Goo Goo Gai Pan
Encyclopedia
"Goo Goo Gai Pan" is the twelfth episode from the sixteenth season
of The Simpsons
, which originally aired on March 13, 2005. The episode is banned in the People's Republic of China
due to its unfavorable reference to Mao Zedong
(Homer's line about how he's like a little angel who killed 50 million people). The original closing credits feature the show's director David Silverman
giving viewers a quick lesson on how he draws Bart Simpson
.
, which expired in 1909. During the test, she experiences a hot flash (so hot that she melts snow in a matter of seconds) and is later taken to the hospital. Dr. Hibbert tells her that she is experiencing menopause
(which is explained in a video with Robert Wagner
). She is saddened that now she cannot have children. Patty suggests that she adopt
a child. She almost manages to adopt one of Cletus'
many babies, but that falls through after Cletus reclaims the child. Lisa
advises Selma to adopt a child from China
. At the adoption agency, the agent points out that she "forgot" to write down the name of her husband, since she has to be married if she is to adopt a Chinese girl. After stalling for some time, Selma puts down the only name she can think of: Homer Simpson
.
She sponsors a trip to China for the Simpsons
. While on the plane, Selma informs Homer that he must pretend to be her husband. He is shocked and does not want to help his hated sister-in-law. Homer at this moment screams loudly and the dragon that said if he gave him peanuts he could ride on his back tells the other dragons, one of which suddenly pulls out a erhu
from mid air and starts singing. Homer later decides to do it for Marge, explaining "Your sweet love is the only thing that's kept my life from being an unmitigated disaster". When they arrive, Selma claims that Bart and Lisa are their own children and Marge
is their nanny, Ms. October. The Chinese adoption agent, Madam Wu (voiced by Lucy Liu
), tells them that they will get a baby in a few days. The Simpsons visit the Great Wall of China (observing Mongolian barbarians
trying to get over the Wall using pogo stick
s) and take in a Chinese production of Death of a Salesman
which leaves Homer weeping and declaring that he finally "gets this play." When asked about his job in America
, reasoning that he has no chance of being outed, Homer claims he is a Chinese acrobat
.
As fate would have it, at an acrobatics show, it is announced that the main performer had a sudden attack of "outspokenness" and suffered a "bullet-related death"
. When people start to realize that the Communist Party of China
is not infallible and start questioning everything (the crowd is particularly enraged when an elderly man yells "Now I will question everything--why doesn't Pearl Jam
ever come here?!?"), Homer is told to perform to forestall an impending riot and save Madam Wu's beloved Communist dictatorship, even though he's still shocked that China remains a Communist nation. The stunt (named "Chair Man Wow
") involves being catapulted onto a high stack of chairs. The stunt goes off smoothly, but Homer's over-enthusiastic chanting of "U-S-A!
" causes the stack to topple and he gets severely injured and is treated in a hospital, where he is treated with acupuncture
needles (which are revealed to actually be porcupine
quills). There, Selma gets her daughter, whom she names Ling, who likes to grab Homer's eyes. Selma thanks Homer for doing the right thing and decides to leave him to snuggle with Marge for a while. When everyone leaves, Homer and Marge snuggle. Unbeknownst to them, Madam Wu is watching them through holes in the nose of a portrait of Chairman Mao
.
As the Simpsons and Selma are about to leave, Madam Wu arrives and takes Ling away, stating that Homer and Selma are not married. At the airport, The Simpsons try to console a despondent Selma. Lisa has an idea of getting Ling back. At the nursery, they dress and spray paint Homer as a cross-legged golden Buddha
statue. According to the customs of feng shui
, the Buddha statue must be taken indoors. The Chinese guards try pushing him in, but he is too heavy. They insert a hook into his nostril
and drag him into the nursery, which is very painful for Homer. When they leave, Homer goes inside the nursery to search for Ling.
The Simpsons, Selma and Ling pass through Tiananmen Square
, a place where, according to the marker shown in the episode, "nothing happened" in 1989. Suddenly, Madam Wu, in a tank
, confronts them and demands the baby back in a way similar to the Tank Man
. After an impassioned speech from Selma and Homer, Madam Wu agrees to allow Selma to adopt Ling. Apparently, Wu herself had been raised by her mother alone, as her father was choked to death by a ping-pong ball the day before the Heimlich maneuver was invented, explaining her leniency (though she does stop Homer from smuggling a giant panda
cub out of China). Selma, Ling, and the Simpsons depart China by junk except for Bart, who has been replaced by a Chinese child spy who is masquerading as him to deceive Homer. The episode ends with three dragons flying in the sky and singing about their forthcoming 1000-year sleep and the subsequent end of the world while playing an erhu
.
The Simpsons (season 16)
The Simpsons 16th season began on Sunday, November 7, 2004 and contained 21 episodes, beginning with Treehouse of Horror XV. The season contains six hold-over episodes from the season 15 production line....
of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, which originally aired on March 13, 2005. The episode is banned in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
due to its unfavorable reference to Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
(Homer's line about how he's like a little angel who killed 50 million people). The original closing credits feature the show's director David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
giving viewers a quick lesson on how he draws Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
.
Plot
Selma gives Mr. Burns his driving test to replace his old licenseDriver's license
A driver's license/licence , or driving licence is an official document which states that a person may operate a motorized vehicle, such as a motorcycle, car, truck or a bus, on a public roadway. Most U.S...
, which expired in 1909. During the test, she experiences a hot flash (so hot that she melts snow in a matter of seconds) and is later taken to the hospital. Dr. Hibbert tells her that she is experiencing menopause
Menopause
Menopause is a term used to describe the permanent cessation of the primary functions of the human ovaries: the ripening and release of ova and the release of hormones that cause both the creation of the uterine lining and the subsequent shedding of the uterine lining...
(which is explained in a video with Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
). She is saddened that now she cannot have children. Patty suggests that she adopt
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
a child. She almost manages to adopt one of Cletus'
Cletus Spuckler
Cletus Delroy Spuckler is a recurring character in the Fox animated series, The Simpsons, and is voiced by Hank Azaria. Cletus is Springfield's resident hillbilly stereotype. He is very messy and is usually portrayed wearing a white sleeveless shirt and pair of blue jeans.- Biography :Cletus was...
many babies, but that falls through after Cletus reclaims the child. Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
advises Selma to adopt a child from China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. At the adoption agency, the agent points out that she "forgot" to write down the name of her husband, since she has to be married if she is to adopt a Chinese girl. After stalling for some time, Selma puts down the only name she can think of: Homer Simpson
Homer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
.
She sponsors a trip to China for the Simpsons
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
. While on the plane, Selma informs Homer that he must pretend to be her husband. He is shocked and does not want to help his hated sister-in-law. Homer at this moment screams loudly and the dragon that said if he gave him peanuts he could ride on his back tells the other dragons, one of which suddenly pulls out a erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
from mid air and starts singing. Homer later decides to do it for Marge, explaining "Your sweet love is the only thing that's kept my life from being an unmitigated disaster". When they arrive, Selma claims that Bart and Lisa are their own children and Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
is their nanny, Ms. October. The Chinese adoption agent, Madam Wu (voiced by Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
), tells them that they will get a baby in a few days. The Simpsons visit the Great Wall of China (observing Mongolian barbarians
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
trying to get over the Wall using pogo stick
Pogo stick
A pogo stick is a device for jumping off the ground in a standing position with the aid of a spring, used as a toy or exercise equipment. It consists of a pole with a handle at the top and footrests near the bottom, and a spring located somewhere along the pole...
s) and take in a Chinese production of Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
which leaves Homer weeping and declaring that he finally "gets this play." When asked about his job in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, reasoning that he has no chance of being outed, Homer claims he is a Chinese acrobat
Acrobatics
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, as well as many sports...
.
As fate would have it, at an acrobatics show, it is announced that the main performer had a sudden attack of "outspokenness" and suffered a "bullet-related death"
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. When people start to realize that the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
is not infallible and start questioning everything (the crowd is particularly enraged when an elderly man yells "Now I will question everything--why doesn't Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included Eddie Vedder , Jeff Ament , Stone Gossard , and Mike McCready...
ever come here?!?"), Homer is told to perform to forestall an impending riot and save Madam Wu's beloved Communist dictatorship, even though he's still shocked that China remains a Communist nation. The stunt (named "Chair Man Wow
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
") involves being catapulted onto a high stack of chairs. The stunt goes off smoothly, but Homer's over-enthusiastic chanting of "U-S-A!
U-S-A! cheer
U-S-A! is a chant that was first popularized after being yelled by fans during the 1980 Winter Olympics, held in Lake Placid, New York, USA, where the US men's ice hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in what became known as the "Miracle on Ice", later moving on to beat Finland for the gold...
" causes the stack to topple and he gets severely injured and is treated in a hospital, where he is treated with acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
needles (which are revealed to actually be porcupine
Porcupine
Porcupines are rodents with a coat of sharp spines, or quills, that defend or camouflage them from predators. They are indigenous to the Americas, southern Asia, and Africa. Porcupines are the third largest of the rodents, behind the capybara and the beaver. Most porcupines are about long, with...
quills). There, Selma gets her daughter, whom she names Ling, who likes to grab Homer's eyes. Selma thanks Homer for doing the right thing and decides to leave him to snuggle with Marge for a while. When everyone leaves, Homer and Marge snuggle. Unbeknownst to them, Madam Wu is watching them through holes in the nose of a portrait of Chairman Mao
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
.
As the Simpsons and Selma are about to leave, Madam Wu arrives and takes Ling away, stating that Homer and Selma are not married. At the airport, The Simpsons try to console a despondent Selma. Lisa has an idea of getting Ling back. At the nursery, they dress and spray paint Homer as a cross-legged golden Buddha
Buddharupa
Buddharūpa is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.-Commonalities:...
statue. According to the customs of feng shui
Feng shui
Feng shui ' is a Chinese system of geomancy believed to use the laws of both Heaven and Earth to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. The original designation for the discipline is Kan Yu ....
, the Buddha statue must be taken indoors. The Chinese guards try pushing him in, but he is too heavy. They insert a hook into his nostril
Nostril
A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation...
and drag him into the nursery, which is very painful for Homer. When they leave, Homer goes inside the nursery to search for Ling.
The Simpsons, Selma and Ling pass through Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world...
, a place where, according to the marker shown in the episode, "nothing happened" in 1989. Suddenly, Madam Wu, in a tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
, confronts them and demands the baby back in a way similar to the Tank Man
Tank Man
Tank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international...
. After an impassioned speech from Selma and Homer, Madam Wu agrees to allow Selma to adopt Ling. Apparently, Wu herself had been raised by her mother alone, as her father was choked to death by a ping-pong ball the day before the Heimlich maneuver was invented, explaining her leniency (though she does stop Homer from smuggling a giant panda
Giant Panda
The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...
cub out of China). Selma, Ling, and the Simpsons depart China by junk except for Bart, who has been replaced by a Chinese child spy who is masquerading as him to deceive Homer. The episode ends with three dragons flying in the sky and singing about their forthcoming 1000-year sleep and the subsequent end of the world while playing an erhu
Erhu
The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
.
Cultural references
- When Homer is standing over the corpse of Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
he says "He's like a little angel who killed 50 million people." This is a reference to the Cultural RevolutionCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
and The Great Leap Forward. - When Madam Wu is in the tank there is a shot of Selma standing right in front of her in a reference to the Tank ManTank ManTank Man, or the Unknown Rebel, is the nickname of an anonymous man who stood in front of a column of Chinese Type 59 tanks the morning after the Chinese military forcibly removed protestors from in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989. The man achieved widespread international...
. - During his driving exam, Mr. Burns says that his car once outran Finnish runner Paavo NurmiPaavo NurmiPaavo Johannes Nurmi was a Finnish runner. Born in Turku, he was known as one of the "Flying Finns," a term given to him, Hannes Kolehmainen, Ville Ritola, and others for their distinction in running...
. - When the orphanage guard holds his sickle, it is a reference to communismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
.