Difference between revisions of "Homer vs. Dignity/References"

Latest revision as of 11:01, December 1, 2021

Cultural references[edit]

• The chalkboard gag reads "I am not the Sixth Beatle", a reference to the "Fifth Beatle".
• The episode's plot is similar to the film The Magic Christian:
  • The main character, Sir Guy Grand, is an eccentric billionaire who bribes people to carry out his whims, similar to Mr. Burns' hiring Homer to be his "prank monkey".
  • Grand also plays his pranks to shock people, mocking what they consider to be important, similar to the prank that Burns and Homer play on Comic Book Guy.
• In celebration of Bart's "A" on an astronomy quiz, the waitstaff at The Singing Sirloin sing "Happy First A", a parody of "Happy Birthday".
• When the Simpsons are pressed into service as a Mariachi band to pay for their meal at The Singing Sirloin, they are heard playing:
  • "La Bamba": Best known for its covers by Ritchie Valens in 1958 and Los Lobos in 1987.
  • "Spanish Eyes": Originally an instrumental titled "Moon Over Naples", it was re-titled to "Spanish Eyes" when lyrics were added.
• Singing Sirloin employee Mary Kay seems to be a reference to the Mary Kay company, judging by her pink makeup and all-pink outfit.
• When Smithers asks Mr. Burns for time off to produce his Malibu Stacy musical, Burns laughs and sarcastically asks, "Why not write a musical about the common cat? Or the King of Siam?", referencing the musicals Cats and The King and I, respectively.
• Just before Homer and Mr. Burns prank him, Comic Book Guy is eating pink marshmallow Peeps.
• Star Trek: Voyager: When Homer says he'd like to buy a mint condition Spider-Man #1 comic, Comic Book Guy sarcastically replies that he'd like an hour on the holodeck with Seven of Nine.
• During the zoo prank, Mr. Burns has Homer (costumed as a female panda) dance the Lindy Hop, a dance which was very popular during the late 1930s and early 1940s.
• One of the Thanksgiving parade balloons is of Rusty the Clown, a reference to Rusty Nails:
  • Rusty Nails was a popular TV clown in the 1960s in Portland, Oregon, where Simpsons creator Matt Groening grew up.
  • Krusty the Clown is loosely based on Rusty Nails.
• Other balloons seen in the parade include:
  • A balloon that closely resembles El Chapulin Colorado, the main character of the TV series of the same name, on whom Bumblebee Man is based.
  • Funky Winkerbean, the title character from the comic strip.
  • The Noid, who was an advertising mascot for Domino's Pizza in the 1980s.
• The figure on the parade float "saluting the Native Americans" bears a strong resemblance to Chief Wahoo, who was the Cleveland Indians' logo from 1951 to 2018. The team was renamed to the Cleveland Guardians following the 2021 baseball season.
• When the gulls attack the townspeople (who are covered in the fish guts Burns has thrown on them), it is similar to a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.

Trivia[edit]

• Pluto appears as one of the planets on the chart that Bart inadvertently studies. This is accurate as the episode originally aired in 2000 and Pluto wasn't recategorized as a dwarf planet until 2006.
• The keypad combination for Comic Book Guy's under-the-counter comic book storage container is 007.
• The Posh Lady is seen wearing a pink Chanel suit in the same style as the one that Marge buys (and later alters several times) in "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield".
• Homer's panda name "Sim-Sim" is almost certainly a reference both to his own last name and to his being a fake, or "simulated," panda.
• The "panda rape" scene was very controversial among fans of the show.^[1]
• The Thanksgiving parade isn't the first time Homer has dressed up as Santa. See "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".
• When Homer is throwing the presents to the children, Ralph doesn't actually catch his; it bounces off his head and flies off into the crowd.

Pranks[edit]

Homer plays the following pranks while serving as Mr. Burns' "prank monkey":

• Homer throws a dish of pudding at Lenny (reluctantly, under Burns' persuasion and offer of four dollars).
• When Burns offers another four dollars, Homer eagerly throws a second dish of pudding at Lenny.
• To celebrate his promotion to "Prank Monkey", Homer spontaneously throws a dish of pudding at Carl, but is quickly reprimanded for the deed by Burns.
• Homer buys a mint condition Spider-Man #1 from Comic Book Guy for $20,000 cash, then tears out the pages and eats it right there in the store, while Comic Book Guy gasps and collapses in shock.
• Wearing only a giant diaper, Homer appears in the men's room at Springfield War Memorial Stadium, acting like a baby needing a diaper change: "Baby made a boom-boom!"
• Homer disguises himself as "Sim-Sim", the new female panda at the Springfield Zoo. The prank backfires when the zoo's trainers zap him with electrical prods and the resident bull panda, Ping-Ping, takes an amorous interest in him.
• When Homer appears as Santa in a float for the Costington's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Burns offers him a million dollars to throw fish guts (instead of presents) to the crowd. Homer refuses and Burns does it himself.

Goofs[edit]

• Recycled animation: During their Mariachi performance, the Simpsons are seen playing "La Bamba" (an up-tempo song) and "Spanish Eyes" (a slow song). The movements of them playing their instruments match "La Bamba" but not "Spanish Eyes"; the discrepancy is most obvious with Maggie's trumpet playing.
• When Homer, Lenny and Carl are in the cafeteria and Homer is drinking beer, his chair changes from being blue to red then back to blue again, between different shots.
• The mouth of the panda costume somehow changes to a frightened expression when Homer is being pulled back under the curtain.
• The Rusty the Clown parade balloon is holding flowers in its right hand when it's floating along the parade route, but in its left hand when it crashes into the bleachers.
• In the last part of the episode, when Mr Burns is trying to convince Homer on his float to play a big prank, the timing is totally wrong. Firstly, Lisa sees the writing "Happy Pranksgiving" on the side of Mr Burns float way before it reaches her, and it takes Mr Burn ages to change into the Father Christmas outfit.

References[edit]