Original air date: 10/8/2008
Cartman and Butters invade a P.F. Chang's after Cartman thinks China will overtake America after watching the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony. Meanwhile, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are traumatized (in a manner befitting someone who has been raped or sexually molested) after seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
"The China Probrem" contains examples of:
- Asian Speekee Engrish: Episode title aside, Cartman and Butters spoke Engrish in a feeble attempt to pass off as a couple of Chinese kids trying to coax information about a Chinese invasion of America from a Chinese family. The family's father wasn't having any of it, and even called them out for pretending to be Chinese stereotypes.
- Black Comedy Rape: The flashback scenes with Indy getting raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- As evil, bigoted, and racist a white supremacist like Cartman is, he's against the idea of people getting shot in the dick.
- Arnold Toht briefly appears in the lawyer's nightmare of Spielberg and Lucas raping Indy. In his movie, he's a cruel and sadistic Nazi officer who takes joy in torturing his victims but even he's mortified at the sight of the rape and flees the scene.
- Everybody Cries: Played for Laughs. Everyone cries when they remember when they watched Indiana Jones getting raped. First, it's only the kids, but later the lawyer they hired joined in. Then a policeman to whom they reported the story cries with them too. In the end the A-plot gets resolved, when an entire police unit starts crying, which allows Cartman and Butters, who were supposed to be arrested, to just walk away.
- Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence: Cartman is convinced that China is plotting to invade America, based on nothing but their Olympic opening ceremony and vast population.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Butters slaps Cartman when he starts freaking out.
- Groin Attack: Three people get accidentally shot in the dick by Butters, an act even Cartman finds heinous.
- Karma Houdini: Butters gets away with shooting three people in the dick without any punishment, and Cartman himself gets away with his racist actions towards the Chinese stereotype without being called out on it. Even Kyle doesn't bother to do so, since he has his own problems to deal with.
- Literal Metaphor: Kyle keeps imagining Indiana Jones getting raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, representing how, in his eyes, they ruined his childhood image of the character (or "rape") thanks to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Of course, when the police finally decide to investigate, they find Lucas and Spielberg in the middle of raping a stormtrooper at Skywalker Ranch, so the boys weren't just imagining it.
- Major Injury Underreaction: Three people getting shot in the dick, rather than scream bloody murder and writhe in major pain, treat it as more of an inconvenience.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Kyle doesn't bother to call out Cartman for his racism towards the Chinese, a sign to Stan and Kenny, as well as the audience, that something major is bothering him. Sure enough, he's too traumatized by watching Indiana Jones get "raped" in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- The Indiana Jones subplot starts off when Kyle announces he's not participating in whatever Cartman's being an asshole about, choosing to leave the bus stop saying "Sorry, I can't do this." When Stan reminds Kyle that he usually calls Cartman an asshole about now, Kyle agrees but doesn't have the energy to do it like usual.
- Cartman gives up on the P.F. Chang's raid after Butters shoots one guy in the dick too many.
- Shout-Out: The scenes where Indiana gets raped by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg contain references to Boys Don't Cry, The Accused and Deliverance (all of which have brutal scenes of rape).
- Take That!:
- To Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which is shown to traumatize everyone who's seen it (except Cartman and Butters).
- To anyone who uses the term "[something/someone] raped my childhood!" by showing scenes of a beloved icon being brutally and realistically raped, just to show how out-of-proportion that phrase is.
- Trauma Button: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is this for people who have seen the film, excluding Cartman (who's more focused on stopping China from taking over America) and Butters (who actually liked the film).
- Unexplained Recovery: Despite getting killed off in "Free Hat", both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg appear alive and well.
