Daria and Jane's painting of a pretty girl with bulimia catches flak from Principal Li and Mr. O'Neill, who don't like the message it sends. Meanwhile, Jake, who's out of a job because of a bad decision, desperately searches for anyone in need of a consultant.
This episode provides examples of:
- Adults Are Useless:
- Subverted. While Daria and Jane's parents were too distracted or offered little real help throughout the episode, Helen comes through at the last moment. When Mrs. Li calls, threatening Daria over the poster defacement, Helen lets her have it and threatens to sue the school for violating the girls' civil liberties.
- Played for Laughs in the case of the Lane household. Her mom didn't hear the phone because of the loud music in her workshop, and Trent... well...
- Played straight with Mr. O'Neill, as he fails both in getting the message of Daria and Jane's poster or standing up to Ms. Li to keep his promise to the girls.
- Averted with Ms. DeFoe, who is the only one who listens to what Daria and Jane have to say about their message and allows them to exhibit it, since has both brilliant technique and bold statements.
- All Periods Are PMS: After dumping the bowl of pasta on Jake's head, Helen returns to the kitchen and gives a half-assed apology by blaming her reaction on her PMS.
- Ask a Stupid Question...: Played with after Daria and Jane deface their poster.Ms. Li: Did you really think you were going to get away with it?!Jane: Well, it would be stupid to say yes now.
- Black Comedy: As one of Daria and Jane's initial ideas, they joke about representing the phrase "Beauty is only skin deep" with the actual skin of a student. Daria suggests getting Quinn to donate hers.
- Bowdlerise: In-Universe example: The poem Daria wrote for Jane's painting (which Principal Li and Mr. O'Neill thought to be too dark, but draws attention to a serious issue) is replaced with something completely different.
- Brick Joke: The Running Gag of Brittany's painting "Don't Circles" comes back when Daria and Jane deface their poster by painting one on it.
- Dark Horse Victory: Brittany wins the art contest.
- Did Not Think This Through: Ms. Li didn't recognize that confessing her illegal deeds to a mother who doubles as a lawyer wasn't a smart thing to do until Helen threatens a lawsuit.
- Dramatically Missing the Point:
- Everyone who criticizes the poster for being dark and depressing doesn't get the message that Jane and Daria are trying to convey. The worst is Mr. O'Neill, who "softens" their wording, swearing to keep their message intact. He ends up completely inverting it and celebrating the very thing they were condemning.
- Subverted with Ms. DeFoe, who was against the poster only because she believed Daria and Jane were making fun of eating disorders; everybody else was complaining about the mention of vomiting, period. And unlike everyone else, when she talks with the girls about the poster's actual meaning, she commends them for it.
- Dumbass Has a Point: Despite trying to cope with losing his client and distracting himself with the house chores, Jake actually supports Daria's poster against Helen, explaining that it wasn't appropriate for the contest, but it was her message. Daria was impressed, while Helen dumped the entire bowl of pasta on his head.Jake: You see, if this poster is supposed to be propaganda promoting student life, it would be very bad. But if it's supposed to be Daria's personal vision of student life, it's very good. See?Daria: Thanks, Dad!
- Dumb Jock: As usual, Jane and Daria use Kevin and Brittany as punchlines.
- Everyone Has Standards: Helen doesn't like the painting, but she's pissed over how Ms. Li treated her daughter.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Both of Brittany's posters have those titles.Brittany: The message is "Don't join a gang", which is also the title.
- Extreme Doormat: Jane and Daria joke about Mr. O'Neill being this.Jane: Can't we talk to Mr. O'Neill?
Daria: We could appeal to him. And he might turn the full force of his overwhelming personality on Ms. Li. And then she eats him. - The Faceless: The audience never sees Jane's mom's face, and only is shown her hands and feet while she paints a vase. Her face isn't shown until Season 3.
- The Gadfly: After getting roped into participating in the contest, Jane and Daria decide to troll the school by doing a piece about the Brutally Honest reality of being a teenager with a satiric poster. They settle down for a pretty girl who is hiding her eating disorders.
- Getaway Driver: While he spends most of the episode asleep, Trent wakes up to serve as Daria and Jane's escape vehicle after they deface their poster. Jane even has to tell him to just wait in the car and avoid falling asleep before they return.
- Got Volunteered:
- Ms. DeFoe doesn't do it with selfish intentions since she only wanted Jane to have a challenge by taking part in the contest. Jane has to accept Ms. DeFoe's suggestion.
- Ms. Li uses this as an excuse to take Daria and Jane's poster as part of the school's exhibit. Helen calls her out on how this violates their civil liberties.
- I Gave My Word: Mr. O'Neill promised to stop pushing Daria and Jane to enter the contest if they didn't like his modifications to the poster's poem. While he intended to keep his word, Ms. Li overruled him.
- Let Me Get This Straight...: When Principal Li calls Daria's mother to tell her about a serious offense committed by Daria and her friend Jane Lane, Mama Bear quickly surmises the truth of the matter:Helen Morgendorffer: All right, Ms. Li, let me make sure I have this straight. You took my daughter's poster from her, altered its content, exhibited it against her will, and are now threatening discipline because you claim she defaced her own property, which you admit to stealing?
Ms. Li: [flustered] That's not what I said at all!
Helen: Ms. Li, are you familiar with the phrase "violation of civil liberties"?
Ms. Li: I...
Helen: And the phrase "big fat lawsuit"?
[Daria smiles as she sees Ms. Li go down in flames] - Mama Bear: Helen may not like the poster Daria made but there is no way in Hell she'll let Ms. Li walk over her daughter.
- Out-of-Character Alert: Jodie initially tries to express her sympathies to Daria and Jane for what Ms. Li did to their poster at the art contest, only to realize the fact that they’re even there at all means that they’re probably up to something. They both give her an out so she doesn’t have to be a part of it, and she promptly takes it.
- Running Gag: "Brittany, I see the [Alcohol and Drugs/Gang], but not something that indicates 'Don't'"(then Brittany grabs a lipstick and draws a giant "Don't" circle on it)
- Shrine to Self: Upchuck's poster consisted of a self-portrait of himself with A Lady on Each Arm and a sports car. When Ms. Defoe asks him what message was intended, he says it was only a "personal goal".
- Sincerity Mode: Daria means it when she thanks Jake for coming to her defense.
- Soapbox Sadie: Downplayed. Daria gets pressured into helping Jane with the poster contest, and does so by collaborating on a piece that bluntly talks about a girl with an eating disorder. While Daria does get heated about the message when people keep misinterpreting it, she makes it clear she didn't want to enter a fluff contest and was trying to create something which would make the audience legitimately think. While she does fight to have the message preserved, she opts to simply bow out when Mr. O'Neill's alternative interpretation is a joke. Daria and Jane only take action when Ms. Li basically steals the poster and tries to present it with its bastardized message under their names. It shows that Daria has strong beliefs, and she strongly refuses to let someone use her to promote a message she doesn't believe in. But she's only willing to go to extremes when she gets pushed hard enough.
- Terrible Artist: In the first minute of the episode, the art teacher asks Brittany if she spilled the paint on her canvas by accident (she didn't). Then it becomes the Running Gag.
- Troll: Initially, Jane didn't want to participate in the contest, but eventually agreed to humor Ms. Defoe. Then Daria motivates her to actually participate just to mess with the school by twisting the intention of the contest into more pessimistic messages.
- True Art Is Angsty: In-Universe. Daria and Jane put together a poignant message to enter in a fluffy contest with little substance. All anyone can talk about is how dark and depressing it is.
- You Do NOT Want To Know: Just as Jodie started to figure out why Daria and Jane attended the expo after what Ms. Li did to them, both told her to get lost so she won't get involved in their plan. Jodi immediately takes their advice.
