I saw the following photo in one of the Simpsons reruns the other day and thought why don’t I look into the Simpsons’ parodies of iconic photographs. The problem was although I used to watch the Simpsons, I stopped watching it. (That is not entirely true. I restarted watching the last one (their 21st — wow!) which is definitely better than their last few seasons. But I digress…). So I used Google to see if they had used any other iconic images in their equally iconic show and here they are:
This photo of Abe Simpson in Woodstock started it all. As seen in D’oh-in In the Wind (Season 10, Episode 6). Original. It is funny how they even had the butterfly and some spectators in similar poses.
Although Bart was leading Martin Prince in polls, on the election day only Prince and his friend Wendell bothered to vote, handling the class presidency to Prince by two votes. As seen in Lisa’s Substitute (Season 2, Episode 19). Original.
At the height of Boy Band craze in the 90s (oh, seems so long ago, ain’t it?), Bart, Nelson, Millhouse and Ralph Wiggum forms a band. This inevitable parody of Joe Rosenthal’s iconic photo was part of one of their music videos. (New Kids on the Blecch, Season 12, Episode 14).
In one of the more random gags, Homer buys the New Yorker magazine because it has Lenny’s photoshoot by Richard Avedon(!). As seen in The Sweetest Apu (Season 13, Episode 19).
The Simpsons family dog destroys Marge’s ancestral quilt, which has this Capa photo as one of the patterns. As seen in Bart’s Dog Gets an F (Season 2, Episode Sixteenth). Original.
Homer is more interested in catching this Nessie like catfish General Sherman than going to a Christian marriage counseling class. As seen in The War of the Simpsons (Season 2, Episode 20). Original
When Mr. Burns sells his nuclear power plant to the Germans, he leaves this photo for Smithers. As seen in Burns verkaufen der kraftwerk (Season 3, Episode 11). Original.
Season 4, Episode 4, Lisa the Beauty Queen has the most references. Bart strikes a Betty Grable pose as he teaches his sister how to win a beauty contest. When the tournament winner was eventually incapacitated, Lisa was sworn in as Little Miss Springfield like Lyndon Johnson did after the JFK assassination. (Marge wears a similar dress Jackie Kennedy wore). Meanwhile, Barnie drives Duff Blimp and turns it into a Hindenberg. Kent Brockman was there to provide neccessary, “Oh, the Humanity!”
This is a couch gag from Season 14: The Dad Who Knew Too Little (Episode 8 ) and The Old Yeller Belly (Episode 19).
When Bart’s antics offend the whole of Australia, the family and the staff leave the U.S. embassy in a Saigonesque fashion. Bart vs. Australia (Season 6, Episode 16).
I know this is not a comprehensive list. (I left out the photos from the episode where Krusty pastes his head on many iconic photos for his election campaign (Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington). Then, there is Marge’s photoshoot with Playboy (related to The Devil Wears Nada), and I also saw this while surfing the ‘Net. I think I might cover that O. Winston Link photo in the near future.) I might do another post like this again, but this post is probably the one I took the most time to complete — I have been ‘researching’ (and having tremendous fun rewatching) on this for like three months. If you know more photos, be sure to leave a comment.
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