Difference between revisions of "The PTA Disbands/References"

Revision as of 07:13, July 22, 2024

Cultural references

• The title of the episode refers to the parent–teacher association (PTA) the organization intended to facilitate parental participation in a school.
• The episode's couch gag references M. C. Escher's lithograph print Relativity.

• The unloaded canon pointing at the lookout tower and being tilted by the School Bus parodies the opening of the Western sitcom F Troop.
• The "Diz-Nee Historical Park" (the new ownership of the Fort Springfield Civil War site) is a reference to later abandoned plans for Disney's America, a historical theme park at Manassas battlefield site in Virginia.
• The scene where Üter Zörker is running after the School Bus lifting his right hand and shouting "Wait!" is a parody of the scene where Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Frank Sinatra) runs after the POW train in the 1965 WWII adventure film Von Ryan's Express.
• The books at Springfield Elementary School, that were banned by other schools are:
  • TekWar, the series of science fiction novels created by William Shatner and which content involves drugs and crimes.
  • Theory of Evolution, based on Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. The book being banned in other schools is a hint to the reactions to On the Origin of Species.
  • Sexus, the first volume of the autobiographical trilogy The Rosy Crucifixion by Henry Miller.
  • 40 Years of Playboy, a fictional book referencing the famous adult magazine Playboy.
  • Steal This Book, a book by Abbie Hoffman focused on ways to fight against the government
  • Hop on Pop, a children's book by Dr. Seuss. This book is actually a popular choice by elementary school teachers and children's librarians.
  • The Satanic Verses ("Junior illustrated edition") by Salman Rushdie. The book and its perceived blasphemy motivated Islamic extremist bombings, killings, and riots and sparked a debate about censorship and religiously motivated violence.
• At Skinner's office, Bart mentions Superman in the line "you'd fold faster than Superman on laundry day".
• The children are playing the American patriotic song "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the music class. After mentioning that professor Dewey Largo is gone, Database proposes to play the "forbidden music", and the children start playing "Pop Goes the Weasel".

• The scene in the bank is parody of the bank run scene with Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey character from It's a Wonderful Life.
• Lisa builds a Perpetual Motion Machine.
• During the teachers' strike, one of the substitute teachers whom Bart drives out is Gabe Kaplan, who played high school teacher and title character Gabe Kotter on Welcome Back, Kotter.

Trivia

• Before Marge arrived to substitute-teach Bart's class, the subs he that he had driven out were:
  • Chief Wiggum
  • Barney
  • Lionel Hutz
  • Gabe Kaplan (comedian and poker player)
  • Moe

Continuity

• Snake has the same prison ID as in "Lisa on Ice". This prison ID, 7F20, is the production code for "The War of the Simpsons" which is the first episode he appears in.

Goofs

• When Otto tells the children to get on the bus, Jaffee can be seen getting on through the main bus door; however, a few shots later, Jaffee gets on again via the emergency door. In the same shot Üter Zörker is close to the emergency door, then he is seen with five other kids, including Martin Prince, before he's the only one left behind.
• When Bart is playing the three games of chess, one of the boards is reversed with a black square on the right.
• In the scene where Bart gets beaten up by the bullies, Dolph is speaking with Jimbo's voice while Kearney is speaking with Dolph's.
• During Skinner's speech to the students in the school cafeteria, two Allison Taylors are seen sitting on different sides of the canteen.