E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt) - Themes and Cultural References

Themes and Cultural References

The Simpsons go to a screening of The Poke of Zorro, which is largely a parody of the Zorro film The Mask of Zorro (1998). Jonathan Gray wrote in Watching with The Simpsons: Television, Parody, and Intertextuality that The Poke of Zorro "ridicules the outlandishness of Hollywood blockbuster fare," especially its "blatant historical inaccuracies" which sees the film feature Zorro, King Arthur, the Three Musketeers, the Scarlet Pimpernel, "the Man in the Iron Mask and ninjas in nineteenth century Mexico." The film's credits list, actors John Byner, Shawn Wayans, Rita Rudner, Cheech Marin, Gina Gershon, Curtis Armstrong, Eric Roberts, Spalding Gray, Anthony Hopkins, James Earl Jones and Meryl Streep, singer Victoria Beckham, wrestler Steve Austin, soccer player Pelé and producer Robert Evans as having roles in the film, and, amongst others, thanks publisher Bob Guccione and hockey team the Philadelphia Flyers. The Buzz Cola advertisement shown before The Poke of Zorro is a parody of the opening Normandy invasion sequence from the film Saving Private Ryan (1998). Gray writes that it "scorns the proclivity of ads to use any gimmick to grab attention, regardless of the ethics: as an indignant Lisa asks incredulously, 'Do they really think cheapening the memory of our veterans will sell soda?'" Amongst the other films advertised at the theater is My Dinner with Jar Jar, a reference to the character Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars and the 1981 film My Dinner with Andre.

The song "Glove Slap" is a parody of the song "Love Shack". The B-52's sang both the original and the amended version used in the episode. The music playing during the sequence where the Simpsons begin farming is the theme tune from the television series Green Acres. The addicted animals attempting to break into the house to obtain the last Tomacco is a reference the film Night of the Living Dead (1968) and the zombies' attack. A farmer is shown using an elephant to measure his corn plants' height; this is a reference to the song "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" in the musical Oklahoma!, which features the line "the corn is as high an elephant's eye". The Southern colonel's accent is similar to the Warner Bros. character Foghorn Leghorn and he uses Foghorn's phrase "Sir, I say sir!", while the mudflap on his RV features a picture of him in a similar pose to Warner Bros. character Yosemite Sam. Additionally, his horn plays the opening few notes of the song "Dixie".