Steal This Episode/References
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Cultural references
- The episode title is likely a reference to the book Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, which was a guide for followers of the countercultural movement of the 1960s and early 1970s.
- The fact that the suit that keeps Radioactive Man alive is slowly killing him references the arc reactor problem Tony Stark had in Marvel's Iron Man 2.
- In Marge's letter, she mentions Are We There Yet? and Shrek 2.
- Homer, Lenny and Carl talking at the water cooler is a reference to a forum's watercooler, a place for general chat about topics.
- The marquee at The Screens at the Shops at Citytown Shopping Village has several film references:
- Bootleg Bay is a parody of The Pirate Bay.
- Several scenes from the Nascar 2011 Tums Fast Relief 500 are shown in the episode when characters are explaining about illegally downloading films.
- Lenny and Carl mention that they watched a new James Bond film where James Bond is ugly, has no gadgets, is not good at shooting, doesn't say any funny quips or do any James Bond stuff.
- Homer's line "and a website based in a country that is really just an offshore oil platform" is a reference to Principality of Sealand and HavenCo.
- The text in Cosmic Wars Episode VII: A New Take says that due to a rift in the space-time continuum, episodes I, II and III never happened. This is a reference to many fans of Star Wars disliking the prequel trilogy. The film is also a reference to the unreleased seventh Star Wars film.
- In the Consulate of Sweden, the Simpsons sit on Ikea chairs.
- Homer asks why movie producers can't make a sequel to Taken where The Hangover guys get taken and the only people who can save them is Fast and Furious.
- Judas Priest sing a parody of "Breaking the Law" called "Respecting the Law".
- Judd Apatow says that he saw a bootleg DVD of The 40-Year-Old Virgin on sale at a car wash, without director's commentary or a blooper reel.
- One of the network executives said that Will Smith's family wanted to play the Simpson family, with Bart saying that he'd be Jayden.
Trivia
- When Bart is about to tell Homer how to download movies illegally, the scene is interrupted and cuts to the 1987-1993 FOX logo. Afterwards, a disclaimer from FOX comes up saying that they forbid step-by-step instructions on how to illegally download films. However, FOX has no say over what The Simpsons does or does not air. Therefore, it was the producers and writers of the show who didn't want to show the instructions and did this as a gag.
- The judge who appears in the film at the end looks very similar to Julie.
Continuity
Goofs
- In church, Judge Constance Harm has Edna Krabappel's colors.
- When the FBI raids Homer's movie screening of Cosmic Wars, Lisa and Bart are in their pajamas, but in the next scene, Lisa is wearing her usual red dress.
- In the same scene, Milhouse's toes are missing in a brief zoom-out when the FBI announce they are arresting Homer.
