The PTA Disbands

"The PTA Disbands"
The Simpsons episode
File:Ptadisbands!.JPG
Episode no.	Season 6
Directed by	Swinton O. Scott III
Written by	Jennifer Crittenden
Original air dates	April 16, 1995
Episode features
Chalkboard gag	"I do not have power of attorney over first graders."
Couch gag	The family runs to the couch in a parody of M. C. Escher's Relativity. (recycled from Homer the Great).

"The PTA Disbands!" is the 21st episode of The Simpsons' sixth season. It originally aired on April 16, 1995.

Synopsis

File:PTA Disbands!(Jasper).jpg

Jasper with his beard stuck after being a supply teacher for a day

After a failed attempt at a school field trip, which appears to have claimed the life of Üter, Edna Krabappel calls an emergency strike on behalf of the Teachers' Union of Springfield Elementary, to protest Principal Skinner's miserly spending on school supplies and activities.

The various student characters respond to the sudden turn of events in their own ways: Lisa becomes increasingly obsessive in her desire to be graded, Milhouse is forced by his parents to take private tutoring lessons, Jimbo Jones finds himself immersed in the intricacies of daytime soaps, and Bart revels in his newfound afternoon freedom. In particular, Bart does what he can to keep the union and Principal Skinner at odds with each other. The two sides are at an impasse, the union wanting a restoration of funding and Skinner maintaining that even with the spending reductions he's made, government budget cuts have squeezed the school dry.

After some prompting from an exasperated Marge Simpson, the parents of Springfield eventually decide to take matters into their own hands, and recruit volunteers from the community to take over as temporary teachers. This turns out to be even worse for the students than before the strike, especially as Marge becomes Bart's new teacher. Due to her excessive mothering, Bart grudgingly resolves to force the strike negotiations forward. Together with Milhouse, he tricks both Ms. Krabappel and Principal Skinner in to entering Skinner's office, which he then locks behind them. After spending several hours trapped together "like prisoners" in their own school, the two are mutually inspired with an idea to create extra revenue for more school spending. Things return to normal with the old teachers in charge, however with the school cloakrooms having been rented to the Springfield Prison. Each classroom now features several full prison cells at the back, which have the added benefit of keeping the more troublesome students in line (although it is clear from the last line that Bart intends to help free Snake Jailbird, who is in the cell directly behind Bart's desk). Template:End spoiler

Trivia

• Despite the title of the episode, at no point does the PTA actually disband. The title was suggested by David Mirkin and was intended to poke fun at the episode writer, Jennifer Crittenden, who thought the most exciting part of the teachers going on strike would be that the PTA might disband. In addition to this, Mirkin added a character to the episode who, on thinking the PTA has disbanded, jumps panicking out of a window. He returns the same way he went out when Ned tells him the PTA has not disbanded.
• Despite the fact that Homer says that striking is not the answer to the teacher's problems he, and the rest of the Power Plant, went on strike in the previous episode "Last Exit to Springfield".
• Üter's abandonment and apparent death is referenced in "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?" when his parents show up questioning their son's disappearance. (Nevertheless, he manages to make several appearances between these two episodes.)
• As in many episodes, Snake's prisoner id number is "7F20", the production code for "the episode in which Snake first appeared".

File:Crazedman.JPG

The crazed man jumping out of the window after thinking that the PTA had disbanded.

Purple monkey dishwasher

Bart: [walking up to a crowd of striking teachers] Now for "Operation Strike-Make-Go-Longer".

[speaking to teacher] You know, I heard Skinner say the teachers will crack any minute.

The teachers whisper it forward through the line.

Teacher: [speaking to Edna] "Skinner said the teachers will crack any minute, purple monkey dishwasher."

Edna Krabappel: "Well! We'll show him, especially for that 'purple monkey dishwasher' remark!"

This is most likely a reference to Chinese whispers, where a story or phrase passed sequentially from one member of a group to another is often grossly distorted once it reaches the intended recipient. The remark itself has achieved a notable amount of pop culture recognition as an inside joke between Simpsons fans. A Purple Monkey Dishwasher zine (Modbury North, S.A. : Purple Monkey Dishwasher, 1996-1999) was even published for a short time.

The books banned by other schools

• Tek War by William Shatner
• Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin
• Sexus by Henry Miller
• 40 Years of Playboy by Hugh Hefner
• Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
• Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
• The Satanic Verses (Junior Illustrated Edition) by Salman Rushdie

Cultural references

• The scene in which the cannon is knocked over parodies the song of F Troop in which a cannon goes off and destroys the leg of a lookout tower after losing one of its wheels.
• The character at the bank who tells the angry crowd that their money's in "Bill's house, and Fred's house" is based on the James Stewart character from It's a Wonderful Life.
• The "that's a paddlin'.." line spoken by Jasper is a spoof of the "that's a night in the box" from Cool Hand Luke.
• Bart causing a commotion at the bank may be a reference to Satyajit Ray's film Mahanagar, where a similar situation causes a huge ruckus in a strikingly similar visual style. Matt Groening is known for being a fan of Ray's movies.

External links

• "The PTA Disbands episode capsule". The Simpsons Archive.