The Joy of Sect

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"The Joy of Sect" is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons' ninth season.

Contents

Plot

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Mr. Burns as the god of his new religion

While taking Bart to the airport to see a local football team arrive after their defeat, Homer sees two people (Glen and Jane) telling people about a new religion, the "Movementarians". They invite Homer to come to an introductory session. Everyone there comes to worship the Movementarian leader after being brainwashed by their video, which states that all Movementarians will be taken by a spaceship to Blisstonia, a new planet. Homer, however, doesn't pay enough attention to the video to be affected by it. After Glen and Jane's other methods fail on Homer, they finally get him by singing the theme to Batman, replacing the word Batman with the word leader.

Homer moves his entire family to the Movementarian compound while their house becomes the new welcome center for that area. The compound is a vast agricultural facility fenced off with barbed wire and artillery (and an "anti escape orb"), where everyone is forced to grow and harvest lima beans from dawn to dusk. Mr. Burns, learning that Movementarianism is gaining much popularity in Springfield, makes a new religion of his own. But the Springfieldians are convinced not to praise him as their new god when he catches fire after being bowed down to by Smithers, with Lenny finding Special K more interesting than Burns. The children resist brainwashing at first, but Greg and Jane have their ways: Bart is taken by their "Li'l Bastard Brainwashing Kit", Lisa decides that getting good grades is more important (even though she knows it's stupid to say "The Leader" created everything, even the Morse Code), and Maggie is brainwashed by Barney the Dinosaur or someone like him who sings "I love him, he loves me, we're the Leader's family". Marge, however, resists all their methods and just barely escapes the compound (even the "anti escape orb", which accidentally captures Hans Moleman). She gets help from Reverend Lovejoy, Ned Flanders, and Willie, who help her kidnap the family. Marge kidnaps them by posing as the anonymous character of "The Leader" and telling them to come in to "his" limousine.

In Ned Flanders' rumpus room, Marge brings back her children by promising them hover-bikes (which are fake). Homer remains strong, but gives in when Ned offers him a beer. Just as a single drop lands on Homer's tongue, he is captured by the Movementarians' lawyers. Back at the compound, Homer reveals that he is himself again and opens the Forbidden Barn (which was said to house "The Leader's" spaceship) intending to expose the fraud of the Movementarians. The door is opened and to Homer's surprise reveals "one hell of a giant spaceship." "The Leader" (from within the spacecraft) proclaimed that due to Homer's "lack of faith", humanity will never go into space. Marge then regrets that he was telling the truth and Lovejoy throws his collar on the ground and stomps on it. However, as it flies off, the ship falls apart revealing "The Leader", on a pedal-powered aircraft, running off with everyone's money, and everyone's faith is broken. However, "The Leader" does not get very far, crashing on Cletus Spuckler's front porch. In the end, Cletus gets the money, by pointing a shotgun at "The Leader." The followers go home glumly and Moe is shown to practice voodoo witchcraft by sticking a beer bottle into a doll Barney and causing the real Barney to want beer. The Simpsons go home and get hypnotized by a FOX commercial.

Reception

Jeff Shalda of The Simpsons Archive, used the episode as an example of one of the "good qualities present in The Simpsons", while analyzing why some other aspects of The Simpsons makes Christians upset.[1] The book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide commented that the episode was "an odd one", with "a lot of good moments", and went on to state that it was "a nice twist to see Burns determined to be loved".[2]

Trivia

  • This episode is the origin of the term "Jerkass Homer," used by alt.tv.simpsons members to describe a perceived change in Homer's personality later in the series. Homer shouts "Outta my way, Jerkass!" while driving into the Movementarian compound, and once again when he's told there will be a free movie.
  • Flanders produces the sound of the hoverbikes using a comb and wax paper, John Lennon reportedly used this on The Beatles song "Lovely Rita", albeit producing a different sound. In a later episode, Flanders is revealed to be a big Beatles fan, having a separate room in his house where he keeps all his collectibles. The leader uses this same method to make the sound of the spaceship.
  • The scene of Marge being chased by an "anti escape orb" (homage to The Prisoner) is seen again in The Computer Wore Menace Shoes. Here the bubble is chasing Marge but instead it caught Hans Moleman and it closes over him.
  • Bart uses the term "rubes" which he picked up in the previous episode, Bart Carny
  • One of the members of the sect uses a Lil' Bastard Brainwashing Kit on Bart
  • This is the last episode executive produced by David Mirkin.
  • All of the Special K references (and most of the subplot about Mr. Burns starting a rival cult) are cut out in syndication.

Cultural references

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  • This episode is in part a parody of the Jim Jones cult, as there are many similarities between his cult and this episode. Examples include followers being brainwashed into thinking that they would live in bliss and paradise, then being forced to harvest in the farm from dawn till dusk, while being under heavily armed guard. Also, people in Jonestown were not allowed to leave. This is referenced in one scene where Marge decides to go and confronts the Squeaky Voiced Teen. He says "People are free to go whenever they wish" and the camera then pans across a field riddled with barbed wire (with several Movementarians stuck), alligators, a mine field, and the Rover guard "balloon" from The Prisoner.
  • The episode also includes many references to Scientology. These references include the Leader's strong physical resemblance to Lafayette Ronald Hubbard an orientation film shown at the Movementarian compound; the resemblance of the cult recruiters' outfits to that of Sea Org; Homer's ten trillion year contract with the cult (and the billion year contracts Scientology members sign when they join Sea Org); the centrality of UFOs to the cult; how the cult became the central focus of Springfield in a manner similar to Clearwater, Florida, the idea that the founder invented virtually everything in the world, and the use of lawyers on the part of the cult to squash dissent. Finally, the leader attempting to make off with the money of Springfield's residents may be seen as a swipe at Hubbard. The voice of Bart Simpson, Nancy Cartwright, is a practicing Scientologist.
  • The "group criticism" session used by the group to try to take Homer is a reference to the setup of the Oneida Society.
  • At one part of the episode Bart is stopped by a Hare Krishna guy who asks him "Have you heard of Krishna Consciousness?". To which Homer replies "This, Bart, is a crazy man!". This is in reference to the Hare Krishna movements' promotion of Krishna's teachings by actively selling books on the street, and in airports. Episode Ref
  • The scene where Marge jumps over the back of alligators while fleeing the Movementarian compound spoofs James Bond's famous stunt from Live and Let Die.
  • Rover (the famous defense balloon from The Prisoner) gives chase to Marge and engulfs Hans Moleman instead.
  • The title of this episode is a play on the title of the book The Joy of Sex.
  • The Leader's choice of a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce Phantom V or VI could either be a parody of the Hare Krishna spiritualist Kirtanananda Swami, who was famous for owning a fleet of Rolls-Royces, including several customized Phantoms, and whose fraud trial was in the news at the time the episode aired, or of Rajneesh, who had a fleet of 90 Rolls-Royces at his Antelope, Oregon compound.
  • The scene where Groundskeeper Willie gets the attention of Marge and Reverend Lovejoy by running his fingernails across the stained glass windows before offering to kidnap, "deprogram", or kill Homer at a price is a spoof of a scene from the Steven Spielberg film Jaws, where the character Quint, portrayed by Robert Shaw, runs his fingernails across the chalkboard to get the attention of the town's people before offering to capture or kill the shark.
  • The mass-marriage performed by the Movementarians may be a reference to the one held by Reverend Moon and the Unification Church.
  • The scene in the airport with religious zealots asking Homer to convert to different religions is obviously a parody of the first Airplane! movie.
  • While fishing, Homer sing the Batman theme, replacing "Batman" with "fishing".

See also

References

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External links

Summaries
Analysis/reviews
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