Why I think Creek isn’t canon
(The title is here just to drag attention because I actually don’t have such a strong opinion about Creek. Yep I’m an asshole.)
Okay so I need to talk about this creek episode, like a lot of people here in the fandom as well. I had at first mixed feelings about it. I found it hilarious and all, but at the end the only thing I could think was “meh” because it let me this impression of an unfinished episode (which is usual in a south park episode and I sort of enjoy it).
HOWEVER. Now I know why I always had a love/hate relationship with creek. It always had something to do with the fandom picturing Tweek as a “beautiful cinnamon roll”. WOW WOW WOW hold on. I know this isn’t new I know MANY people talked about this on tumblr, but now it’s my turn, and since this episode just came out yesterday, I have even more reasons to think about it that way.
First of you who tells me Tweek is a cute and innocent baby, I ask you : did you watch the same episode as me ? Because holy shit this little guy can be an asshole, even if he regrets it afterwards. And damn, he is a REALLY GOOD actor. And I insist on that.
I have some concern about the way this episode is analyzed by creek shippers. Now don’t get me wrong I have nothing against creek shippers and I’m not going to criticize creek because I don’t enjoy it. I myself love crenny which is totally a crack pairing so I don’t have to lecture anyone about that. And Stolovan. Which is even more a crack pairing. Plus, I always insisted on the fact you can ship anything you like. But this is another debate and I’ll try not to wander off subject too much, because I already do.
I want to give rise to some points.
0. Why nobody is going to read me and why I’m a cynical asshole
1. Why I think Creek isn’t canon AS A LOVE RELATIONSHIP
2. Why I think a LOT of people didn’t understand the meaning of the episode when they say Craig is afraid of his father’s reaction (aka don’t forget South Park is a satire like in every episodes since forever)
3. Why I think Creek shippers are exactly doing what Matt and Trey wanted to portray
4. Why I think Creek might be canon as very good friends, and what I mean by this relationship.
So. I think this thing is already too fucking long and that’s why most of you will just scroll your dash and ignore this, and this is probably for the best. Also, I’ll certainly look like an asshole because I like to expose my opinions even if it’s considered problematic, but hey, Reality still lives in my world anyway.
OKAY.
SO (I really need someone to give me some synonyms for “so” because I tend to use it for everything). Sipping or not, I think it’s pretty obvious that creek isn’t canon at all and the boys just date because they want people to leave them the fuck alone. They did it to break up the first time, which was a pretty good idea if Tweek wouldn’t have overplayed his role. The tears and all were amazing and I’m impressed by this little puppy but omg he’s such an asshole did you see his smile ? But anyway the most important part was when he said he was sorry to Craig and it was honestly one of the cutest moments of the episode in my opinion. But there again, they start to date again, even if Craig maintains he’s not gay because they just don’t want to be seen as problematic by the others. Their break up would be to hard in this perfect little world *cough*. Tumblr can say anything it wants, being gay has become a holy grail in society and automatically, gay is assigned with “good person”, with is one of the biggest absurdities I could ever hear. It’s like the Kylie Jenner debate ; it’s not because she’s a woman now and because she has the courage to come out you have to love her. I mean her acts in the past still come from her sooo yeah. You can be anyone you want but this doesn’t mean you’re a good person. I still love Kyle for telling that in this episode. But there again this is not the point.
What I mean with creek is that they use the same scheme. Matt and Trey want to show how the society has to progress and how it’s ridiculous at some point, which brings me to my second point about Thomas and the satire in this episode.
They show this through the parents who are all progressive and gay-positive, but let’s face it ; it would be GREAT if every parent were that open-minded, but it just doesn’t happen AT ALL in real life. It’s what people want, an ideal so strong it even become a threat nowadays, and there’s the sad reality : Craig doesn’t have the right to be straight. Because Matt and Trey wanted to reverse what we actually are to what we want. We want gay people to be accepted as much as everyone else. And when I say gay people, I mean everyone who’s different and still valid. Different from what we call “normality” (cis and straight) in a mathematical way, aka the majority of people, even if it can be discussed. But I’m not here to debate about this either. What I want to mean is that we want SO MUCH people to be open minded and gay/trans-positive we start to create a cis-phobia along with a straight-phobia (and don’t tell me I’m whining because “oh my goooood cis people already have everything it’s so saaad this episode is not about them boooh”. Just look at some tumblr and dare telling me it isn’t true). And that’s the problem with Tweek and Craig. Craig ISN’T AFRAID of his father’s reaction if he tells him he’s gay. His father is the total depiction of this modern parent who try to go with the flow and want to accept everything. So yeah that’s great. That’s cool. If I were gay I wish I had a father like that, because it’s honestly amazing. But the truth is that Craig can’t even assume the fact he’s straight (anyway he thinks he is but the result is the same), otherwise everyone would pick at him and make him feel like the bad guy or a homophobe, while he obviously isn’t. So poor guy. Also, I’m pretty sure Craig always had problem to express his feeling and it has nothing to do with his parents. Like it’s very hard for him to communicate, especially in front of people, so what did you expect ? It’s normal to stay quiet most of the time.
Thought I agree this is exaggerated, but it’s exactly the aim of a satire. Whether it’s for the parents or their children, everyone have an important role in this. And Stan is here to remind you that Matt and Trey just want to make fun of yaoi with the Asian cliché so don’t take this too seriously. They shit on everyone and it’s great like that. I think the fanarts were perfectly used, and I’m happy to recognize the work of some artists in there too. Bravo to them.
So yeah that’s all for this, I could debate WAY MUCH more about that part but I won’t, and I’ll take the risk to be seen as an asshole because I didn’t develop my opinion as much as I should.
Now. Why I think creek shippers are exactly doing what Matt and Trey wanted to portray? Because some of them still believe it’s REALLY canon (and I mean they can, if it was my otp I would probably be all hyped as well and I’m happy for them it happened in an actual episode), just like the others characters in the show. They still ship it, say it’s real, even if the poor guys are faking it. So yeah, that’s how Matt and Trey make fun of them, and how they still react after that. And there again don’t get me wrong, I’m HAPPY it’s just the way it is ! It would have been so sad if all the creek shipper suddenly stopped shipping their otp. And I love them, I think they’re a really gentle side of the fandom.
The only thing I want to highlight in all of this is that you shouldn’t forget about the satire, that’s all. Such as in the safe space episode, a lot of people don’t understand sarcasm and irony.
And at last, I want to talk about how this episode made me love creek in a total different way. Because it’s obvious that Craig and Tweek care about each other. They might fight and all, they still had their moment when Craig was fixing his bike in his garden, and Tweek really need Craig to makes him believe in himself. Or at least, it was a triggering factor when he said he was capable of so much more he would ever think. And how beautiful is that ? They might not be gay, they might not be in love. But did some of you have that one friend you love more than anything else ? That one friend you can love as much as you want even if you have a lover ? Because I think that’s what their relation might evolve into. A true and beautiful friendship where they care of each other, but which has nothing to do with lovers.
I have this funny word in French to qualify that. It’s called “amimour”, which is the mix between Amour and Ami (love and friend). This is nothing sexual, nothing like lover, just a friend you sincerely love and want to embrace.
And I think it’s how I love creek. They don’t need to be a couple, because they already have so much.
That was my analysis. I really think Craig and Tweek have a strong relationship, even if it’s not the one people want to be, and that everything else is just a way to portray how our society have become, and how tumblr shippers, no matter what the ship is, are super cute an crazy. Which is a good thing that should never be lost. (At least most of them, ah)
