Jokes We Don't Get

[Roger Myers III]

Homer didn't say that. Marge did.

[Charmy]

Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming:

Lisa says 'I want to meet the first female (F-16/F-14/F-Whatever) pilot. She fought in the Gulf War, she bombed 70 mosques, and her name is Lisa too!' or something to that effect.

Did the writers gave the fighter pilot the name Lisa so it would fit the joke, or was there a fighter pilot named Lisa? i.e. did the joke create the (fictional) person or did a real person cause the joke to be created?

Does that make sense?

[Roger Myers III]

It completely makes sense, and its a great question.

At first, it seems like its fictional. In the US, women were not allowed to become military pilots until 1976. There were no women allowed in combat light missions, however, until the 1991 Gulf War I/"Desert Storm" (in which the first female pilot gave her life while flying in a combat zone - Major Marie T. Rossi died at age 32 on March 1, 1991, when the Chinook helicopter she was piloting crashed near her base in northern Saudia Arabia.) Because of strict age cut-offs, the "first female pilot" couldn't have served in the Gulf War. However, the "first F-16/F-14/F-Whatever pilot" may indeed have. And, therefore, her name may also in fact be Lisa.

Charmy, can you remember what the "whatever" actually was?

I

[Charmy]

I just pulled this from SNPP:

Lisa: I want to meet the first female Stealth Bomber pilot. During the Gulf War she destroyed seventy mosques and her name is Lisa too.

[Roger Myers III]

Then its very likely just a joke. It wasn't until April 28, 1993, well after the Gulf War, that then-Defense Secretary Les Aspin removed the Defense Department's restrictions on women's participation in aerial combat missions. This includes bombing runs via Stealth Bombers.

The joke is a double-joke about Lisa's character, with twists.

1) its expected that Lisa would be excited to meet a pioneer in female empowerment, but unexpected that she'd be so excited that this female's area of achievement be in the military goals of "bombing mosques" in a war, and;

2) It would be expected of our wise-beyond-her-years Lisa to want to meet a woman of achievement due to her skill in her chosen field, but completely unexpected of her to offer, additionally, the very childlike motivation that "...her name is Lisa too!" (which would be the more silly, but more realistic, child's motivation.)

[Charmy]

Okay; I assume that 'The Homer' from 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou' is a deliberate parody of the Ford Edsel. Both were ridiculously expensive cars that offered little in the way of quality, both were filled with pointless frills, both were named after a family member of the company owner (Homer Simpson and Edsel Ford), both were the same sickly green colour, both looked a LOT different from any other car on the road (I believe the Edsel had a toilet-seat shaped fender) etc. etc. etc. But there's always a slim chance that it's entirely a coincidence. My question: Has it ever been confirmed by anyone that this is a parody of the Edsel, or am I a nut whose seeing similarities where there are none?

[MrB]

Looks like a pretty safe bet that it is to me. Though I may of course be wrong.

Can someone tell me who Paul Anka (spelling?) is from THOH VI?

[Shiny Things]

Okay I’m pretty sure I get the joke the question is whether it was intentional. In Mother Simpsons there’s apart where Lisa and Homer’s mom are playing “How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man.” And Homer tries to guess the number to which Lisa says ‘Dad it’s a rhetorical question.” Meaning it’s a question which doesn’t really require an answer. So then Homer guesses another number and Lisa asks him if he even knows what rhetorical means. Homer then says: “Do I know what rhetorical means?!” Is this a deliberate joke, that Homer himself asks a rhetorical question when asked if he even knows what rhetorical means?

[kuje]

Yes. Simply

[CPF]

Originally posted by Shiny Things
In Mother Simpsons there’s a part where Lisa and Homer’s mom are playing “How many roads must a man walk down, before you can call him a man.” And Homer tries to guess the number to which Lisa says ‘Dad it’s a rhetorical question.”

It is not a rhetorical question. The answer, my friend, is: Blowin' in the wind.

[Roger Myers III]

Well, its not a "direct" parody of the Edsel as such (and no one, afaik, had ever said so). Moreso, it parodies the general instincts of American car companies and American car buyers - bigger, bigger, bigger, useless decoration, unsafe ideas, ostentatious ornaments, gluttonous mileage, silly horns & gadgetry, etc., etc. Whereas the Edsel was indeed ugly, it was also pretty badly designed. There are lots of other bad-idea cars in Detroit's past - the studebaker, the Pinto, the Vega. But even its successes - the new Bug, and, overwhelmingly, the SUVs these days (cupholders everywhere!), are also emblematic of Homer as the ultimate American car consumer.

Also, the Edsel was primarily lemon-yellow. (That, and its vaguely lemony shape, gave us the term "a real lemon")

On the other hand, it was designed by Henry Ford Jr.'s nephew, Edsel Ford (iirc), so maybe it is a riff on the nepotism angle with Herb too.

Paul Anka is an interpretive singer in the lounge-style vein of Tony Bennett and Tom Jones, but of the calibre of Robert Goulet or Dean Martin. His heyday was in the mid-60's and 70's, as a very middle-of-the-road success, and he still performs steadily in Las Vegas.

Actually, its nice Dylan trick of that lyric that hardcore Bob fans chew over. First of all, the answer to the posed questions is not the phrase, "Blowin' in the Wind", itself. That's wrong. Rather, the answers to the posed questions indeed do exist, however they are, metaphorically, blowing in the wind - they are beyond our grasp, they are unattainable, out of reach, maybe lost to us, but still in sight. The song lyric, therefore, does the job of the rhetorical question (it poses questions that don't have a 'yes/no' or definitive answer, in the hopes of inciting discussion of the issue at hand,) while undermining their status as rhetorical questions (the definitive answers, we are told, do exist).

That's Dylan fandom for 'ya. He messes with yer head!

[eddie]

I suddenly can't recall the episode, but what did this mean...

Lisa: "I'll never get into an Ivy League school now. I probably won't even get in to Vasser."
Homer: "I've heard just about enough of your Vasser-bashing, young lady!"

Huh?

[tramopoline]

I just think its funny that Homer is sticking up for Vasser. anything much deeper than that is beyond me

[Roger Myers III]

Vassar, in upstate NY, iirc, is a top-tier college, though it is not in the "Ivy League", (for what that's worth anymore). It has been held somewhat in disdain by serious feminist since going co-ed by admitting males in the early eighties. Lisa is implying that its standards are too low for her tastes, and that she is now beneath them. The Homer comeback is funny because Homer presumedly couldn't care less about the issue, he sticks up for an expensive school, and apparently Lisa has been quite vocal about her disdain for Vassar already...

[EDIT:]... which may be a cute riff on her psychic callous in "getting over" never being able to afford Vassar. IWhen Homer smashes the college-fund piggy-bank, Lisa remarks "There go my childhood dreams of Vassar!"

[mr. broom]

Kind of like "I'm so hungry I could eat at Arbys!" It's a joke on how a character has established something as beneath her contempt and using it for a comparison.

Actual question from me: Bart's about to do a William Tell on Milhouse (I forget the ep, don't watch reruns as religiously as I used to). He's announcing his preparations to shoot the apple from Milhouse's mouth and Milhouse takes the apple out to say "Jinx!" Someone care to enlighten me?

[Tibor]

From Cartridge Family. "Jinx" in my experience, is a kid's thing when you say something right as someone else says the same thing (see: Flaming Moes, opening scene). I guess the joke is that Milhouse couldn't have jinxed him, he had an apple in his mouth, but claimed it anyway.

[Bob Terwilliger]

I thought the joke was Milhouse was trying to make Bart miss shooting the apple in his mouth by saying "Jinx", to put him off.

[kuje]

I, too, never understood this joke. The best I can come up with is that Milhouse actually did say the same thing as Bart, but nobody could hear it because of the apple. Not a very funny joke really!

Maybe the writers had a different interpretation of the whole "jinx" game? But my version of the game is the same as Tibor's.

I thought the joke was Milhouse was trying to make Bart miss shooting the apple in his mouth by saying "Jinx", to put him off.

I don't think that is right because why would Milhouse want to put Bart off, and risk getting shot in the head? lol.

[tramopoline]

"I don't think that is right because why would Milhouse want to put Bart off, and risk getting shot in the head? lol."


I think thats the joke. its just funny that Milhouse would want to make Bart mess up like they were playing basketball or something. thats the way I have always interpreted it and I laugh every time. maybee its just to show how desensitized or how ignorant kids can be of guns.

[Roger Myers III]

Yes, Broom, there are 2 common "Jinx" situations. Here, the joke is that Milhouse is trying to put Bart off his game with a "Jinx", oblivious to the fact that Bart's missing would very likely give him a head-wound.

[SideshowTim]

I know nothing about Ghandi and he's referenced quite a bit. Fill me in.

[Roger Myers III]

The Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian leader and the pre-eminent spokesman & embodiment of the use of non-violence to fight oppression.

Here's a brief bio:

(Mohandas Karamchand) Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India. He became one of the most respected spiritual and political leaders of the 1900's. Gandhi helped free the Indian people from British rule through nonviolent resistance, and is honored by his people as the father of the Indian Nation. The Indian people called Gandhi Mahatma, meaning Great Soul.

At age 13, Gandhi joined Kasturba, age 12, in a marriage arranged by their parents. The Gandhis had four sons: Harilal and Manilal, born in India, and Ramdas and Devdas born in South Africa. While Gandhi displayed loving kindness to everyone else, he was quite demanding and severe with his wife and sons. Use the links below to learn more about Gandhi's relationship with his famiy.

Gandhi studied law in London and returned to India in 1891 to practice. In 1893 he accepted a one year contract to do legal work in South Africa. At the time South Africa was controlled by the British. When he attempted to claim his rights as a British subject he was abused, and soon saw that all Indians suffered similar treatment. Gandhi stayed in South Africa for 21 years working to secure rights for Indian people. He developed a method of direct social action based upon the principles courage, nonviolence and truth called Satyagraha. He believed that the way people behave is more important than what they achieve. Satyagraha promoted nonviolence and civil disobedience as the most appropriate methods for obtaining political and social goals.

In 1915 Gandhi returned to India. Within 15 years he became the leader of the Indian nationalist movement. Using the tenets of Satyagraha he lead the campaign for Indian independence from Britain. Gandhi was arrested many times by the British for his activities in South Africa and India. He believed it was honorable to go to jail for a just cause. Altogether he spent seven years in prison for his political activities. More than once Gandhi used fasting to impress upon others the need to be nonviolent.

India was granted independence in 1947, and partitioned into India and Pakistan. Rioting between Hindus and Muslims followed. Gandhi had been an advocate for a united India where Hindus and Muslims lived together in peace. On January 13, 1948, at the age of 78, he began a fast with the purpose of stopping the bloodshed. After 5 days the opposing leaders pledged to stop the fighting and Gandhi broke his fast. Twelve days later he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic who opposed his program of tolerance for all creeds and religion.

[samsa]

Please explain to me the joke of Dennis Miller from the Halloween episode in wich the Simpsons get a house with the voice of Pierce Brosnan (please explain the whole thing, im mexican, i only know Dennis Miller from SNL, thanks!)

[chiefdan]

Eh heh...all Dennis Miller jokes are unexplainable. That was the point. He used a lot of obscure references when telling jokes. Hardly anyone gets them, and only one in a million people would find them funny.

[Roger Myers III]

Dennis Miller jokes aren't "unexplainable" - of course they can be explained. The point is that he lards his remarks with so many very obscure references, that no one can ever "get" them all - and, if you do, (or, rather, regardless if you do,) the jokes themselves fall flat. {jokes about jokes are harder to pull off. I think this one works wonderfully.)

[Charmy]

Okay, I was just watching Mr. Plow. Homer crosses a rope bridge on the plow, and later gets it across a mountain ledge. This seems like a parody, but I have no idea what of.

Rog, since you know everything...

[mr. broom]

It's using imagery from action movies in which the hero travels across dangerous passages to reach the person he has to rescue. It ups the ridiculousness that he's crossing the ropebridge (which, in the movies, is always barely able to support a human body) with a humongous automobile.

[SideshowTim]

Who is Ray Bulger?

[Citizen Kang]

http://www.reelclassics.com/Actors/Bolger/bolger.htm

Most famous for playing the Scarecrow in Wizard of Oz

[Roger Myers III]

Originally posted by Charmy
Okay, I was just watching Mr. Plow. Homer crosses a rope bridge on the plow, and later gets it across a mountain ledge. This seems like a parody, but I have no idea what of.

Rog, since you know everything...

Awww, shucks - they call you Charmy for a reason!

The entire rope-bridge scene, including the music and the camera shots, is a parody of William Friedkin's 1976 (or thereabouts) film "Sorcerer" (a/k/a "Wages of Fear"), which was itself a remake of a 1950's b&w "Wages of Fear" (but the parody is of Friedkin's film).

The plot involves 6 mercenaries, on the run from different international agencies, who are hired to competitively move a load of very unstable nitroglycerine through the amazon (iirc). The scene being parodied is one in which Roy Scheider must drive a heavy truck with this payload over the rickety rope-bridge. Great movie, btw.

[Ya see, Broom, why your "Guarantees" aren't worth very much? ]