shower curtain in the movie). The view changes to a shot of red paint pouring down a drain (just as blood did in the movie), and then changes again to a close-up of Homers eye. The scene ends with Homer lying the floor (as Janet Leigh lies in the bathtub). Clearly, the humor of this scene is not intended for an under- 18 audience because the humor lies in the allusion to "Psycho." Most children under 18 would not understand the allusion because they likely have not seen the movie. "The Simpsons" have alluded to many popular movies in the ten seasons its been on the air, such as "Pulp Fiction," "One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest," "Cape Fear," "Terminator 2," "The Graduate," "Jurassic Park," "A Few Good Men," several James Bond movies most of which people under age 18 have probably never seen. There was even an entire episode devoted to Stanley Kubricks horror classic "The Shining."But this scene is not the core of the episode. The plot revolves around Marge who is convinced that the subject matter of The Itchy and Scratchy Show (a cartoon that Bart enjoys which often involves violence) is a bad influence on children. This plays on the irony that "The Simpsons" itself was, at the time this episode aired, still considered a bad influence on children. Marge launches a campaign that eventually leads to a change in subject matter on The Itchy and Scratchy Show." The new, more light-hearted, show drops dramatically in the ratings.In the same episode, while the above is going on, there is controversy in the town over the Springfield Art Museums display of Michelangelos David. Because of her crusade against The Itchy and Scratchy Show, Marge is asked to comment on the debate over David. She doesnt find anything objectionable with the piece of art and ends up losing her position with the anti-free speech brigade. Again, the idea that a historic piece of art such as David could be considered obscene and the existence of an anti-free spee...
