Girls Just Want to Have Sums
| "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" | |
|---|---|
| The Simpsons episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 17 |
| Directed by | Nancy Kruse |
| Written by | Matt Selman |
| Original air dates | April 30, 2006 |
| Episode features | |
| Chalkboard gag | None |
| Couch gag | The people of Springfield yell out "Surprise!" when the family enters, and Homer has a heart attack and falls to the floor. |
"Girls Just Want To Have Sums" is an episode of The Simpsons that aired on April 30, 2006 as part of the seventeenth season.
Synopsis
Template:Spoiler The Simpsons and several others go to see a performance of "Itchy & Scratchy: The Musical" (while passing the theater where The Lion King Musical is playing), which is an amazing show. Afterwards, the director comes on stage as well as Skinner, who reveals she is an alum of Springfield Elementary. During their conversation, Skinner says "It's no wonder you got a B in math. You are a girl." Everyone is shocked and when Skinner tries to defend himself, he only makes it worse. Eventually, Skinner is demoted to "assistant groundskeeper" and a new female principal takes over Springfield Elementary — or at least, what was Springfield Elementary — before she turns it into separate boys-only and girls-only schools.
The new principal takes an active hand in teaching the girls, and while displaying a pro-female bias, also fails to do anything other than motivate them. When Lisa points this out, the principal claims she has derailed the class's "self-esteem engine" and totally fails to address the point. This prompts Lisa, who realizes that the girls aren't being taught very much in math, to masquerade as a boy (after being given the idea by Marge) so she can attend the boys' school under the name "Jake Boyman" and actually learn something important.
The boy's side of the school is a battlefield that includes a crashed helicopter and a flaming book mobile - but also teaches actual, accurate math. Lisa is delighted to get a problem wrong in class, which means that when it is corrected, she has learned something.
Unfortunately, being with the boys means having to act like one. When Lisa then gets beaten up by Nelson, Bart feels guilty and teaches her to be a boy. Although she feels she has sold out her ideals, she continues to do well in the eyes of her teachers and peers. At an award ceremony Lisa reveals herself and explains why she disguised herself as Jake Boyman.
After that, Seymour Skinner is principal again and the female principal is fired. Principal Skinner turns everything in Springfield Elementary back to normal.
Cultural References
- The title is a play on the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", by Cyndi Lauper.
- The Broadway Version of The Lion King is completely parodied by the Itchy and Scratchy Musical, Stab-A-Lot. Its title is a parody of Spamalot.
- The book for the Itchy & Scratchy musical is said to have been written by acclaimed playwright Tom Stoppard.
- Seymour Skinner's remark that men are better than women at math and science is a reference to Lawrence Summers, the president of Harvard University.
- The episode's basic storyline is similar to William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The line "We've been Yentld!" is a reference to a film with a similar storyline.
- The music that plays in scenes featuring the boys' playground are very reminiscent of the score from Stanley Kubrick's film version of A Clockwork Orange. Both A Clockwork Orange and the episode feature somewhat apocalyptic, violent settings.
- In the girls' section of the elementary school, paintings by Frida Kahlo and Georgia O'Keeffe hang on the walls, joined in humorous juxtaposition by a Cathy cartoon, implying an equivalent position in the female-artist pantheon for Cathy Guisewite.
Trivia
- Hank Azaria, voice of Moe Szyslak, stars in the Broadway musical Spamalot, which was parodied in this episode.
- The song that Otto plays after he lets the girls off is "Breaking the Law" by Judas Priest.
- The song that Martin, "Best Flautist" plays and continues playing at the end credits is "Thick As a Brick" by Jethro Tull.
- During "Stab-A-lot" Marge and Lisa wear different formal clothes than they do in all precededing episodes.
- The Waitresses' I Know What Boys Like is used in this episode.
- When Lisa started to dress like a boy, her waist was round just like Homer's and Bart's. Usually, her waist is like Marge's.
- In the promos for this episode, the gag where Bart says he can walk around with Bart Jr. hanging out and pulls out his frog, the frog's subtitled line "I thought he meant his penis" was removed yet isn't on Global.
- At the end Skinner is never given his job back, but it is assumed (as in all episodes) that in the next episode everything is back to normal.
Quotes
- Chalmers: Skinner, you got to deal with these kooks.
Skinner: Don't worry, I have a plan: pretend I agree with them.
Chalmers: Well, you'd better hurry. (pointing to his car) Look what they'd done to your car.
Skinner: No, that's how its always looks.
Chalmers: Oh, how sad.
- Skinner: Today, we celebrate the first of many, many, many, many diversity forums. Why is it that women "appear" to be worse at math than men? What is the source of this "illusion" or as I call it, the biggest lie ever told.
Lindsey Naegle: You're a worse version of Hitler!
Skinner: Please believe me. I-I understand the problem of women. (he moves from behind the podium revealing he's wearing a purple dress and purple heels) See. (the audience gasps)
Nelson: Ha, ha! (sing-songy) The principal's a tranny.
Skinner: Am I wearing women's clothes? I didn't notice. When I look in my closet, I don't see male clothes or female clothes. They're all the same.
Edna Krabappel: Are you saying that men and women are identical?
Skinner: Oh, no, of course not! Women are unique in every way.
Lindsey Naegle: Now he's saying men and women aren't equal!
Skinner: No, no, no! It's the differences of which there are none that makes the sameness exceptional. Just tell me what to say! (he starts to breathe heavy then pass out)
Chalmers: Oh dear. Um, attention students. Due to nervous exhaustion and diarrhea of the mouth... (the students start laughing) Yes, yes, yes. I said diarrhea.
- Bart: I think it's great! Now I can walk down the hall with Bart Jr. hanging out! Isn't that right, Bart Jr.? (pulls out his pet frog)
Frog: (subtitled) I thought he meant his penis.
- Lisa: You'd do that for me? That's so sweet! (hugs him)
Bart: (pushes her away) You're a boy. Nothing is sweet. (steps on her foot)
Lisa: Ow! That hurt!
Bart: Sweet.
- Lisa: Principal Skinner?
Skinner: That's Groundskeeper Skinner now.
Willie: Assistant Groundskeeper, ya moron!
- Ralph: I got hit by Boy Lisa and Girl Lisa!
- Ralph: (covered in ants) These dots are itchy!
- Cat: (singing to the Lion King's Circle of Life) In the circle, the circle of-
Itchy: (Spoken) Knife! (cuts puppets arms and legs and red streamers fly out)
- (Lisa thinks of math, as they speak to her)
Greater-than-or-equal-to sign (≥): Do it Lisa! You'll be greater than or equal to boys.
Number eight: Even though you're only eight (flips over to side to become infinity sign), your possibilities are infinite.
Number Twenty-Seven: Twenty-seven!
- Lisa: What are you drawing?
Nelson: A robot with guns for arms shooting a plane made of guns that fires guns.
Songs
- Lyrics to "Two Days, Two Circles":
Itchy, Scratchy, Itchy, Itchy, Scratchy
Itchy, Scratchy, Itchy, Itchy, Scratchy
From the day you are born in the alley
To the day you are hit by a car
There's cream to drink
And mice to eat
And great big balls of yarn
It's the circle...
The circle of...knife.
- Lyric to "It's Symbiotic", sung by Itchy and Scratchy:
Scratchy:
I don't know why I trust him
I guess some cats just never learn
Itchy:
I feel so good when I have crushed him
Or left him mangled, maimed, and burned
Both:
I supposed it's symbiotic
And perhaps a bit erotic
Scratchy:
'Cause pain is my narcotic
Itchy:
You really liked it?
Scratchy:
Yes, I loved it
Both:
And that's why we're always...
Itchy:
Fighting
Scratchy:
and Biting
Itchy:
And dynamite igniting
- Lyric to "Knives Finale":
It's the circle
The circle of knife
Yes, the circle
The circle of knife