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The Simpsons Season 2 Episode 9
Episode Title: Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
Episode Plot
Homer attempts to build Marge a spice rack. While he is doing so, Maggie sneaks up and hits Homer on the head with a mallet. Marge is at first clueless as to why Maggie would do such a thing, but Maggie sees an episode of The Itchy & Scratchy Show, a cartoon which is known for its violence, and tries to stab Homer with a pencil. Marge immediately blames The Itchy & Scratchy Show for Maggie's actions and bans Bart and Lisa from watching the show. Despite the ban, Bart and Lisa still manage to watch Itchy & Scratchy at friends houses. Marge writes a letter to the producers of the show asking them to tone down their violence and in response, Roger Meyers, Jr.the CEO of Itchy & Scratchy Internationalwrites a letter to Marge, telling her one person can not make a difference and calls her a "screwball". In response, Marge decides to "show what one screwball can do".
Marge forms "Springfieldians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping" (SNUH) and forces the family to picket outside the Itchy & Scratchy Studios. Marge's protest gains momentum and soon more people join the group and even start to picket The Krusty the Klown Show, on which Itchy & Scratchy is shown. Marge appears on Kent Brockman's show, Smartline where she confronts Roger Meyers over the violence and suggests that concerned parents send letters to Meyers. Many angry letters are sent to the Studio and Roger Meyers concedes defeat, and agrees to eliminate violence in Itchy & Scratchy. Eventually, a new short in which Itchy & Scratchy sit on a porch drinking lemonade airs, but Bart, Lisa, and other kids across Springfield reject the cleaned-up show. A lengthy montage follows, in which the children of Springfield go outside and engage in various wholesome activities and that night Bart and Lisa brag about their various outdoor activities while Marge listens happily.
Meanwhile, Michelangelo's David goes on a coast-to-coast tour of the U.S. and will stop in Springfield. The members of SNUH urge Marge to protest the sculpture, insisting that the sculpture is offensive and unsuitable. However, Marge argues that the sculpture is a masterpiece. Deciding that it is wrong to censor one form of art but not another, she decides to give up her anti-cartoon violence protest. Itchy & Scratchy immediately returns to its old form and Springfield's children abandon their wholesome activities. Homer and Marge go to see David and Marge expresses her disappointment that the kids are watching cartoons rather than seeing the sculpture. She cheers up when Homer tells her that the school will be forcing them to go.
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