Wild Barts Can't Be Broken - Cultural References

Cultural References

The episode's title is a reference to the movie Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken. The movie The Bloodening is a parody of the 1960 film Village of the Damned. The sequence showing the children taking the equipment to build their radio transmitter is a recreation of a sequence from the short comedy films Our Gang, featuring similar music and a dog, with Milhouse dressed like Our Gang character Alfalfa. The review Marge reads of Talk to the Hand – "The writing snaps, crackles and pops" – was how Variety reviewed the sitcom Just Shoot Me! when it first aired in 1997. The musical argument between kids, adults and seniors is a parody of the song "Kids" from the musical Bye Bye Birdie. When Lisa is flipping through the radio channels, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy Speech can be heard. In the Springfield Elementary School shower-room Homer, Barney, Lenny, and Carl sing a medley of Queen songs consisting of "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You". When Cyndi Lauper sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" it is to the tune of her hit song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun".