Marge forces the family to hand in their electronics and head to the library in an attempt to bring the family together again. This results in Bart using a war book to control Homer, and Marge discovering that a past favorite of hers is now offensive and insensitive.
This episode provides examples of...
- Anachronism Stew: Marge's new version of her favorite book mentions the protagonist being cisgender and fighting for net neutrality in spite of the story being older than such concepts.
- Big Book of War: The episode's B-plot involves Bart using Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War" to psychologically manipulate Homer. Later, Homer starts using the same book to get back at Bart.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: As Marge realizes the problems with the book she and Lisa discuss the evolution of fiction and society, how something treated as neutral-to-positive at the time it was written can later be seen as an offensive stereotype. As they do this, a signed picture of Apu is shown on Lisa's nightstand and Marge and Lisa go from talking to each other to facing the camera directly and talking to the audience.
- Celebrity Paradox: Daniel Radcliffe appears as himself, having previously played Edmund in "Treehouse of Horror XXI" and the eponymous Diggs in "Diggs".
- Character Development: Lisa and Marge discuss this while Marge is trying to censor all the problematic content of the book. By removing the racist undertones you end up left with a Flat Character who is left without a character arc to make them interesting, taking any bite out of the work it had.
- Chekhov's Gun: As Homer, Bart and Milhouse are heading out to the Tunnelcraft convention, Ned attempts his usual friendly banter, irritating Bart. Homer winds up using Bart's frustration with Ned against him.
- Clueless Aesop: The show's snide response to the criticisms brought up by The Problem With Apu was criticized by many, including NPR
, who argued that the comparisons between The Princess in the Garden and The Simpsons itself don't mesh because: 1.) Apu isn't the main character of the show (to whit, he isn't even featured in the episode itself beyond the picture in Lisa's room and a non-speaking cameo at the Tunnelcraft convention); 2.) the thought that the writers can't change characters without drastically altering the show itself flies of the face of several developments the show's made over the years, e.g. Lisa adopting both vegetarianism and Buddhism; and 3.) The Simpsons isn't a long-forgotten work, it's an ongoing work with episodes made year after year. - Deliberately Monochrome: One of the episodes shown in the Itchy & Scratchy marathon was all in black & white to reflect the series it parodies.
- Fair for Its Day: Near the end of the story Marge discusses the racist topics in the book with some college professors. They point out that some parts of the story were actually quite progressive for its time, and the author herself served as a lesbian icon for some underlying themes. Their arguments do seem a little strained, which Marge points out.
- I Resemble That Remark!: Homer, Bart and Lisa spend days watching an Itchy & Scratchy marathon until Marge tells them TV will rot their brains, to which Homer and Bart can only respond in gibberish.
- National Stereotypes: Marge's past favorite book stereotypes Latin Americans as submissive to Europeans and Irish as drunkards.
- Nostalgia Filter: Marge doesn't remember how offensive her favorite story is until she tries to read it to Lisa.
- Orwellian Retcon: Marge tries to modify and censor the original book to make it more appealing, but so overhauled the entire story and characters to leave them unrecognizable.
- Political Overcorrectness: Marge edits her past favorite to make it politically correct and it turned the protagonist into a Mary Sue .
- Self-Parody: The Itchy & Scratchy Show's "Every Slaughter Ever" marathon.
- Shout-Out: One of the Itchy & Scratchy episodes is a parody of Leave It to Beaver and is titled "Leave it to Cleaver".
- Also, Marge's past favorite book is called The Princess in the Garden, written by an expy of author Frances Hodgson Burnett.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: Homer one-ups Bart's mind games by acting like Ned Flanders, which works like a charm.Bart: Please, I want my dad—not this horrible creature from the depths of Heaven you've become.
- Marge: Some things will be dealt with at a later date.
Lisa: If at all...
