page_title: A Streetcar Named Marge
section_title: Controversy
hierarchical_section_title: A Streetcar Named Marge / Reception / Controversy
caption_attribution_description: English: Jeff Martin in 1994. cropped version of Image:Simpsons writers1.jpg
context_page_description: "A Streetcar Named Marge" is the second episode of The Simpsons' fourth season. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 1, 1992. In the episode, Marge wins the role of Blanche DuBois in a community theatre musical version of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Homer offers little support for his wife's acting pursuits, and Marge begins to see parallels between him and Stanley Kowalski, the play's boorish lead male character. The episode contains a subplot in which Maggie Simpson attempts to retrieve her pacifier from a strict daycare owner.
  The episode was written by Jeff Martin and directed by Rich Moore.
  Jon Lovitz made his fourth guest appearance on The Simpsons, this time as musical director Llewellyn Sinclair, as well as Llewellyn's sister, who runs the daycare. The episode generated controversy for its original song about New Orleans, which contains several unflattering lyrics about the city. One New Orleans newspaper published the lyrics before the episode aired, prompting numerous complaints to the local Fox affiliate; in response, the president of Fox Broadcasting issued an apology to anyone who was offended.
context_section_description: The musical within the episode includes a controversial song depicting New Orleans, referring to a period in the city's history which existed "long before the SuperDome" as a "home of pirates, drunks and whores", among other things. Jeff Martin, the writer of the episode, intended for the song to be a parody of a song in Sweeney Todd, which speaks of London in unflattering terms ("There's No Place Like London"). Al Jean later explained that two Cajun characters were supposed to walk out of the theater in disgust, but none of the voice actors could provide a convincing Cajun accent. An early version of the scene can be seen in an animatic included in the DVD boxset.
  Before the premiere of the fourth season, the producers sent two episodes to critics: "Kamp Krusty" and "A Streetcar Named Marge". A New Orleans critic viewed "A Streetcar Named Marge" and published the song lyrics in his newspaper before the episode aired. Many readers took the lyrics out of context, and New Orleans' then-Fox affiliate, WNOL-TV (then-owned by musician Quincy Jones; the Fox affiliation for the area later moved to WVUE), received about one hundred complaints on the day the episode aired. Several local radio stations also held on-air protests in response to the song.
  At the urging of WNOL, Fox president Jamie Kellner released a statement on October 1, 1992:
  It has come to our attention that a comedic song about New Orleans in tonight's episode of "The Simpsons" has offended some city residents and officials. Viewers who watch the episode will realize that the song is in fact a parody of the opening numbers of countless Broadway musicals, which are designed to set the stage for the story that follows. That is the only purpose of this song. We regret that the song, taken out of context, has caused offense. This was certainly not the intention of "The Simpsons" production staff or Fox Broadcasting Company.
  The Simpsons' producers rushed out a chalkboard gag for "Homer the Heretic", which aired a week after "A Streetcar Named Marge". It read, "I will not defame New Orleans." The gag was their attempt to apologize for the song and hopefully bring the controversy to an end. "We didn't realize people would get so mad", said Al Jean. "It was the best apology we could come up with in eight words or less." The issue passed quickly, and a person in a Bart Simpson costume even served as Krewe of Tucks Grand Marshal at the 1993 New Orleans Mardi Gras.
  The episode generated further controversy in September 2005, when Channel 4 in the United Kingdom decided to air the episode a week after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. Arguing that the episode was an insensitive choice, given recent events, several viewers filed complaints with Ofcom. Two days later, Channel 4 apologized on-air and directly contacted all those who had complained. Channel 4 had screened the episode for offensive content, but the reviews focused on the main content of the episode, and the song was not considered a key part of the plot. Channel 4 promised to update their review process to ensure that similar incidents would not occur.
caption: Writer Jeff Martin (pictured here in 1994) received criticism for satirizing New Orleans
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