The Bart of War
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"The Bart of War" is the twenty-first episode of the fourteenth season of The Simpsons that aired on May 18, 2003.
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[edit] Plot
Bart and Milhouse are watching an episode of South Park, but Marge turns the TV off and they then find themselves outside and bored. After tying a thread to a fly which flies through the window of the Flanders house and is eaten by a cat, Bart and Milhouse find themselves inside the home, unsupervised. They cause some damage and find Ned's collection of Beatles memorabilia in the basement. They drink from cans of a 40-year-old novelty beverage and start to hallucinate, with Bart seeing Milhouse as John Lennon through various stages of his life. Ned and the boys return to their home to find the house "slightly askew", and they flee to their panic room and call the police. Ned then sings songs to his sons, making them even more scared. The police arrive and capture the boys. Their parents are called, and as part of Bart and Milhouse's punishment, they are sentenced to spending all their time under parental supervision. Bart is also no longer allowed to play with Milhouse, who Marge believes incites Bart into his bad behavior.
Bart joins the "Pre-Teen Braves" along with Ralph Wiggum, Nelson Muntz, and Database. Homer becomes the tribe leader, but when he fails in his leadership skills, Marge takes over. Nelson hugs and kisses a tree thinking that it is his long lost father. Marge takes the boys on a nature walk they meet a Native American (Mohican) who shows them a field that is in need of restoration after Homer dumps some rubbish there. The "Pre-Teen Braves" return to the field to begin their clean-up effort, only to discover that the "Cavalry Kids" (which Milhouse's father Kirk Van Houten is the leader, and Milhouse, along with Martin Prince, Jimbo Jones, and a nerd, are members) have already done the job. The two groups go to war and try to outdo each other in doing good. When the opportunity to become batboys at a Springfield Isotopes game is on the line, the two sides redouble their efforts for their candy sales. The "Pre-Teen Braves" lace the "Cavalry Kids' " candy bars with laxatives and believe they are going to win.
Unfortunately for them, the senior citizens, in need of relief from constipation, buy the "Cavalry Kids" a win. At the Isotopes game, the "Cavalry Kids" are delayed from arriving when Bart and Homer place a sign that says "free VIP parking" and the "Pre-Teen Braves" take their place singing their version of the national anthem. The crowd becomes angered by the version of the anthem that is being sung, and when the real "Cavalry Kids" arrive, a fight breaks out between everyone in the crowd. When the image of Marge crying is shown on the Jumbotron, the fighting ends, with the Sea Captain suggesting that they not sing a "hymn to war, like our National Anthem, but a sweet, soothing hymn like Canada's National Anthem". Everyone present sings O Canada and joins hands to form a maple leaf on the baseball field. In the end, Bart and Milhouse sum it up by saying that they've learned that: "War is not the answer —except to all of America's problems."
[edit] In later episodes
In the season 19 episode, Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind, Homer's Indian costume is seen during Homer's YouTube video view of his life flashing before his eyes.
[edit] Cultural references
- The title is a play on Sun Tzu's The Art of War.
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: "The Bart of War" |
- The Native American refers to the book and 1992 hit movie The Last of the Mohicans.
- While the Cavalry Kids and the Pre-teen Braves compete, the song "One Tin Soldier" is heard in the soundtrack.
- While the townspeople sing the national anthem of Canada, Marge is shown holding both the Canadian flag and the provincial flag of Quebec. This is believed to be reference to the Quebec sovereignty movement in Canada. It must also be noted that the Simpsons are translated in Quebec French.
- Milhouse mentions he feels like luge silver medalist Barbara Niedernhuber while riding Flanders' video cart.
[edit] Beatles references
- The drum solo Homer performs during the Pre-Teen Braves meeting is also the opening drum part of the song "Get Back" and in the middle of "The End", both by The Beatles.
- Homer refers to Michael Jackson having bought the rights to the Beatles' library of music.
- After seeing Milhouse as John Lennon, Bart speaks the words "Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dogs eye", a direct quote from the Beatles song "I am the Walrus".
- When Homer questions Ned's Beatles collection, Ned says they were bigger than Jesus. This is reference to John Lennon's controversial 1966 quote about the Beatles.
- When the police catch Bart and Milhouse, Clancy Wiggum says "Well well it looks like a bunch of kids are taking the Last Train to Clarksville," with Lou saying that's a Monkees song with Chief Wiggum telling him to go to the car.
