THE SIMPSONS “Bart Sells his Soul”

"Bart Sells His Soul" from THE SIMPSONS
"Bart sells his soul," episode 4 of The Simpsons' seventh season, is the episode under consideration for this analysis. The episode's main plot revolves around Bart's rejection of the presence of conscience in humans, which he then sells to Milhouse. The Simpsons go to church early in the morning, but Bart takes advantage of the opportunity to change the planned song to one by "I. Ron Butterfly." Reverend Lovejoy notices the organist collapse in the 17th minute of the song. He gathers the children in a different room and inquires about the hymn update.
After summoning the children, Mulhouse rats out Bart when he sees a crow squawk at him, thinking it would take away his soul for lying. They are both punished to clean the organ pipes and Milhouse explains that he feared that the crows could have pecked his soul for lying. Bart shouts out that there is no such thing as soul, and Milhouse tells him to sell his for only $5 which he (Bart) agrees. He later realizes that a lot changes; the restaurant door refuses to open up for him, and he cannot find any jokes funny. He then realizes his soul is important and seeks out to get it back. The plot reveals the relevance of religion in which children are made to believe that there is existence of the soul which must be protected in order for Christians to attain happiness.

The main theme of the episode is religion as presented in the form of a popular culture. The Simpsons satirizes the theme by exploring theological, practical, and functional approaches to religion, and as a result the value of religion is revealed. A clear reference to religion in the episode is the soul. In the second scene when the children are being summoned, the Reverend teaches them the value of truthfulness and the association of soul with righteousness. When people undervalue it (soul), they can suffer in the face of the earth and find life meaningless like Bart who loses his. The episode also utilizes satire by making religion looks like an ordinary business. The bulletin board of the church reads, “no shoes, no shirt, no salvation.” In this case, the producers aimed at joking about the Ten Commandments that Christians follow.

The episode also integrates popular culture with religion. Characters in the series go to church every Sunday. As a result of this, Bart changes the hymn lyrics with those sang to rock and roll music. At this point, the children are lectured on the role of religion and punishment for sinners such as being eye-pecked by the crow. The producers, therefore, bring out the teachings of religion that in a way educate the viewers. When the two kids do their punishment, they argue about the existence of soul. Bart states, “there is no such thing as a soul. It’s made up to scare children, just like the bogey man or Michael Jackson.” In this case, popular culture like Michael Jackson is intersected within the religious aspect of the soul.

The subplots in the episode clearly support the theme of religion and the relevance of soul. An example is when the Simpson’s go to eat at Uncle Moe’s restaurant where they are served with a meal. Before they start eating, Lisa begins to pray, “Lord have mercy on my soul, and my mom’s soul, and my dad’s soul, and Maggie’s soul…” This prayer is relevant since it provokes Bart to go search for his own soul. The plot supports the theme of religion as it advocates for the significance of spirituality through the prayers and the relevance of soul. Similarly, while at the Kwik E-mart, Bart tries to get in but the automatic door does not respond. While inside the shopping center, he sees two boys writing on the ice cream display window using their “breath smoke” and when he attempts he fails. All the strange things happen to Bart because he no longer has his soul, and as such, the plot reveals the relevance of soul to humanity.

The creators of the film reveal the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of Christians. Viewers are educated on various aspects including the role of soul and why it is important to be truthful at all times. Bart learns the hard way that being righteous is important, and that we should always have faith. After he suffered for selling his soul, he later begs God to give it back. He states, “I am afraid some weird guys got my soul and I don’t know what they are doing with it. I just need it back please. I hope you can hear this.” This is a revelation of the significance of soul to humanity, and how it impacts the lives and happiness of people.