South Park School Flag with reversed red and white stripes

US flag
in front of South Park Elementary, IM

South Park is a long running Generation X/Counter Culture 'Charlie Brownesque on Roids Rage' satire that focuses on US culture. Considered by some to be harsh and fowl, while others it is hilarious entertainment, and for some a form of religious-political orthodoxy. No subject is taboo - as the show pokes fun at the famous, infamous, and regular folk. The issues of racism, bigotry, politics, and other less than polite dinner conversation are a staple.

The US flag often makes an appearance in the immensely popular adult college oriented animated television show. Upon close inspection of the flag you may notice a small difference. It certainly looks like the US Flag but differs slightly - especially the flag at South Park Elementary, Imagination Land.

US Flag as seen with South Park School














Digitized Version of South Parks US Flag


Note there are still 13 stripes but the colour order is reversed. The official US flag has 7 red and 6 white stripes but the US South Park flag has 6 red and 7 white stripes. Also note there are 5 horizontal even spaced rows of 10 stars. The official star pattern consists of 9 horizontal staggered rows - 5 with six stars and 4 with five stars.

Official US Flag compared to South Park US Flag

Badges and Emblems in Outland 1981

Plant Manager of Io outpost Con-Am 27
Mark Sheppard - Outland 1981

Outland 1981 is a gritty space lawman adventure. Starring Sean Connery as Marshall O'Neal working to keep order on one of the moons of Jupiter - Io. However the plant manager is pushing the workload to the extreme with illegal drugs for higher profit margins. Although technology has advanced - the temptation of drugs, greed, and machismo are still factors in work and play.


Marshall William T. O' Neal
Outland 1981

Notice logo on Marshall O'Neals left arm - three golden keys on green disc with a golden circle.

This movie shrewdly predicts the primary purpose of travel to distant moons in our solar system - capital gain via resource exploitation.

On Io they mine Titanium. Titanium seems to be a primary staple coveted in most sci-fiction movies.


Arm Patch of the Federal Security Agency 27

All security officers wear a hexagonal arm patch on the right shoulder. In a frame along the edges it is written 'FEDERAL SECURITY AGENCY' in yellow on red. In the middle is a six pointed sheriff's star and the number of the mining colony - 27.

Outland is the gritty middle less loved sci-fi child in between Alien 1979 and Blade Runner 1982 - that shows advances in human technology do not necessarily mean an advance in human morality-compassion.

Medical Badge of Dr. Lazarus

An even edge hexagonal arm patch is used to represent the medical personnel. It has a red frame and the popular winged serpent staff of healing. Dr. Lazarus here is played by Frances Sternhagen.








Company Logo of Mining Station
Con-Am 27

Company logo for the mining colony consists of rainbow coloured circles, starting from the inside - red, orange, yellow, green, black, blue, violet, purple, black and yellow. Along the center is the name 'Con Am' written in yellow on blue on a superior elongated octagon. Near the lower portion is the mining colony number - 27.



The Grand Daddy of Dead Space Video Games

Adventure 1979 - Atari Video Game Vexilloid

Original Box Cover Art
Adventure 1979

On the original cover art for the classic video game Adventure 1979 for Atari we see a vexilloid like structure. On a pathway in between a maze with a dragon and castle are two men holding staffs of different sizes. Due to their height they are more than simple walking sticks. The staffs carried by the two adventurous men are primitive vexilloids.

Their clothing and hats indicate that they are familiar with alchemy and the magical arts. Thus their staffs will most likely have inscriptions, symbols, or other crystals embedded within them.

Adventure 1979 was the first successful action-adventure video game written for a home entertainment system. It offered challenge, variety and even anxiety.

The game play even holds up in 2012! No music but dragons and surprises will keep your adrenal glands going.

Close up - of Simple Staff Vexilloid
Adventure 1979 for the Original Atari 2600

The game was created by Warren Robinett. But back in the day - 1970s - giving credit to programmers was like way to weird. So he wrote in one of the most famous video game Easter Eggs.

We learn the name of the dragons Yorgle the yellow dragon, Grundle the Green Dragon, and the bad ass Rhindle the Red Dragon. But we never learn about the heroes of the story. I suppose some Adventure fiction is overdue. Or maybe a modern version that uses the cover art?






Adventure was the Grandaddy of Zelda

Flags in the movie Ghost 1990

Shakespeare Festival Flag Ghost 1990

The most original flag to appear in Ghost is the 'Shakespeare Festival' flag. It uses the colours red, white and blue. It is an announcement flag - telling the public that the Spring Street Repertory is celebrating the works of William Shakespeare. Sam Wheat and Molly Jensen have just walked out from seeing the play MacBeth - which coincidentally features a ghost as a key element.



Oda Mae Brown with unknown corporate flags

Ghost is a tear jerking, romance, comedy and moral story about life and love. Although shaded with a deep melancholy - the over all message is uplifting. Starring the Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown. Oda Mae starts out as a less than honest psychic whose gift manifests after the death of Sam Wheat. She is also guided to a higher path. She learns to live with her gift and walk a better path.

Sam and Oda Mae giving four million dollars to charity
Notice US flags in the background

Patrick Swayze stars as the ghost of Sam Wheat. He is invisible to everyone except for Oda Mae Brown - who can hear him speak. Here, Sam convinces her to do the right thing with the stolen blood money.

Sam Wheat..."It's amazing Molly, the love inside...you take it with you."

Wizard of Oz Flag from the original book by

The Wizard of Oz flag is cut in a X-division into four fields. There are two versions of the flag. As states in Chapter 17 in Dorthy and the Wizard of Oz the colours are pink, sky-blue, lavender, and white.

In Chapter 5 of The Magic of Oz the flag is composed of red, yellow, blue and purple.


The first image of an Oz flag manifested in Glinda of Oz in 1920. It consists of a green shaded octagon with 'O' and 'Z' superimposed upon each other.