Cultural References
In the episode, Milhouse recites a slightly paraphrased line from Prince's 1984 song "When Doves Cry". Bart identifies the number seven in Roman numerals by referring to a nonexistent sequel of the Rocky series, Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge. The scene with Bart and his team sitting on a hill above the enemy camp and looking down at the captured tree being circled by children on bicycles bears a resemblance to an early scene in Mad Max 2.
The overall plot structure of Springfield residents attacking their neighboring rivals after they steal their prize possession is a reference to the legend of the Trojan War, in which the incentive for the Greeks declaring war on their Trojan neighbors is the abduction of their most famous and beautiful female citizen, Helen. The title of the episode is a play on her name. The method of recovery of the tree is an echo of the Trojan Horse (a fact lost on Homer, who gleefully exclaims that "no one in history has ever done anything this clever").
Read more about this topic: Lemon Of Troy
Famous quotes containing the word cultural:
“The primary function of myth is to validate an existing social order. Myth enshrines conservative social values, raising tradition on a pedestal. It expresses and confirms, rather than explains or questions, the sources of cultural attitudes and values.... Because myth anchors the present in the past it is a sociological charter for a future society which is an exact replica of the present one.”
—Ann Oakley (b. 1944)