I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings/References

General

References/Trivia

Appearances

Gags

Credits

Quotes

	Season 19 Episode References
← 403 "Midnight Towboy"	404 "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"	"Treehouse of Horror XVIII" 405 →

Cultural references

• The episode title is a pun on Maya Angelou's 1969 autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is mentioned in the episode's chalkboard gag.
• Homer writes his own novel about Superman. In its first chapter, Homer mentions the Coffee Bean American coffee chain.
• When Marge complains about the Old Jewish man taking his time in the First Bank of Springfield, Dwight Diddlehopper says "Where's Dr. Kevorkian when you need him?". He is referring to American pathologist and euthanasia proponent Jack Kevorkian.
• Dwight's buggy eyes are a parody of his voice actor, Steve Buscemi.
• Agnes mocks the robbers' incompetence by calling them "Johnny and Clyde" in a reference to Bonnie and Clyde.

Dwight's partner's appearance is based on John Cazale's character in the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon.

• The bank robbery sequence parodies some elements from the 1975 American biographical crime drama Dog Day Afternoon, notably:
  • Dwight's partner's appearance is based on Sal Naturile, John Cazale's character in the film.
  • Dwight's partner is also carrying his gun in a box, the same way Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) did in the film.
• Homer's cellphone tune is "Für Elise" by Ludwig van Beethoven.
• Marge tells Homer that, if she does not make it from the robbery, he could marry anyone except Booberella, Lindsay Naegle, and American actress Blythe Danner.
• On Laff Ways Magazine, Krusty is placed below Honduran-American comedian Carlos Mencia in "America's least funny clown" list. Mencia was accused by several comedians of plagiarism and stealing jokes, and in 2006, a year before this episode aired, Maxim magazine named Mencia one of the worst comedians of all time.
• Chief Wiggum watches the 1998 American crime thriller film The Negotiator on a portable DVD player to learn how to deal with a hostage situation during the bank robbery. He mentions characters such as Chicago Police Lieutenant Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson), Inspector Terence Niebaum (J. T. Walsh), and Chicago Police Lieutenant Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey).
• The store Shlomo's Judaica is having a dreidel blowout sale.
• According to Snake, someone has been editing his biography on Wikipedia.
• At Springfield Penitentiary, Dwight answers to an automatic call made by American hard rock musician Ted Nugent, in which Nugent's political stance is mocked. He introduces himself as the "Motor City Madman", one of his nicknames, and ends the call by saying "I say Wango! I say Tango!", a reference to "Wango Tango", one of his best-known songs.
• The name of the film Marge watches, A Kiss Before Frying, is a pun on A Kiss Before Dying, the 1956 American color film noir. The prisoner Johnny Stabbo is based on William "Rocky" Sullivan (James Cagney) from the film Angels with Dirty Faces.
• Dwight's escape from Springfield Penitentiary via a sewage pipe is a reference to Andy Dufresne's (Tim Robbins) escape from Shawshank State Prison by the same means in The Shawshank Redemption. Dwight's escape takes an ironic (and parodical) twist when he discovers a "Pure Mountain Spring Water" pipe right next to the sewage pipe immediately after he emerges from it.

The Rebel Alliance starbird can be seen in Itchy's helmet, referencing Star Wars.

• The Itchy & Scratchy Show episode "The Un-Natural" parodies the baseball steroids scandal, and the title references the book and movie The Natural.
  • "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is heard during the episode.
  • Itchy is wearing a Star Wars rebel pilot helmet with the Rebel Alliance starbird when he is piloting the jet.
  • The "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is also heard.
  • According to Kent Brockman, this episode won an Annie Award.
• The hit song "Who Can It Be Now?" by Australian band Men at Work is heard when Dwight is chasing Marge.
• When Marge and Dwight are at Plaster Mountain Theme Park:
  • The Dilbert's Flying Cubicle ride is visible in the background, a reference to Scott Adams' popular comic Dilbert. The theme song of the Dilbert animated series can be heard in the background for a large portion of the scene.
  • Tilt N' Spew is a parody of the flat ride Tilt-A-Whirl.
  • Bathrooms at the park are "presented" by FedEx.
  • Mr. Frog's Mild Ride is a parody of Disney's Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, which itself is based on Mr. Toad, the character from The Wind in the Willows.
  • It's a Long Line is a parody of the ride It's a Small World, also found at Disney theme parks.
• Homer's three "amigos" are part of the Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi prison gang.
  • One of the prisoners has a chest tattoo that resembles the Parteiadler ("Party's eagle"), a symbol of the Nazi Party.

Trivia

• Johnny Stabbo's prison number is the same as the production code for this episode, JABF19.
• The names on Marge's list of women Homer can marry if she dies are Booberella, Lindsay Naegle, Blythe Danner, and "And feed the cat"

Goofs

• Dolph's hair is covering his left eye instead of his right one.

← Season 18 Season 19 References Season 20 →

He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs • The Homer of Seville • Midnight Towboy • I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings • Treehouse of Horror XVIII • Little Orphan Millie • Husbands and Knives • Funeral for a Fiend • Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind • E Pluribus Wiggum • That '90s Show • Love, Springfieldian Style • The Debarted • Dial "N" for Nerder • Smoke on the Daughter • Papa Don't Leech • Apocalypse Cow • Any Given Sundance • Mona Leaves-a • All About Lisa