TV

The Simpsons predicted Florida parents 'pornographic' outrage over Michelangelo's David

The Simpsons predicted Florida parents 'pornographic' outrage over Michelangelo's David
10 Simpsons Episodes Made Out Of Spite
content.jwplatform.com

At this point, there’s a Simpsons episode for every scenario, even the ones that seem so far-fetched.

Take this past week for example, when a Florida principal was forced to resign after parents complained that an art teacher showed a picture of Michelangelo’s masterpiece David.

Although it may seem outdated that in 2023 parents are angry their children are seeing art featuring anatomically accurate bodies but they are.

At the Tallahassee Classical School, principal Hope Carrasquilla resigned after three parents of 6th graders were angry their children were shown the “pornographic” art.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

And there is a Simpsons episode that features a very similar storyline.

In season two, episode nine called Itchy & Scratchy & Marge, Marge tries to censor a children’s cartoon “Itchy & Scratchy” for its excessive violence.

Getty/20th Century Fox


She manages to stir up some protests with other people who agree the show should be off the air.

But as soon as the other protestors try to get Marge to oppose Michelangelo’s David, she sees the error in her ways.

Marge ends up on a talk show called “Smartline” where the host asks her why she wants to censor David to which she says, “I’m not, I think everyone in Springfield should see it.”

Another character, named Dr. Marvin Monroe comes onto the show to ask Marge, “How can you be for one form of freedom of expression like our big naked friend over there and be against another form like ‘Itchy and Scratchy?’”

Marge replies, “Well, I guess I can’t, which is a shame because I really hate those cartoons.”

While The Simpsons episode ends with Marge seeing her censorship problem, the parents in Florida seem to be getting their way.

In an interview with Slate, the chairman of the Tallahassee Classical School board said the reason the principal resigned was that the school failed to send out a notice ahead of time informing parents of what their children were going to see.

“Parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture,” Barney Bishop III told Slate.

The chairman clarified it was not only because of the art teacher showing David but because the teacher told students the statute was “nonpornographic” which is an “inappropriate” word.”

Bishop added parental rights "trumps" children's rights and said teachers are not the experts.

"Teachers are the experts? Teachers have all the knowledge? Are you kidding me? I know lots of teachers that are very good, but to suggest they are the authorities, you’re on better drugs than me," Bishop told Slate.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)
x