Tales From The Public Domain - Cultural References

Cultural References

Each segment is based on and include references to historical stories; "D'oh Brother, Where Art Thou" takes its story from the ancient Greek epic poem the Odyssey, while taking its name from the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou (also based on the Odyssey), "Hot Child in the City" is based on the life and legend of Saint Joan of Arc, a French peasant girl who, as a teenager, led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, and "Do the Bard, Man" spoofs William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet.

The song that the sirens are singing in the first segment is a parody on the 1978 disco song "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow. In order to return to Ithaca, Homer crosses the river Styx, in which the dead can be seen dancing to "Lady" by the band with the same name. In the second segment, the captain resembling Chief Wiggum is initially leading the French army. The soldier resembling Lou points out that the captain "keeps switching back from French and English." The scene satirizes films like Doctor Zhivago in which the Russians speak with a British accent even though they are in Russia. At the end of the act, Marge can be seen eating the page which shows Joan's demise and, say "Well, it's easier to chew than that Bambi video." The scene is a reference to a scene in the Disney film Bambi, in which Bambi's mother is shot to death by hunters.

In the beginning of the third act, Bart argues that modern writers like Steven Bochco, one of the creators of the television series NYPD Blue, are more talented than Shakespeare. Bochco saw the episode with his children and was so flattered that he sent The Simpsons staff some NYPD Blue merchandise. After the ghost of Homer has spoken to Bart, he leaves Bart's room by flying through the wall, causing slime to appear on the wall. This is a reference to Slimer, a ghost from the Ghostbusters franchise who has a similar function.