Review:
One of the better Simpsons go abroad episodes. This one actually seemed to have a plot, rather then just OFF in random parts of China doing random things. Humor had lots of references to Chinese culture, but wasn't just "they're different then us, so that makes it funny." Overall, I give this episode a B+
Did you notice:
CBG Moleman, and the crazy Cat Lady were on Burns' grille Burns' drivers license says it was valid in 1909 The portrait of Mao in the Chinese consulate
Continuity Goofs and errors: If Burns is 104, that means he was born in 1901, but his drivers license says 1909 on it, making him 8 when he got his license.
Mao's body is encased in Glass.
The Great Wall is currently located within China's modern borders, not outside of them, and did a so/so job on keeping foreigners out of China.
Previous Episode Refernces: Burns is afraid of beings stung by a bumble[d] bee, probably got that from when Smithers was stung. General Tso's chicken.
References: Son of Satain (Lil' Nicky Adam Sandler Movie) Shaolin Monks' Kung Fu moves on Homer (reminiscent of Hero and other Wuxia movies see below) Ping-Pong is practically the national sport of China. They have the best in the world.
Shaolin: The Shaolin monistary is famous for inventing Kung Fu. According to legend, a solider decided he wanted to study at the monistary, but found that the monks were fat and out of shape. To combat this, he introduced martial arts moves which he learned in the army to keep the monks in shape. It worked, and those moves later evolved into modern Kung Fu and David Carridine's career.
Wuxia movies: It can be translated as Swordplay movies, they feature legendary figures from China's past and lots and lots of Kung Fu. The the most famous movies in America are probably "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The House of Flying Daggers," and "Hero."
Chinese Girls Need Adoption: Ever wonder why you don't see any male Chinese children America? It's because of a Confucian attitude that only boys can preform the needed ancestor worship rites. This has resulted in a culture where boys are more valued then girls. Then in the 1980s (?), with a population problem China imposed a one child policy. That means when a girl was born she would either be killed, put up for adoption, or keep her and illegally try for a boy.
The Tibet Situation: In the 1950s the People's Liberation Army "liberated" one of the last "slave societies" on Earth, from the "oppressive regime" of the Dali Lama. Since then, for some reason, western liberals have made independence for Tibet one of their pet issues.
Mao's Killing Spree: You might wonder why you've never heard of Mao's killing spree. That's because he didn't directly kill them, he just let it happen. In the 1950s China tried something called the Great Leap Forward, which involved, amongst other things, forced collectivization of agriculture. The collectives had minimum production quotas, and if they weren't met, people would be punished. So, to avoid this, they simply lied about their lack of success. That might have worked, had it not been for a massive famine that hit China. Thus, lacking grain, between 30-80 million starved to death. Mao refused to allow grain imports from the West, and condemned millions to die. Eventually he reneged on this, but in the 1960s, sensing that his hold on power was slipping, he started the Great People's Cultural Revolution, basically a personality cult centered around Mao. At its height, any semblance of public order went down the drain, and thousands of gangs of Red Guards (typically Communist youth gangs) went around the country "revolutionizing" things. While Mao did not directly encourage that behavior (it was the Gang of 4 that did, officially not him), he really didn't do much to stop it (except when one gang of red guards tried to "revolutionize" China's nuclear program...). It ended in 1976, but millions of families were disrupted as a result.
Tienamen Square: In 1989 a group of students decided to protest the authoritarian regime in China. They picked Tienamen Square for their protest, which started out nice and peaceful. But the Chinese decided they had to crush these democracy seekers, and crush they did. UNFORTUNATELY the western press happened to be there, and made an icon of that tank guy (in this case Selma). Anyway, the Chinese have been fairly quiet about the incident, and would rather talk about the May 4, 1919 demonstration that occurred there.
Rudimentary Capitalism: In 199(9), China realized that the Iron Ricebowl system, left over from the Maoist days, was destroying their nation's economy. To make things better, they decided to make the state industries work like private businesses (with a corporate structure) and that meant layoffs! And the layoffs that happened in China would make the 1980s look like a picnic. Millions, who lost a state guaranteed job and benefits lost them, creating a massive unemployed population. And so much for the classless society the communists envisioned, now there is a distinct upper, middle, and lower class.