Difference between revisions of "The Secret War of Lisa Simpson/References"

Latest revision as of 20:17, January 23, 2024

Cultural references[edit]

• The title of the episode is a reference to the 1968 comedy war film The Secret War of Harry Frigg.

American democrat Adlai Stevenson II appears on the 1952 film The Moon of Earth

• In the film The Moon of Earth, American democrat Adlai Stevenson II appears and says he has no objection to men walking on the Moon. Stevenson being referred as "Democratic hopeful" is the filmstrip is so old the 1952 presidential election still have not taken place and also his demeanor in the clip being so uncharismatic is a nod to Stevenson's own demeanor which caused the term "egghead" to be coined to describe him.
• At Springfield Police Station, some of the stickers on the communication radio are from real American banana producers and distributors, such as Chiquita and Del Monte.
• The scene where Bart gets bounced back by the excessive-decibels shockwave is similar to the scene from Back to the Future where Marty McFly uses Doc's gigantic speaker and super-amplifier with his guitar.
• Bart thinks his parents are taking him to Disneyland.
• The name of the Rommelwood Military School is a reference to German general Erwin Rommel.
• Lisa compares the military students to the terra-cotta warriors of Xi'an.
• In the English Literature class at Rommelwood, the poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by John Keats is discussed.
• Much of the military school scenes spoof the romantic drama film An Officer and a Gentleman.
• The plane that Bart and Lisa were strapped to the rotors of is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
• The firing range scene is similar to the rifle range scene in the 1987 war drama film Full Metal Jacket.
• When the Drill Sergeant tells Bart he missed his last target, Bart answers "Did I?". This is a parody of the 1979 spy film Moonraker when James Bond apparently missed a bird but actually shot a sniper that was aiming at him.
• During his call with Lisa, Abe talks to her about Admiral Byrd reaching the pole in 1934. In 1934, Admiral Richard E. Byrd spent five winter months alone in a meteorological base in Antarctica where he almost died.
  • Abe also mentions The Three Stooges and the Spanish Civil War.
• When Lisa is all alone in the barracks, she thinks of American poet Emily Dickinson, who lived on her own.
• Lisa has a recording of Marge singing "You Are My Sunshine" by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell.
• "The Eliminator" has the same name as the final event on the 1989 competition program American Gladiators.
• When Bart was trying to teach Lisa to cross "The Eliminator" at night, one of the cadets confronting him was dressed like James Dean from Rebel Without a Cause.
  • The same kid plays "Taps" when is Lisa's turn to cross "The Eliminator".
• After Lisa passes "The Eliminator" she says she can't put her arms down. This is a reference to Randy Parker's "I Can't Put My Arms Down!" scene from the 1983 film A Christmas Story.

Goofs[edit]

• When Lisa looks down from the Eliminator, the platform under her disappears.
• When Bart is driving a lawn mower and is pulled over by the police, Chief Wiggum is driving one of the police cars, even though he is inside telling Homer and Marge about sending Bart to military school.
• During Bart's megaphone prank, a tan building turns blue for a frame.
• When driving to Rommelwood, the car is Homer's Pink Sedan. However, upon leaving, it is the Orange Station Wagon. Later on, when Bart and Lisa graduate from the academy, they leave in the orange station wagon. On the road, it is the pink sedan, however. Later, when it turns out Homer and Marge were taking them to the dentist rather than Disneyland, it's the orange station wagon again.
• Even though all the glass in Springfield breaks after Bart's megaphone prank, the glass in Chief Wiggum's patrol cruiser and Homer's car, as well as Professor Frink's glasses, stay intact.