Blame It on Lisa
"Blame It on Lisa"
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Episode Information
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"Blame It on Lisa" is the fifteenth episode of the Simpsons' thirteenth season.
Plot
The Simpsons lose telephone service because they are unable to pay a high phone bill. Homer and Marge visit the telephone company to see why their bill is so high and they find out that several calls have been made to Brazil. Lisa confesses that she has been making calls to an orphan named Ronaldo who has gone missing, and the Simpsons decide to visit Brazil to find him. Lisa plans to search for him in a restaurant, however, the Simpsons early plans to find him seem fruitless. When the family splits up to look for him, Homer is kidnapped in a fake taxi. The kidnappers decide to tell Homer's family that they will get him back, but for a price of 100,000 dollars. Since the family does not have that much money, they go searching for him, and Lisa gets reunited with Ronaldo, who secretly plays a flamingo in "Teleboobies," due to the shoes that Lisa gave him made him good at dancing. Ronaldo, now rich from being a child star, willingly pays ransom to rescue Homer, and the family gives the ransom to the kidnappers (even though Homer is reluctant to leave, due to him developing stockholm's syndrome), and Homer is reunited with his family at last. However, there is one downside - Bart is eaten by an anaconda.
Reaction in Brazil
The episode received negative reaction with Brazilian authorities even before it aired in the country. The Rio de Janeiro Tourist Board claimed that the city was portrayed as having rampant street crime, kidnappings, slums and a rat infestation. A spokesman for the Board added that "what really hurt was the idea of the monkeys - the image that Rio de Janeiro was a jungle." The episode also incorrectly stated that Brazil was the birthplace of the Macarena. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, then the president of Brazil, stated that the episode "brought a distorted vision of Brazilian reality." The Rio Tourist Board, which had spent US$18,000,000 promoting the city, threatened to take legal action against Fox, claiming the episode would have "drastic consequences" on the tourism industry.
In response, executive producer James L. Brooks apologized, stating "we apologize to the lovely city and people of Rio de Janeiro, and if that doesn't settle the issue, Homer Simpson offers to take on the President of Brazil on Fox's Celebrity Boxing".
The writers made a running gag of the situation:
- On "The Regina Monologues", Homer mentions that Brazil's "monkey problem is getting worse."
- On "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington", Krusty reveals that his monkey sidekick "Mr. Teeny" is an illegal immigrant from Brazil whose uncle was "head monkey at the Board of Tourism."
- On "The Wife Aquatic''", Lisa mentions that Barnacle Bay is "the most disgusting" place the family has been, "after Brazil". On the Brazilian Portuguese dub of this episode, the line wasn't translated and the scene that had the line being spoken was cut.
Reception
The episode has become study material for sociology courses at University of California Berkeley, where it is used to "examine issues of the production and reception of cultural objects, in this case, a satirical cartoon show", and to figure out what it is "trying to tell audiences about aspects primarily of American society, and, to a lesser extent, about other societies." Some questions asked in the courses include: "What aspects of American society are being addressed in the episode? What aspects of them are used to make the points? How is the satire conveyed: through language? Drawing? Music? Is the behavior of each character consistent with his/her character as developed over the years? Can we identify elements of the historical/political context that the writers are satirizing? What is the difference between satire and parody?"
