16 Jokes From 'The Simpsons' That Wouldn't Fly Today

Episode:" The Simpsons Guy" (Season 13, episode 1 of Family Guy, September 28, 2014)

The Joke:"The Simpsons Guy" is a Family Guy/The Simpsonscrossover that aired as a Family Guyseason premiere. During the episode, Bart shows Stewie the prank phone call routine he does with Moe's Tavern. Stewie tries it himself and says to Moe, “Your sister is being raped.”

Why It Wouldn't Fly:The joke caused quite a furorwhen the episode debuted in 2014, coming as it did on the heels of the Steubenville High School rape caseand national talk about rape and rape culture. Years later, after the Brock Turner controversyand other high profile cases, it's hard to imagine the network even trying to get away with this joke.

Episode:"Homer vs. Dignity" (Season 12, episode 5, November 26, 2000)

The Joke:Homer dresses up as a panda at the Springfield Zoo and a real panda rapes him.

Why It Wouldn't Fly:The episode makes light of rape and bestiality.

Episode:" Blame It on Lisa" (Season 13, episode 15, March 31, 2002)

The Joke: The Simpson family goes to Brazil to search for soccer legend Ronaldo. The show portrays Brazil as a crime-ridden hell hole, rife with kidnappings, muggings, fiendish predators, rampaging monkeys, rat infestations, and grotesque slums.

In response to the episode, the Rio de Janeiro tourism board nearly sued Foxfor damaging the city's image.

Why It Wouldn't Fly:It is hard to believe that these kinds of jokes, which rely heavily upon negative racial and cultural stereotypes, would be acceptable today.

Episode:" Love Is a Many Splintered Thing" (Season 24, episode 12, February 10, 2013)

The Joke: Bart begs his romantic interest Mary Spuckler (voiced by Zooey Deschanel) to be with him, saying, “I'll be more attentive to your needs on the seesaw. I'll stay down there as long as you want.”

Why It Wouldn't Fly: The joke implies sexual activity between children.

Episode:" Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" (Season 10, episode 12, January 31, 1999)

The Joke:The Catholic Church runs a Super Bowl ad featuring scantily clad women at a gas station cleaning a man's car and seductively penetrating the gas tank with the pump handle, while crucifix pendants dangle between their breasts. The voiceover says, "The Catholic Church: We've made a few changes."

Why It Wouldn't Fly:People say it is due to increased sensitivity toward religion or a feeling that the joke is misogynistic. Some commentators also argue it stems from audiences and networks not understanding and thus not allowing intelligent satire. Ted Gioia of the Daily Beast says this fake commercial could be seen as a sharp parody of advertising.intelligent satire. According to Ted Gioia of the Daily Beast, this fake commercial could be interpreted as an incisive parody of advertising.

Episode:" A Streetcar Named Marge" (Season 4, episode 2, October 1, 1992)

The Joke:In “A Streetcar Named Marge,” there’s a musical number with some brutal lyrics about New Orleans. Here they are, in all their savageness:

Long before the Superdome
Where the Saints of football play...
This city lives under the name the damned call home.
Hear their hellish rondelet...
New Orleans!
Home to pirates, drunks, and whores.
New Orleans!
Tacky, overpriced souvenir stores.
If you want to go to hell, take a trip.
To the Sodom and Gomorrah of the Mississip'
New Orleans!
Stinking, rotten, vomiting, vile.
New Orleans!
Putrid, brackish, maggotty, foul.
New Orleans!
Crummy, lousy, rancid, and rank.
New Orleans!

Why It Wouldn't Fly:This joke likely becomes offensive after Hurricane Katrina destroys things.

Episode:"Black-Eyed, Please" (Season 24, episode 15, March 10, 2013)

The Joke: Ned punches Homer hoping Homer will return the favor. Ned insists on a fisting. Smithers appears and asks, “What’s this about a fisting?”

Why It Wouldn't Fly:This joke is a crude double entendre.

Episode:"Bart's Friend Falls in Love" (Season 3, episode 22, May 7, 1992)

The Joke:Ms. Krabappel shows Bart's class a sex education video titledFuzzy Bunny's Guide to You Know What, which tells the story of rabbits aging, falling in love, marrying, and having many kids. During the video's sex scene, Ms. Krabappel, not caring and smoking a cigarette, says, “She's faking it.”

Why It Wouldn't Fly:Sociologist Dr. Casey Ryan Kelly states television promotesdepictions of abstinenceand sexual innocence, especially among teens and young adults.

Episode:"Treehouse of Horror III" (Season 4, episode 5, October 29, 1992)

The Joke: Mr. Burns asks Smithers about hiring Marge. Smithers replies, “I think women and seamen don’t mix.”

Why It Wouldn't Fly:The episode aired in 1992, before kids could use social media to find inappropriate double entendres fast. People could do this in the early '90s, but now it's too risqué.

Episode:"The Fool Monty" (Season 22, episode 6, November 21, 2010)

The Joke:A Fox News helicopter shows the slogan, "Not Racist, But #1 with Racists."

After the episode aired, Fox anchor Bill O'Reilly had a fit, saying, "Continuing to bite the hand that feeds part of it, Fox broadcasting once again lets its cartoon characters run wild.", saying, "Continuing to bite the hand that feeds part of it, Fox broadcasting once again allows its cartoon characters to run wild."

Because, if recent trends show anything, making money ismore important than making good television., and one network arm attacking another would not work anymore.Episode:

Episode: "Whacking Day" (Season 4, episode 20, April 29, 1993)

The Joke: Homer strokes a baseball bat and asks Marge, “Should I whack it slow or fast?” Marge answers, “Slow, then fast!”

Why It Wouldn't Fly:First, it is too obvious in this hyper-sexualized time. Also, it is too adult for overly clean kids' shows.

Episode:"Selma's Choice" (Season 4, episode 13, January 21, 1993)

The Joke: It is a silly visual joke: a sperm bank with a sign that reads, "Put your sperm in your hands."

Why It Wouldn't FlyMarketing matters. Who does The Simpsons target?The SimpsonsThe show targets teenagers and adults. South Park also appeals to this audience.South ParkBut The Simpsons also has appeal for younger kids.The Simpsons has equal appeal for younger kids. If the marketing team lacks knowledge of the target audience, the network will likely not try to sell it.If the marketing team doesn't know who to sell something to, the network probably won't try sell it at all.

Episode:"Treehouse of Horror XII" (Season 13, episode 1, November 6, 2001)

The Joke:Homer carries Marge up the stairs, clearly aroused. Post-sex. Marge says, "Homie, that was amazing. I hope the kids didn’t hear us! Cut to Bart and Lisa, wide-eyed in bed, stupefied. Cut to Flanders, also in bed, a shocked look on his face as he says, "Wow."

Why It Wouldn't Fly: Because kids and sex.

Episode:"Life on the Fast Lane" (Season 1, episode 9, March 18, 1990)

The Joke: Homer carries Marge to the backseat of his car, declaring, “I won’t be back for ten minutes!” Now we know how long Homer can go.

Why It Wouldn't Fly:Not because it is too risqué. The increasingly adult nature of many shows in the Golden Age of Television has split things: family shows lack sex, and adult shows have too much sex, sometimes there isnothing else happening. Shows like The Simpsons, which appeal to kids and adults and do not stereotype or patronize either group, do not exist anymore.

Episode:"Mr. Plow" (Season 4, episode 9, November 19, 1992)

The Joke:Homer buys a snowplow and gets a jacket with "Mr. Plow" on the back. Marge likes Homer's new look and asks him to wear his new jacket to bed.

Why It Wouldn't Fly: Marge has an obvious interest in a man in uniform. Also, adult couples in modern family shows rarely show serious sexual urges, especially sitcoms likeModern Family or Blackish. Homer's new nickname, plow, also suggests his sexual skill.

Episode: "Much Apu About Nothing" (Season 7, episode 23, May 5, 1996)

The Joke:A classic sight gag: The sign for Springfield Heights Institute of Technology, or SHIT.

Why It Wouldn't Fly Today:Cartoons in the '90s all had something warped, dark, or profane., while children's programming today follows the overly-sanitized rules ofthe Pixarification of culture..