, and explains a moral outlook while drawing upon his vast knowledge and intelligence. He tends to offer reasonable or scientific explanations both to situations most others view as supernatural in nature, and in opposition of propaganda dispensed by Cartman. Kyle has professed a friendship with Kenny and shown genuine concern for Kenny's health and safety. Kyle normally has the angrier reaction of yelling, "You bastards!" following Stan's exclamation of the popular catchphrase, "Oh my God, they killed Kenny" after one of Kenny's trademark deaths. The reasoning behind the idea was to genuinely surprise fans, and to allow an opportunity to provide a major role for Butters Stotch, a breakout character whose popularity was growing with the viewers and creators of the show. Nevertheless, Kenny returned from a year-long absence in the season six (2002) finale "Red Sleigh Down", and had remained a recurring character ever since.

In many episodes, Kyle draws upon his sense of social purpose and moral outrage, When tasked three years later by friend Brian Graden to create another short as a video Christmas card that he could send to friends, Parker and Stone created another similarly-animated The Spirit of Christmas short, dubbed Jesus vs. Santa. In this short, which was the first appearance of Kyle styled as he is in the series, he is given his first name. When developing the character, Parker recalled there being only one Jewish student in his entire hometown of Conifer, Colorado, and described her as being "the token Jewish person". Stone, himself Jewish, also recalled his own experiences as a youth in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, and both he and Parker decided to incorporate these aspects into the character. Kyle next appeared on August 13, 1997, when South Park debuted on Comedy Central with the episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe".

From the show's second episode, "Weight Gain 4000" (season one, 1997), Kyle, like all other characters on the show, has been animated using computer software, though he is presented to give the impression that the show still utilizes its original technique. He is not offered the same free range of motion associated with hand-drawn characters; his character is generally shown from only one angle, and his movements are animated in an intentionally jerky fashion.

Personality and traits

.]]Kyle is foul-mouthed (a trait present in his friends as well) as a means for Parker and Stone to display how they claim young boys really talk when they are alone. While sometimes cynical and profane, Parker notes that there is an "underlying sweetness" to the character, and Time described Kyle and his friends as "sometimes cruel but with a core of innocence".

As a Jew, Kyle often defends and shows pride in his religion and ancestry.

A recurring plot element is the depiction of Kyle as insecure about Jewish traditions and beliefs. Already regarding God as cruel for allowing him to suffer from a life-threatening hemorrhoid while Cartman enjoys a million-dollar inheritance, Kyle became further appalled after being read the story of Job. He also once feared damnation for not having grown up as a Catholic. During both instances, he renounced his affiliation with Judaism, only to have his faith restored by events occurring at the end of an episode. After watching The Passion of the Christ, a shameful Kyle suddenly felt that Cartman's anti-Semitism was justified, and suggested to angry members of his synagogue that the Jews apologize for the death of Jesus. Kyle's guilt is alleviated when he encounters Mel Gibson, the film's director, and perceives him to be a deranged masochist. Kyle is hopelessly inept at choreographed dancing; in the eyes of Cartman, he perpetuated the stereotype that "Jews have no rhythm". His birthday is May 26, the same day as Stone.

Cultural impact

Kyle's depiction on the show has drawn praise and criticism from the Jewish community. Detractors of the character cite his own habit of eschewing common Jewish practices and reiterating negative stereotypes for comedic purposes. hate crime legislation, civil liberties, profanity in television, hybrid vehicle ownership, and the economy. In the season 10 (2006) episode "Cartoon Wars Part II", Kyle expresses his opinions on censorship, and iterates Parker and Stone's sentiments on the topic by telling a television executive "Either it's all okay, or none of it is" in regard to whether any subject should remain off-limits to satire. To Parker and Stone's disappointment, the episode received more attention for its criticism of the show Family Guy than it did for Kyle's proclamation. Essays in the books , Blame Canada! South Park and Contemporary Culture, and Taking South Park Seriously have also analyzed Kyle's perspectives within the framework of popular philosophical, theological, and political concepts.

Those who share a common political stance with Kyle and other characters on the show are sometimes described as [[South Park Republican|''South Park

Republican]]s, Brian C. Anderson describes the group as consisting mostly of teenagers and young adults who favor the messages on South Park which often ridicule liberal viewpoints, and who prefer to get their news from conservative-leaning new media sources. In response to the focus on elements of satire in South Park, Parker has said the main goal of the show is to portray Kyle and his friends as "kids just being kids" as a means of accurately showcasing "what it's like to be in [elementary school] in America".

In other media

Kyle had a major role in , the full-length film based on the series, and appeared on the singing the same musical numbers performed in the movie. As a tribute to the Dead Parrot sketch, a short that features Kyle as the owner of a shop to where Cartman attempts to return a dead Kenny aired during a 1999 BBC television special commemorating the 30th anniversary of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Kyle also featured in the documentary film The Aristocrats, listening to Cartman tell his version of the film's titular joke, and in the "The Gauntlet", a short spoofing both Gladiator and Battlefield Earth which aired during the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. Stone performs as Kyle on tracks for and Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics.

Kyle appears in four South Park-related video games: In South Park, Kyle is controlled by the player through the first-person shooter mode who attempts to ward off enemies from terrorizing the town of South Park. In , a user has the option of playing as Kyle when participating in the game's several "minigames" based on other popular arcade games. In the racing game South Park Rally, a user can race as Kyle against other players, selecting from a variety of vehicles. In South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, Kyle can be selected as a playable character used to establish a tower defense against the game's antagonists.

Notes

References

External links

Kyle Broflovski at South Park Studios

Category:South Park characters Category:Fictional characters from Colorado Category:Child characters in television Category:Fictional characters based on real people Category:Fictional American Jews