Editing Itchy & Scratchy & Marge

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{{Quote|Dear Purveyors of Senseless Violence: I know this may sound silly at first, but I believe that the cartoons you show to our children are influencing their behavior in a negative way. Please try to tone down the psychotic violence in your otherwise fine programming. Yours truly, Marge Simpson.|[[Marge]]'s letter to [[Roger Meyers, Jr.]]}}
{{episode
|image = I&S&M.png
|Episode Number = 22
|productionCode = 7F06
|originalAirdate = December 20, [[1990]]
|blackboardText = I will not pledge allegiance to Bart.
|couchGag = The couch is missing.
|specialGuestVoices = [[Alex Rocco]] as [[Roger Meyers, Jr.]]
|Show Runner= [[James L. Brooks]] <br/> [[Matt Groening]] <br/> [[Sam Simon]]
|Written By = [[John Swartzwelder]]
|Directed By = [[Jim Reardon]]
|DVD features=yes
}}

"'''Itchy & Scratchy & Marge'''" is the ninth episode of [[season 2]]. It originally aired on December 20, [[1990]]. The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]] and directed by [[Jim Reardon]]. The episode features references to the movie ''Psycho'' and the Disney film ''Fantasia''.

== Synopsis ==
After watching an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon, [[Maggie]] strikes [[Homer]] with a mallet. Horrified, [[Marge]] vows to put a stop to violence on children's television. But when the ball of censorship starts to roll, where will it all end?

== 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 Simpson|Bart]] and [[Lisa Simpson|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 International) writes 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 "[[Springfield]]ians for Nonviolence, Understanding, and Helping" (SNUH) and forces the family to picket outside the Itchy & Scratchy Studios. Unknown to her, Bart and Lisa have been sneaking off to their friend's houses to watch the shows, under the guise of 'playing sports,' or 'making the most of their childhood years.' Marge's protest gains momentum and soon more people join the group and even start to picket ''[[The Krusty the Clown 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. Enough angry letters to fill several trucks are sent to the Studio and Roger Meyers concedes defeat, and agrees to eliminate violence in ''Itchy & Scratchy''. Eventually, the first of the new shorts is released, in which Itchy & Scratchy sit on a porch drinking lemonade. Marge finds the cartoon to be better, but Bart, Lisa, and the 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, {{W|Michelangelo}}'s {{W|Michealangelo's David|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. [[Dr. Marvin Monroe]] argues that Marge is being hypocritical in believing that it wrong to censor one form of art but not another, to which Marge is forced to agree and admits defeat. 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 [[Springfield Elementary School|the school]] will be forcing them to go.

== Production ==
"Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" is an acclaimed episode which dealt with censorship issues and allowed the writers to have a lot of ''[[The Itchy & Scratchy Show|Itchy & Scratchy]]'' cartoons which many fans had been clamoring for.<ref name="Jean">{{cite video | people=Jean, Al|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode was written by [[John Swartzwelder]], who loved Itchy & Scratchy and wrote several episodes that have them at the center.<ref name="Reiss">{{cite video | people=Reiss, Mike|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The episode was partially inspired by Terry Rakolta, who protested FOX over the show ''Married... with Children''.<ref name="Jean"/> For the episode, which handles a large issue, the writers tried not to have a point of view and looked at both sides, despite what the writers personally felt.<ref name="Reiss"/> During the original airing of the episode, the Fox satellite blew out and the entire West coast of the United States missed the first act of the episode.<ref name="Reardon"/>

This was the first episode directed by [[Matthew Chantelois]], who had previously made a student film called ''Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown'' which was very violent and the experience served him well for this episode.<ref name="Reardon">{{cite video | people=Reardon, Jim|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> There are several characters who work at I&S studios who are caricatures of real people: the cartoonist who draws the Marge/Squirrel is based on Eddie Fitzgerald, who worked at Filmation and the three people with Meyers when he is asking Marge for suggestions are caricatures of [[Rich Moore]], [[David Silverman]] and [[Wes Archer]].<ref name="Reardon"/>

[[Alex Rocco]] makes his first of three appearances as Roger Meyers. Many people behind ''The Simpsons'' were huge fans of ''[[The Godfather]]'' and Jim Reardon looked for a way to shoot him in the eye as a reference to Rocco's character, Moe Greene.<ref name="Reardon"/>

The long montage of the Kids of Springfield playing was directed by [[Bob Anderson]]<ref name="Reardon"/> and is making a satirical point by saying the opposite of what the writers believed.<ref name="Groening">{{cite video | people=Groening, Matt|year=2002|title=The Simpsons season 2 DVD commentary for the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge"| medium=DVD|publisher=20th Century Fox}}</ref> The segment was written by John Swartzwelder and the idea of using {{W|Beethoven}}'s {{W|Symphony No. 6 (Beethoven)|6th Symphony}} was in the original script. [[James L. Brooks]] had wanted the episode to end with the montage, but the writers disagreed.<ref name="Reiss"/> [[Roger Meyers|Roger Meyers, Jr.]] makes his first appearance in this episode, as does [[Sideshow Mel]], although he does not have any lines until the later episode "[[Radio Bart]]."

== Reception ==
Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, the authors of the book ''[[I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide]]'' praised the episode, stating that "Homer's doomed attempt to build a spice rack is only the start of another great episode, which works as a superb debate about television violence and politically inspired censorship." As well as noting that "the ending is especially poignant, as the pedagogues of Springfield swoop on Michelangelo's David as an example of filth and degradation". Empire named the Psycho parody as the second best film parody in the show. "The best throwaway gags blindside the unsuspecting viewer in episodes that are nominally about something else [...] Hitchcock is ripped off more than any other director but this is the most lovingly rendered reference."

== References ==
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{{season 2}}

[[Category:Season 2]]
[[Category:Episodes]]
[[Category:1990]]
[[Category:1990]]
[[Category:Marge episodes]]
[[sv:Itchy &amp; Scratchy &amp; Marge]]