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Difference between revisions of "The Joy of Sect"

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{{Quote|This new so-called religion is nothing but a pack of weird rituals and chants designed to take away the money of fools. Now let's say the Lord's Prayer 40 times, but first let's pass the collection plate.|[[Reverend Lovejoy]], addressing Springfielders at the [[First Church of Springfield]].}}
 
{{Quote|This new so-called religion is nothing but a pack of weird rituals and chants designed to take away the money of fools. Now let's say the Lord's Prayer 40 times, but first let's pass the collection plate.|[[Reverend Lovejoy]], addressing Springfielders at the [[First Church of Springfield]].}}
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== Plot ==
 
== Plot ==
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Homer takes Bart to the airport to greet the local football team after their championship loss. At the airport, Homer meets Glen and Jane, a pair of recruiters for a new religion called [[Movementarianism]]. They invite Homer to an introductory session at their resort, where a number of [[Springfield]] residents watch a video about the religion. The video explains that the Movementarians plan to take a spaceship to the planet Blisstonia. They are guided by a mysterious male figure known only as "[[The Leader]]." Most of the attendees are brainwashed into worshipping The Leader, but Homer does not pay enough attention to the video to be affected. After trying other methods, Glen and Jane finally convert him by singing the theme to ''{{W2|Batman|TV series}}'', replacing the word ''Batman'' with the word ''Leader.''
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[[Homer]] takes [[Bart]] out of school to go to the [[Springfield International Airport]] to see the local football team return from their championship loss. At the airport, they run into [[Glen]] and {{ap|Jane|The Joy of Sect}}, who tell Homer about [[Movementarianism]] and offer a free resort weekend. Homer and Bart then join the crowd to see the football team and the crowd proceeds to destroy the plane they arrived in. Back at home, Homer tells the family about the Movementarians, although [[Marge]] is reluctant to go as she feels that they'll try and talk them into something.
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[[File:The Joy of Sect - Movementarianism leaflet.png|left|thumb|[[Homer]] looks over a [[Movementarianism|Movementarian]] leaflet, given to him by cult recruiters, [[Glen]] and [[Jane]].]]
 
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After Homer joins the sect, he moves his family to the Movementarian compound. The compound is a fenced agricultural facility where everyone is forced to grow and harvest [[wikipedia:Lima bean|lima beans]] from dawn to dusk. [[The Leader]] lives in a "[[The Forbidden Barn|Forbidden Barn]]", where his spaceship is supposedly stored. He only appears briefly, riding through the fields in a {{W|Rolls-Royce}}.
 
  
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As Movementarianism gains popularity, [[Mr. Burns]] decides to start his own religion, jealous of The Leader's tax-exempt status. Burns declares himself a god at a grand display atop one of his buildings, with Springfield residents and Burns's employees looking on. However, the Springfieldians are unconvinced after his outfit catches fire in a pyrotechnics display. Although defiant at first, the Simpson children are converted to Movementarianism. Bart plans to cause trouble with his "Li'l Bastard Mischief Kit," but the Movementarians outwit him with a "Li'l Bastard Brainwashing Kit." [[Lisa Simpson|Lisa]] loathes that "The Leader" is the answer to every question at the Movementarian school, but she complies for the sake of her grades. [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] and the other babies are brainwashed by [[Barney the Dinosaur]], who sings them a song about The Leader. [[Marge Simpson|Marge]] is the only family member to resist the Movementarians' methods, and she escapes from the compound, narrowly avoiding many obstacles along the way. Outside, she finds [[Reverend Timothy Lovejoy|Reverend Lovejoy]], [[Ned Flanders]], and [[Groundskeeper Willie]], and with their help, she poses as The Leader and tricks her family into leaving with her.
+
Homer goes to the [[Movementarian Compound]] and immediately goes fishing there. As Glen and Jane try and talk Homer into joining the cult, Homer dismisses them as they tell him that they're not allowed to drink beer. Homer is then led to watch the orientation video, which talks about how [[The Leader]] is building a spaceship to take them all to [[Blisstonia]]. However, Homer resists the video's brainwashing attempts whilst the other people who attended got brainwashed into joining. Homer is then taken through other group activities to try and break his resistance, but all fails. Glen then starts to sing "{{ap|Leader|song}}" to the tune of the "{{W|Batman Theme}}" which finally breaks Homer.
  
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[[File:Movementarian spaceship.png|right|thumb|The Movementarian fake spaceship, falling apart after flying out of "[[The Forbidden Barn]]"]]
+
At home, Homer tells the family that he signed them all up to the cult and they are forced to move to the compound. Whilst the family starts to fall to the brainwashing, [[Reverend Lovejoy]] is left with an almost empty church due to his congregation joining Movementarianism. Meanwhile, [[Mr. Burns]] attempts to start his own cult too, but fails. Eventually, the Simpsons all get brainwashed, except Marge. Marge escapes the compound and goes to Reverend Lovejoy for help. [[Groundskeeper Willie]] also agrees to help and the three of them kidnap the family and take them to [[744 Evergreen Terrace|Ned's house]].
−
In Flanders's rumpus room, Marge deprograms her children by promising them what appear to be hover-bikes. In reality, Marge had suspended regular bikes from the ceiling with wires, and Flanders provided hover-bike sound effects while hidden in a closet. Homer yields after Ned offers him a beer, but just as the first drop lands on Homer's tongue, he is captured by the Movementarians' lawyers. Back at the compound, Homer tells a crowd of Movementarians that he is no longer brainwashed thanks to that one drop of beer. He opens the doors of the Forbidden Barn, hoping to expose the religion as a fraud. However, he is surprised to find "one hell of a giant spaceship", and The Leader proclaims that, due to Homer's "lack of faith", humanity will never reach Blisstonia. The Springfieldians believe this at first, but as the spaceship begins to fly away, it falls apart, revealing The Leader on a pedal-powered aircraft departing with everyone's money. Everyone's faith is broken, but The Leader does not fly very far, crashing on [[Cletus]]'s front porch.  
 
  
−
As the Simpsons return home, Lisa remarks, "It's wonderful to think for ourselves again." However, the family soon becomes hypnotized by a FOX television commercial, which declares, "You are watching FOX." In unison, the family responds, "We are watching FOX."
+
After finding that the Simpsons have been kidnapped, the Movementarians deploy their lawyers. In Ned's rumpus room, the kids are offered hover bikes (which are fake) to break their brainwashing. Meanwhile, Willie tries to break Homer's brainwashing, but almost gets won over himself. Homer is then offered a beer and as one drop hits his tongue, the lawyers show up and take Homer back to the cult. However, the Movementarians don't realize that Homer's brainwashing has been broken by the beer and he goes to show that [[The Forbidden Barn]] is empty. As he opens the doors, he reveals a flying saucer inside. The Leader tells everyone that they are doomed due to Homer's actions and the spaceship starts to fly off. However, it falls apart and it's revealed that The Leader is riding a flying bicycle with all the money he stole from the members with him. The Leader then crashes into [[Cletus's farm]] where [[Cletus]] takes the money from him.
 +
 
 +
The family go back home and everything goes back to normal and talk about how wonderful it is to be able to think for themselves again. [[FOX]] then comes onto the channel and the announcer says "You are watching FOX", which the Simpsons then mindlessly repeat.
 +
 
 +
== Production ==
 +
The episode's title came from producer [[Jace Richdale]]. Showrunner [[David Mirkin]] was excited to do an episode about cults as he was fascinated by them, saying that he found them "comical, interesting, and twisted".<ref name="Mirkin">{{Com|Mirkin, David|The Joy of Sect|Ninth|(2006).|link=David Mirkin}}</ref> Shortly after [[Steve O'Donnell]] wrote the first draft, news about the {{W2|Heaven's Gate|religious group}} cult's mass suicide came out. The Heaven's Gate cult had many parallels to Movementarianism. This led to some of the story being changed to make it less like the Heaven's Gate cult.<ref name="O'Donnell">{{Com|O'Donnell, Steve|The Joy of Sect|Ninth|(2006).|link=Steve O'Donnell}}</ref>
 +
 
 +
The Movementarians were inspired by several real cults and cult leaders, in particular {{W|Scientology}}, {{W|Jim Jones}} and the {{W|Peoples Temple}}, the {{W2|Heaven's Gate|religious group}} group, the {{W|Unification Church}}, the {{W|Oneida Society}}, and {{W|Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh}}. The Leader driving a Rolls-Royce was inspired by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, whilst people being held in a compound against their will was inspired by Jim Jones.<ref name="Mirkin"/>
 +
 
 +
== Reception ==
 +
As of June [[2023]], the episode has an 8.3 rating on {{W|IMDb}}.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0779676/ IMDb - "The Joy of Sect"]</ref>
  
 
== Gallery ==
 
== Gallery ==

Latest revision as of 11:24, April 14, 2024

Season 9 Episode
← 190 "Bart Carny"
191
"The Joy of Sect"
"Das Bus" 192 →
"This new so-called religion is nothing but a pack of weird rituals and chants designed to take away the money of fools. Now let's say the Lord's Prayer 40 times, but first let's pass the collection plate."
―Reverend Lovejoy, addressing Springfielders at the First Church of Springfield.
"The Joy of Sect"
The Joy of Sect.png
Homer and the brainwashed Springfielders stumble upon the Movementarian leader's spaceship, hidden in The Forbidden Barn.
Episode Information
Episode number: 191
Season number: S9 E13
Production code: 5F23
Original airdate: February 8, 1998
Chalkboard gag: "Shooting paintballs is not an art form"
Couch gag: The family are now micro-sized and Santa's Little Helper takes Homer away.
Showrunner: David Mirkin
Written by: Steve O'Donnell
Directed by: Steven Dean Moore
DVD features


"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of season 9 of The Simpsons and the one-hundred and ninety-first episode overall. It originally aired on February 8, 1998. The episode was written by Steve O'Donnell and directed by Steven Dean Moore.

Synopsis[edit]

"Along with the majority of Springfield, Homer and company are lured into the Movementarian cult by a slick pamphlet and tantalizing promises. But as Marge begins to realize that the cult only has money on its mind, she must try her hand at deprogramming to rescue her family."


Plot[edit]

Homer takes Bart out of school to go to the Springfield International Airport to see the local football team return from their championship loss. At the airport, they run into Glen and Jane, who tell Homer about Movementarianism and offer a free resort weekend. Homer and Bart then join the crowd to see the football team and the crowd proceeds to destroy the plane they arrived in. Back at home, Homer tells the family about the Movementarians, although Marge is reluctant to go as she feels that they'll try and talk them into something.

Homer goes to the Movementarian Compound and immediately goes fishing there. As Glen and Jane try and talk Homer into joining the cult, Homer dismisses them as they tell him that they're not allowed to drink beer. Homer is then led to watch the orientation video, which talks about how The Leader is building a spaceship to take them all to Blisstonia. However, Homer resists the video's brainwashing attempts whilst the other people who attended got brainwashed into joining. Homer is then taken through other group activities to try and break his resistance, but all fails. Glen then starts to sing "Leader" to the tune of the "Batman Theme" which finally breaks Homer.

At home, Homer tells the family that he signed them all up to the cult and they are forced to move to the compound. Whilst the family starts to fall to the brainwashing, Reverend Lovejoy is left with an almost empty church due to his congregation joining Movementarianism. Meanwhile, Mr. Burns attempts to start his own cult too, but fails. Eventually, the Simpsons all get brainwashed, except Marge. Marge escapes the compound and goes to Reverend Lovejoy for help. Groundskeeper Willie also agrees to help and the three of them kidnap the family and take them to Ned's house.

After finding that the Simpsons have been kidnapped, the Movementarians deploy their lawyers. In Ned's rumpus room, the kids are offered hover bikes (which are fake) to break their brainwashing. Meanwhile, Willie tries to break Homer's brainwashing, but almost gets won over himself. Homer is then offered a beer and as one drop hits his tongue, the lawyers show up and take Homer back to the cult. However, the Movementarians don't realize that Homer's brainwashing has been broken by the beer and he goes to show that The Forbidden Barn is empty. As he opens the doors, he reveals a flying saucer inside. The Leader tells everyone that they are doomed due to Homer's actions and the spaceship starts to fly off. However, it falls apart and it's revealed that The Leader is riding a flying bicycle with all the money he stole from the members with him. The Leader then crashes into Cletus's farm where Cletus takes the money from him.

The family go back home and everything goes back to normal and talk about how wonderful it is to be able to think for themselves again. FOX then comes onto the channel and the announcer says "You are watching FOX", which the Simpsons then mindlessly repeat.

Production[edit]

The episode's title came from producer Jace Richdale. Showrunner David Mirkin was excited to do an episode about cults as he was fascinated by them, saying that he found them "comical, interesting, and twisted".[1] Shortly after Steve O'Donnell wrote the first draft, news about the Heaven's Gate cult's mass suicide came out. The Heaven's Gate cult had many parallels to Movementarianism. This led to some of the story being changed to make it less like the Heaven's Gate cult.[2]

The Movementarians were inspired by several real cults and cult leaders, in particular Scientology, Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, the Heaven's Gate group, the Unification Church, the Oneida Society, and Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. The Leader driving a Rolls-Royce was inspired by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, whilst people being held in a compound against their will was inspired by Jim Jones.[1]

Reception[edit]

As of June 2023, the episode has an 8.3 rating on IMDb.[3]

Gallery[edit]

  • Promotional image

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mirkin, David (2006). Commentary for "The Joy of Sect", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  2. ↑ O'Donnell, Steve (2006). Commentary for "The Joy of Sect", in The Simpsons: The Complete Ninth Season.
  3. ↑ IMDb - "The Joy of Sect"


The Saga of Carl - title screen.png Wikisimpsons has a collection of images related to "The Joy of Sect".
Season 9 Episodes
The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson • The Principal and the Pauper • Lisa's Sax • Treehouse of Horror VIII • The Cartridge Family • Bart Star • The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons • Lisa the Skeptic • Realty Bites • Miracle on Evergreen Terrace • All Singing, All Dancing • Bart Carny • The Joy of Sect • Das Bus • The Last Temptation of Krust • Dumbbell Indemnity • Lisa the Simpson • This Little Wiggy • Simpson Tide • The Trouble with Trillions • Girly Edition • Trash of the Titans • King of the Hill • Lost Our Lisa • Natural Born Kissers
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