The Joy of Sect/References

==Cultural References==
*The title of the episode references the book The Joy of Sex, by Alex Comfort.
*Movementarianism is a spoof of multiple cults, one being Scientology, with the appearance of the Leader being based on that of L. Ron Hubbard and Movementarianism sharing Scientology's tax-exempt status in certain countries (including the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and some European countries). Nancy Cartwright is a Scientologist, and had recorded a voice message for their hotline where she briefly talks in her "Bart" voice, then laughs and continues most of the message in her natural speaking voice. The producers of the Simpsons had attempted to cite copyright infringement for an unauthorized impersonation of Bart Simpson, but this was dismissed as cartoon voices cannot be copyrighted.
*Another cult spoofed was the "Moonies" of Sun Myung Moon, whereby new members would enter training camps with banners and balloons that read "Welcome Home Brothers & Sisters". Training would be intensive, where sessions would last for several hours and privacy was nonexistent. Moonies were also known for "mass marriages", as shown by the Movementarians. Reverend Moon had later attempted to counter the cult image by lowering the intensity of the sessions, and ordering new members to "write a letter to your friends or family" once every ten days. Unlike the episode, Moon never claimed "mass marriages" were legally binding. Single people seeking a random hookup could not participate in the "mass marriage ceremony", as they were only for lawfully married couples seeking to renew their vows.
*Yet another cult leader spoofed was Bahagwan Shree Rajneesh (also called "Osho"). Like The Leader, Osho was infamous for driving in a Rolls-Royce while his followers lined the side of the road to watch him go by, which was later featured in the 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country.
*When Marge attempts to leave the compound, she is chased by the Rover guard "balloon" from the 1967 television program The Prisoner.
*Neal Hefti and Nelson Riddle's theme song for the 1960s Batman series is used in the episode to indoctrinate Homer.
*The song "I Love You, You Love Me" from Barney and Friends is used to brainwash babies. The Barney the Dinosaur knock-off used here is the same one from Rosebud that kept saying, "2+2 is four" before Mr. Burns interrupted all programming in Springfield. He was singing:
"We love him
He loves we
We're the leader's family"
*The symbols Mr. Burns attempts to use in his religion are The K from the Kellogg's brand cereal and the Ears of Mickey Mouse from Disney. 
*When Mr. Burns introduces his new religion, most of the sequence is a parody of the video for Michael Jackson's "HIStory."
*At the airport, the bookstore is called "Just Crichton and King Bookstore", a reference to famed authors Michael Crichton and Stephen King, whose works are often found in overabundant supply at airport bookstores. 
**Also, Hans Moleman is angrily asked to leave the store for asking if they had anything by Robert Ludlum, another author whose books are commonly available at airports.
*A radio station in Sacramento uses Barney's quote after Moe uses a voodoo doll on him "Whoa, I need a drink!".
*Near the beginning of the episode, Kearney, Dolph and Jimbo steal suitcases from the baggage claim carousel. Kearney opens one and exclaims "They've just got a bunch of fruity easter eggs" and smashes an egg in his fist. The eggs are a reference to the Fabergé eggs, a set of 50 jewelled heirloom quality eggs made between 1885 and 1917 by the Fabergé jewellery company.
**The Fabergé Company was also well known for making eggs for the Russian Royal Family until the 1917 Russian Revolution. Of the 52 Russian Imperial Eggs made by Fabergé between 1885 and 1917, only 46 are known to survived, among them is the Imperial Coronation Egg made in 1897 for Tsarina Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Tsar Nicholas II. The egg is also famous for containing a small-scale model of the imperial coach. After the fall of the Romanov Dynasty in the 1917 Revolution, the egg was confiscated by the Provisional Government and sent with other artifacts removed from the Anichkov Imperial Palace to the Kremlin, before being sent to the Russian Sovnarkom in 1922 for sale. In 1927, the egg was purchased by British Jewish jeweller and community leader, Emanuel Snowman who had made several trips to Russia between 1925 to 1938 where he had purchased other eggs, including the 1913 Winter Egg. 
==Previous Episode References==
*"The Homer They Fall": Characters have a difficult time hitting Homer on the head with a 2x4.
*"Homer's Triple Bypass": A couch gag where the family is miniature (only on this episode, we see the family help themselves up onto the couch and Santa's Little Helper takes Homer away in his mouth).
*"The Boy Who Knew Too Much" and "Itchy and Scratchy Land": Someone has a "Li'l Bastard" brand prank kit ("Li'l Bastard Clock Tampering Kit"/"Li'l Bastard Traveling Kit"/Li'l Bastard General Mischief Kit and Li'l Bastard Brainwashing Kit)
*"Treehouse of Horror III": A Simpsons episode ends with the family being brainwashed by something on TV (an unnamed slapstick sitcom on TV in the former episode; a FOX station identification screen in the latter episode) after commenting on how they've avoided being brainwashed by a real-world phenomenon (a zombie apocalypse/a cult).
*"Rosebud": Barney the Dinosaur is seen
*"Homer's Barbershop Quartet": A bald character (Homer/Kearney) dismisses and destroys items considered priceless (Homer finding a Stradivarius violin at the swap meet/Kearney breaking Fabrege eggs)
*"'Round Springfield": Fabrege eggs get abused (Bleeding Gums Murphy had an addiction to them akin to drug abuse/Kearney steals a suitcase full of them, calls them "fruity Easter eggs", and smashes one)
*"Homer Goes to College" - Homer gets distracted by an animal he sees while being recruited to something (college/the Movementarian cult).
*"Dead Putting Society" - Ned Flanders has a basement bar where he keeps beer on tap despite rarely, if ever, drinking alcohol.
*"Homer the Heretic" - Homer getting involved in a fringe religion and Reverend Lovejoy tries to bring Homer back to being Christian.
*"A Star is Burns" - Homer is seen watching a movie that viewers don't actually see. 
**Mr. Burns' plan to make himself godlike (through a film festival movie in the former episode and by creating a cult in this episode) fails miserably.
*"The War of the Simpsons": Homer goes to a retreat in the woods and initially spends time fishing rather than participating in it.
*"Homer and Apu": Characters getting accosted by religious proselytizers.
*"Treehouse of Horror V": Homer's line "Homer no function beer well without" is similar to "No TV and no beer make Homer something something".
*"Kamp Krusty": People are served gruel in a camp in the woods.
*"Some Enchanted Evening" and "Cape Feare": Members of The Simpson family are bound and gagged against their will.
*"I Married Marge": Homer and Marge are married in an unconventional place (a quickie chapel/a cult in the woods).
*"A Milhouse Divided": Homer and Marge get remarried.
*"Marge vs. The Monorail": 
**An angry mob attacks a plane as soon as it lands.
**Marge is against something that the entire town gets involved in (building a monorail/joining a cult)
*"Krusty Gets Kancelled" and "Marge on the Lam": Kent Brockman gets in trouble for saying something controversial on live TV (calling the home audience "SOBs"/his sexist remark about women causing anarchy of Biblical proportions if Marge and Ruth aren't arrested and found guilty/criticizing the cult when it first comes to town and referring to the lawyers wrecking his set as "idiots").
*"Radio Bart", "Selma's Choice", "Marge in Chains", "Homer Badman", and "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase": A character has a run-in with an alligator (Scratchy gets eaten by one in the Itchy & Scratchy cartoon dedicated to Timmy O'Toole/Homer runs into alligator's mouth while playing the maze game at the diner/Grampa fights and loses his teeth in the alligator that's stuck in the toilet/Homer tells the kids that the Florida postcard of the old lady getting bit in the butt by the alligator is considered sexual harassment [yet the girl in the Coppertone ad getting her bathing suit bottom pulled by the dog is "a gray area"]/Chief Wiggum gets attacked by one on "Chief Wiggum, P.I.[G]"/Marge dodges them when she escapes the cult).
==Goofs==
*Mr. Burns' head is seen in the first row from behind as people are watching the film about "Bilsstonia", but when the camera changes in front of the people, he is not seen.
*As Homer and Bart walk past the people advertising religion, the initial side-view shows two men who are gone when the camera changes angles and pans to the side: a man sitting down with a drum and another man in an orange suit jacket.
*Lisa's dress briefly appears with sleeves while she, Homer, Bart and Maggie are held in Ned's rumpus room.
*When Kent Brockman does a report on the Simpson family, Maggie's bow is missing on the picture of her.
*How did The Leader's fake spaceship feature elaborate blinking lights if it was merely made of wood and had no visible power source seen when it fell apart?
*When the "spaceship" initially powers up near the end of the episode, it emits a low-pitched hum. But after it breaks apart and reveals the Leader's pedal-powered craft, the humming (done by the Leader using a comb and wax paper) is now mid-toned.
*Despite having died, Bleeding Gums Murphy still appears in this episode, though that might be a lookalike.
*A yield sign on the wall of Flanders' basement disappears in some shots.
== Production Notes ==
* The final draft for this episode was published on June 13, 1997.https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt9m3nf6v1/entire_text/
== Citations ==
fr:Un coup de pied aux cultes/Références
Category:Goofs
Category:Cultural references
Category:Trivia