Difference between revisions of "The Old Man and the Lisa/References"

Latest revision as of 17:11, May 10, 2023

Cultural references[edit]

• The title of the episode is a reference to The Old Man and the Sea.
• Homer tries to recycle books by Charles Dickens, Leon Uris and William Faulkner.
• The definitions that are highlighted when Mr. Burns is trying to find "recycling" in the dictionary are:
  • Ragamuffin, a dirty, shabbily-clothed child. Burns uses this term on Lisa.
  • Redskin, an offensive word for Native Americans in the United States.
  • Rutabaga, a root vegetable.
• Mr. Burns uses the term "Dora" on Lisa when she contradicts him about Mother Nature. This is possibly a reference to the term "dumb Dora", an American slang term used in the 1920s for a "foolish woman" which was popularized by the comic strip Dumb Dora.
• Mr. Burns stopped checking the stock market in September 1929, just when the Wall Street Crash of 1929 began (September 4 till November 13, 1929).
• Retired professional wrestler Bret Hart (nicknamed "Hit Man") buys Burns' manor.
• US magazine was on Smithers' grocery list.

Mr. Burns wants to buy a box of Count Chocula cereal. Kwisp cereal is also a parody of Quisp

• At Springfield Grocery Store Mr. Burns wants to buy a box of Count Chocula cereal. The "Kwisp" cereal that can be seen in the same frame is a parody of Quisp.
• The elders at Springfield Retirement Castle dance "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus.
• The scene where Burns chases Lisa asking her to help him parodies the opening sequence of the American sitcom That Girl.
• According to Mr. Burns, with the change leftover by a nickel Lisa could ride the trolley from Battery Park to the Polo Grounds.
• Mr. Burns tells a hippie to "shine on you, crazy diamond", referring to the 1975 song by Pink Floyd of the same name.
• Kent Brockman says that Burns stole Christmas from 1981 to 1985, a reference to the children's story How the Grinch Stole Christmas!.
• When working for Mr. Burns, Abe mentions he voted for American political activist Lyndon LaRouche.
• Moe thinks that Li'l Lisa makes Little Debbie look like "a pile of puke". Little Debbie is a brand of cookies and cake-based dessert snacks.
• When Lisa discovers what was Li'l Lisa's Patented Animal Slurry made of, she runs and tries to convince people to stop recycling. This is a parody of the ending of the 1973 dystopian thriller film Soylent Green, in which detective Frank Thorn (Charlton Heston) tries to warn everyone that "Soylent Green" food was made of people.
• The scene where Lisa tries to stop the people recycling before jumping on a truck and seeing barrels of Li'l Lisa's Patented Animal Slurry parodies a scene in the 1956 horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers with Pod People in place of recyclers and pods in place of the slurry.

Trivia[edit]

• Mr. Burns' scowl is not seen in part of the episode.

Continuity[edit]

• When, Mr. Burns goes to the Simpsons' house, asking Homer for his daughter, Homer suggests he means Maggie. Mr. Burns mumbles "The baby who shot me", while Maggie makes a pistol gesture, a reference to "Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part Two)".
• A drum of Lil' Lisa Slurry can be seen in the water in "Bart Carny".
• Kent Brockman mentions Mr. Burns as the man who blocked out the sun ("Who Shot Mr. Burns? (Part One)") and who ran over a local boy ("Bart Gets Hit by a Car").
• Some of the kids in the recycling group are Lisa's friends from "Summer of 4 Ft. 2".

Goofs[edit]

• The pro wrestler who considers buying Mr. Burns' mansion loses the muscle definition on his upper chest while he talks.