Item from South Park by Trey Parker & Matt Stone
Sentient nostalgia berries that remember everything from the past — 'Member Star Wars? 'Member Chewbacca? — and use warm fuzzy memories to push a disturbingly regressive agenda.
The Memberberries start by remembering beloved pop culture — 'Member the Ewoks? 'Member when there weren't so many Mexicans?' — and that slide from innocent nostalgia to xenophobia is the entire point. They're the show's metaphor for how nostalgia weaponizes comfortable memories into resistance to change. They were introduced during the show's 2016 election season and became one of its sharpest satirical creations. The berries are addictive — people eat them and feel warm and safe, which makes them susceptible to the regressive ideology buried in the nostalgia. They're cute, they're fun, and they're slowly radicalizing everyone who consumes them. Randy grew them at Tegridy Farms because of course he did. The Memberberries represent South Park's thesis about American culture: we'd rather remember a past that never existed than deal with the present that does.
Small, purple grape-like berries with tiny faces and high-pitched voices. They sit in bowls and cluster together, chattering constantly. They look adorable. They sound adorable. What they're saying, if you listen closely, starts with pop culture nostalgia and slides into something much darker.
Also known as: 'Member Berries, Nostalgia Berries