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This South Park Episode Roasts Gentrification

Washington, D.C. Other
Washington, D.C. Other
October 06, 2015 Ethan Rothstein, Deputy Managing Editor

South Park has been on the airwaves for a ridiculously long time, but it's stayed fresh by finding current topics and ruthlessly satirizing them. Last week, the show set it sites on gentrification, and hoo-boy does it nail it.

Everything from the fake neighborhood name—SoDoSoPa—to the name of the new, upscale development—The Lofts at SoDoSoPa—to the even-richer version of the development, The Residences at The Lofts at SoDoSoPa. The key line comes at the beginning, after the little town of South Park, CO, becomes a national punch line. Randy Marsh gets up in front of town elders and says, "What this town needs is a Whole Foods. It will instantly validate us as a town that cares about stuff."

Sound familiar, DC? Considering Whole Foods is currently the works for H Street, Tysons, Pentagon City and Shaw (and maybe more). SoDoSoPa is built on top of Kenny's house, disregarding the unabashedly white trash family's protests in favor of restaurants, a pedestrian plaza "that the hipsters will love." The full episode is online here.

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