Bart Sells His Soul
Encyclopedia
"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons
' seventh season
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart
pranks churchgoers by replacing the music to a hymn with a psychedelic rock
song, so Reverend Lovejoy forces him and Milhouse
to clean the church's organ's pipes. Bart then sells his soul to Milhouse for $
5 in the form of a piece of paper with "Bart Simpson's soul" written on it. Lisa
tells Bart he will regret this decision, and Bart soon witnesses odd changes. After attempting to track down the piece of paper, Bart ultimately gets it back.
"Bart Sells His Soul" was written by Greg Daniels
, who was inspired by an experience from his youth where he had purchased a bully's soul. Director Wesley Archer and his team of animators visited Chili's
for examples to use in Moe's family restaurant. The episode includes cultural references to the song "In a Gadda Da Vida", by Iron Butterfly
, Chile
an poet Pablo Neruda
, and a parody
of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume
.
Writers from the fields of religion
, philosophy
, popular culture
, and psychology
cited the episode in books discussing The Simpsons and the show's approach to the nature of the soul. The episode was positively received by the media, and is regarded as one of the seventh season's and the series' best. The creative team of The Simpsons puts the episode among the top five best episodes of the series, and series creator Matt Groening
cited "Bart Sells His Soul" as one of his favorite episodes. It has been used by secondary schools in religious education courses as a teaching tool.
tricks the congregation by distributing the lyrics to the hymn "In the Garden of Eden" by "I. Ron Butterfly" (based on the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
). Reverend Lovejoy demands that the perpetrator step forward, and Milhouse
names Bart. As punishment, Lovejoy assigns Bart and Milhouse to clean the organ pipes. Bart is indignant with Milhouse, who claims he feared damnation of his soul
. Bart proclaims that there is no such thing as a soul and agrees to sell his to Milhouse in the form of a piece of paper saying "Bart Simpson's soul". After the deal is made, Lisa
tells Bart that he will regret selling his soul, but Bart does not believe her. Bart soon finds that his dog, Santa's Little Helper
, will not play with him, automatic doors fail to open for him, when he breathes on the freezer doors at the Kwik-E-Mart
no condensation
forms, and finds that he no longer has the ability to laugh at Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. He begins to suspect he really did lose his soul, and sets out to retrieve it.
Meanwhile, Moe
wants to expand his customer base
by turning his tavern
into a family restaurant called "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag". The stress
of running a family restaurant by himself ultimately unnerves him, and he finally snaps at a little girl. The restaurant is a failure, forcing Moe to revert the restaurant back to a run-down tavern.
Bart attempts to get his soul back from Milhouse, who refuses to return it for less than $50. That night, Bart has a nightmare
about being the only child in Springfield
who does not have a soul. Lisa taunts Bart with a dinnertime prayer
leading him to make a desperate, all-out attempt to get the piece of paper back. Bart crosses town to where Milhouse and his parents are staying with his grandmother while their house is being fumigated
. The visit turns out to be fruitless; Milhouse had traded the paper to Comic Book Guy
at the Android's Dungeon. A frustrated Bart spends the rest of the night camped out in front of the Android's Dungeon in order to be at the shop when it opens.
The following morning, an annoyed Comic Book Guy tells Bart that he no longer has the piece of paper but refuses to reveal to whom he sold it. Bart walks home in the rain, then in his room he prays to God for his soul. Suddenly, a piece of paper with the words "Bart Simpson's soul" floats down from above. Bart discovers that Lisa had purchased the piece of paper. While she explains philosophers' opinions on the human soul, Bart happily eats up the piece of paper.
and Josh Weinstein
. Oakley and Weinstein wanted to start the season with episodes that had an emotional bias in an effort to center the Simpson family. The episode was written by Greg Daniels
, who originally had an idea for a plot that dealt with racism in Springfield. The writers did not think The Simpsons was the right forum for it, so Daniels suggested the idea of selling someone's soul, which originated in his childhood. In high school
, Daniels encouraged a bully to sell him his soul for 50 cents, and then convinced classmates to frighten the bully into buying his soul back for an inflated price. Daniels repeated this ploy, but stopped when he realized that the only other person in history who has profited off others' souls was Satan
, and that "scared" him. In the opening scene of the episode, the congregation of the First Church of Springfield are tricked into singing "In a Gadda Da Vida" by Iron Butterfly
. Daniels had originally intended for the song to be "Stairway to Heaven
" by Led Zeppelin
, but the producers were unable to obtain the rights to use it.
The episode was directed by Wesley Archer. Archer and his team of animators went to the restaurant chain Chili's
to get inspiration for the background designs of Moe's family restaurant. He said it was "quite a task" to transform Moe's Tavern into a family-oriented establishment. Archer added that he was not "quite happy" with the result, and that they could have designed it "a little better". Weinstein recalled that there was contention between the animators about the way Moe looked in the episode. Moe's original design includes a missing tooth, but Weinstein and Oakley felt that it did not "look right" because Moe was such a prominent character in the episode. Archer showed the original design of Moe from the first season to the show runners, and said: "Here, look. He's got a missing tooth!", but the scenes that had Moe with a missing tooth in them were still reanimated. Archer was disappointed with the dream sequence in which Bart sees his friends playing with their souls. Archer said that he had forgotten to tell the animators to make the souls transparent, so they were painted blue instead.
that "a good deal of enjoyment" is to be had from the episode, due to "the exposure of the hypocrisy behind 'the finance of salvation' and the ambivalent operations of the commercial world". Don Cupitt
, a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
, believes that when Lisa lectures Bart about the soul, she "shows a degree of theological sophistication which is simply not tolerated in Britain." Paul Bloom and David Pizarro write in The Psychology of The Simpsons
that although Lisa does show "healthy religious skepticism" she still believes in an eternal soul. However, Lisa tells Bart at the end of the episode, "some philosophers believe that no one is born with a soul, you have to earn one through suffering". Bloom and Pizarro acknowledge "Indeed, some philosophers and theologians say that without belief in a soul, one cannot make sense of the social concepts on which we rely, such as personal responsibility
and freedom of the will
."
M. Keith Booker cites the episode in Drawn to Television, while discussing The Simpsons treatment of religion
. Booker cites a scene from the episode where Milhouse asks Bart what religions have to gain by lying about concepts such as the existence of a soul – and then the scene cuts to Reverend Lovejoy counting his money; Booker believes that this implies that religions create mythologies so that they can gain money from followers. He juxtaposes this with Bart's realization later in the episode that "life suddenly feels empty and incomplete" without a soul, which suggests "either that the soul is real or it is at least a useful fiction". Mark I. Pinsky and Samuel F. Parvin discuss the episode in their book The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leader's Guide for Group Study, and use examples from it to stimulate discussion among youth about the nature of the soul. Pinsky and Parvin note Bart's statement to Milhouse from the beginning of the episode: "Soul — come on, Milhouse, there's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the Boogie Man
or Michael Jackson
," and then suggest questions to ask students, including whether they know individuals that agree with Bart, and their views on the existence of a soul.
In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
quotes Bart's revelation to Lisa that he sold his soul to Milhouse for five dollars and used the money to buy sponges shaped like dinosaurs. After Lisa criticizes Bart for selling his soul, Bart responds: "Poor gullible, Lisa. I'll keep my crappy sponges, thanks." Turner comments "Here Bart is the epitome of the world-weary hipster, using the degraded language of modern marketing to sell off the most sacred parts of himself because he knows that some cheap sponge is more real, hence more valuable, than even the loftiest of abstract principles."
for the episode, writer Greg Daniels cited Martin Scorsese
's 1985 film After Hours
as an influence on Bart's night-time trek to retrieve his soul from Milhouse, only to experience a series of unusual encounters. Reverend Lovejoy leads his congregation in a hymnal version of the song "In a Gadda Da Vida", by Iron Butterfly
, titled "In the Garden of Eden". The version of the song in The Simpsons episode lasts for 17 minutes, and Reverend Lovejoy inspects the music and states "Wait a minute — this looks like rock and/or roll."
During an argument between Lisa and Bart, while discussing the relationship between laughter and the soul, Lisa quotes Chile
an poet Pablo Neruda
, and Bart responds "I am familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda." Kurt M. Koenigsberger comments in Leaving Springfield
"While Bart may be familiar with the canon of Chilean poetry, the joke takes its force in part from the probability that The Simpsons's viewers are not." Bart begins a prayer to God with "Are you there, God? It's me, Bart Simpson". This is a parody
of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume
.
of 8.8, equivalent to approximately 8.4 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week after The X-Files
, Melrose Place, and Beverly Hills, 90210
.
A 2007 article in the San Mateo County Times notes that "Bart Sells His Soul" is seen as one of "the most popular episodes in 'Simpsons' history". Noel Holston of the Star Tribune
highlighted the episode in the paper's "Critic's choice" section. The Intelligencer Journal
described "Bart Sells His Soul" as "a particularly good episode" of The Simpsons. The Lansing State Journal
highlighted the episode in the season seven DVD release, along with the conclusion of "Who Shot Mr. Burns" and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
". The Sunday Herald Sun called it one of the "show's most memorable episodes", as did The Courier Mail.
The Aberdeen Press & Journal described the episode as "one of the darkest episodes of the Simpsons". In their section on the episode in the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood comment: "Undoubtedly the most disturbing episode of the series, with Bart's nightmare of losing his soul — illustrated by a macabre playground where all the souls of his playmates are visible, and his is tagging along with Milhouse — more frightening than funny. ... An illustration of just how far the series could go by this point."
In 2003 the episode was listed by The Simpsons creative team as among the top five best episodes of the series, including "Last Exit to Springfield
", "Cape Feare
", "22 Short Films About Springfield
", and "Homer at the Bat
". In a 2005 interview The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
commented "I don't have a single favorite. There's a bunch I really like," but cited "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Homer's Enemy
" as among episodes he loves. Bart's voice actress Nancy Cartwright
stated "Bart Sells His Soul" is one of her top three episodes together with "Lisa's Substitute
" and "Bart the Mother
".
The episode has been used in church courses about the nature of a soul in Connecticut
and in the United Kingdom
, and was shown by a minister in Scotland
in one of his sermons. A 2005 report on religious education in secondary schools by the UK education watchdog group Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) noted that the episode was being used as a teaching tool.
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...
The Simpsons (season 7)
The Simpsons seventh season originally aired on the Fox network between September 17, 1995 and May 19, 1996. The show runners for the seventh production season were Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein who would executive produce 21 episodes this season. David Mirkin executive produced the remaining...
. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart
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...
pranks churchgoers by replacing the music to a hymn with a psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
song, so Reverend Lovejoy forces him and Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
to clean the church's organ's pipes. Bart then sells his soul to Milhouse for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5 in the form of a piece of paper with "Bart Simpson's soul" written on it. 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...
tells Bart he will regret this decision, and Bart soon witnesses odd changes. After attempting to track down the piece of paper, Bart ultimately gets it back.
"Bart Sells His Soul" was written by Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, who was inspired by an experience from his youth where he had purchased a bully's soul. Director Wesley Archer and his team of animators visited Chili's
Chili's
Chili's Grill & Bar is a restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine. The chain has more than 1400 casual dining restaurants, mostly located in the United States and Canada...
for examples to use in Moe's family restaurant. The episode includes cultural references to the song "In a Gadda Da Vida", by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an poet Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, and a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume
Judy Blume
Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
.
Writers from the fields of religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
cited the episode in books discussing The Simpsons and the show's approach to the nature of the soul. The episode was positively received by the media, and is regarded as one of the seventh season's and the series' best. The creative team of The Simpsons puts the episode among the top five best episodes of the series, and series creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
cited "Bart Sells His Soul" as one of his favorite episodes. It has been used by secondary schools in religious education courses as a teaching tool.
Plot
During a church service, BartBart 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...
tricks the congregation by distributing the lyrics to the hymn "In the Garden of Eden" by "I. Ron Butterfly" (based on the song "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
). Reverend Lovejoy demands that the perpetrator step forward, and Milhouse
Milhouse Van Houten
Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
names Bart. As punishment, Lovejoy assigns Bart and Milhouse to clean the organ pipes. Bart is indignant with Milhouse, who claims he feared damnation of his soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
. Bart proclaims that there is no such thing as a soul and agrees to sell his to Milhouse in the form of a piece of paper saying "Bart Simpson's soul". After the deal is made, 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...
tells Bart that he will regret selling his soul, but Bart does not believe her. Bart soon finds that his dog, Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper
Santa's Little Helper is a recurring character in the American animated television series The Simpsons. He is the pet greyhound of the Simpson family. The dog was introduced in the first episode of the show, the 1989 Christmas special "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", in which his owner abandons...
, will not play with him, automatic doors fail to open for him, when he breathes on the freezer doors at the Kwik-E-Mart
Kwik-E-Mart
The Kwik-E-Mart is a fictional chain of convenience stores in the animated television series The Simpsons. It is a parody of American convenience store chains, such as 7-Eleven and Circle K, and represents many myths and stereotypes of them. It is notorious for its high prices and the poor quality...
no condensation
Condensation
Condensation is the change of the physical state of matter from gaseous phase into liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. When the transition happens from the gaseous phase into the solid phase directly, the change is called deposition....
forms, and finds that he no longer has the ability to laugh at Itchy & Scratchy cartoons. He begins to suspect he really did lose his soul, and sets out to retrieve it.
Meanwhile, Moe
Moe Szyslak
Momar / Morris "Moe" Szyslak is a fictional character in the American animated television series, The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire"...
wants to expand his customer base
Customer base
The customer base is the group of customers and/or consumers that a business serves. In the most situations, a large part of this group is made up of repeat customers with a high ratio of purchase over time. These customers are the main source of consumer spending...
by turning his tavern
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
into a family restaurant called "Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag". The stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
of running a family restaurant by himself ultimately unnerves him, and he finally snaps at a little girl. The restaurant is a failure, forcing Moe to revert the restaurant back to a run-down tavern.
Bart attempts to get his soul back from Milhouse, who refuses to return it for less than $50. That night, Bart has a nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
about being the only child in Springfield
Springfield (The Simpsons)
Springfield is the fictional town in which the American animated sitcom The Simpsons is set. A mid-sized town in an undetermined state of the United States, Springfield acts as a complete universe in which characters can explore the issues faced by modern society. The geography of the town and its...
who does not have a soul. Lisa taunts Bart with a dinnertime prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
leading him to make a desperate, all-out attempt to get the piece of paper back. Bart crosses town to where Milhouse and his parents are staying with his grandmother while their house is being fumigated
Fumigation
Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides—or fumigants—to suffocate or poison the pests within. It is utilized for control of pests in buildings , soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be imported or...
. The visit turns out to be fruitless; Milhouse had traded the paper to Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy
Comic Book Guy is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria, and first appeared in the second-season episode "Three Men and a Comic Book", which originally aired on May 9, 1991. He is the proprietor of a comic book store, The...
at the Android's Dungeon. A frustrated Bart spends the rest of the night camped out in front of the Android's Dungeon in order to be at the shop when it opens.
The following morning, an annoyed Comic Book Guy tells Bart that he no longer has the piece of paper but refuses to reveal to whom he sold it. Bart walks home in the rain, then in his room he prays to God for his soul. Suddenly, a piece of paper with the words "Bart Simpson's soul" floats down from above. Bart discovers that Lisa had purchased the piece of paper. While she explains philosophers' opinions on the human soul, Bart happily eats up the piece of paper.
Production
"Bart Sells His Soul" was the second episode to be executive produced by Bill OakleyBill Oakley
Bill Oakley is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Oakley and Josh Weinstein became best friends and writing partners at high school; Oakley then attended Harvard University and was Vice President of the Harvard Lampoon...
and Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein
Josh Weinstein is an American television writer and producer, known for his work on the animated comedy series The Simpsons. Weinstein and Bill Oakley became best friends and writing partners at St. Albans High School; Weinstein then attended Stanford University and was editor-in-chief of the...
. Oakley and Weinstein wanted to start the season with episodes that had an emotional bias in an effort to center the Simpson family. The episode was written by Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
, who originally had an idea for a plot that dealt with racism in Springfield. The writers did not think The Simpsons was the right forum for it, so Daniels suggested the idea of selling someone's soul, which originated in his childhood. In high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, Daniels encouraged a bully to sell him his soul for 50 cents, and then convinced classmates to frighten the bully into buying his soul back for an inflated price. Daniels repeated this ploy, but stopped when he realized that the only other person in history who has profited off others' souls was Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, and that "scared" him. In the opening scene of the episode, the congregation of the First Church of Springfield are tricked into singing "In a Gadda Da Vida" by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
. Daniels had originally intended for the song to be "Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
" by Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, but the producers were unable to obtain the rights to use it.
The episode was directed by Wesley Archer. Archer and his team of animators went to the restaurant chain Chili's
Chili's
Chili's Grill & Bar is a restaurant chain founded by Larry Lavine. The chain has more than 1400 casual dining restaurants, mostly located in the United States and Canada...
to get inspiration for the background designs of Moe's family restaurant. He said it was "quite a task" to transform Moe's Tavern into a family-oriented establishment. Archer added that he was not "quite happy" with the result, and that they could have designed it "a little better". Weinstein recalled that there was contention between the animators about the way Moe looked in the episode. Moe's original design includes a missing tooth, but Weinstein and Oakley felt that it did not "look right" because Moe was such a prominent character in the episode. Archer showed the original design of Moe from the first season to the show runners, and said: "Here, look. He's got a missing tooth!", but the scenes that had Moe with a missing tooth in them were still reanimated. Archer was disappointed with the dream sequence in which Bart sees his friends playing with their souls. Archer said that he had forgotten to tell the animators to make the souls transparent, so they were painted blue instead.
Themes
Kurt M. Koenigsberger comments in Leaving SpringfieldLeaving Springfield
Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture is a non-fiction compilation work analyzing the effect of the television program The Simpsons on society, edited by John Alberti. The book was published in 2004 by Wayne State University Press...
that "a good deal of enjoyment" is to be had from the episode, due to "the exposure of the hypocrisy behind 'the finance of salvation' and the ambivalent operations of the commercial world". Don Cupitt
Don Cupitt
Don Cupitt is an English philosopher of religion and scholar of Christian theology. He is an Anglican priest, heretic and an emeritus professor of the University of Cambridge, though is better known as a popular writer, broadcaster and commentator...
, a fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary...
, believes that when Lisa lectures Bart about the soul, she "shows a degree of theological sophistication which is simply not tolerated in Britain." Paul Bloom and David Pizarro write in The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D'oh! is a non-fiction book analyzing psychology themes in the television series The Simpsons. It contains content from several contributors, including psychologists, counselors and school therapists. The book was edited by Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan, and...
that although Lisa does show "healthy religious skepticism" she still believes in an eternal soul. However, Lisa tells Bart at the end of the episode, "some philosophers believe that no one is born with a soul, you have to earn one through suffering". Bloom and Pizarro acknowledge "Indeed, some philosophers and theologians say that without belief in a soul, one cannot make sense of the social concepts on which we rely, such as personal responsibility
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
and freedom of the will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
."
M. Keith Booker cites the episode in Drawn to Television, while discussing The Simpsons treatment of religion
Religion in The Simpsons
Religion is one of the major themes on the American animated television series The Simpsons. Much of the series religious humor satirizes aspects of Christianity. However, the series is not necessarily anti-religious, as the Simpsons themselves are Christian and some episodes are actually...
. Booker cites a scene from the episode where Milhouse asks Bart what religions have to gain by lying about concepts such as the existence of a soul – and then the scene cuts to Reverend Lovejoy counting his money; Booker believes that this implies that religions create mythologies so that they can gain money from followers. He juxtaposes this with Bart's realization later in the episode that "life suddenly feels empty and incomplete" without a soul, which suggests "either that the soul is real or it is at least a useful fiction". Mark I. Pinsky and Samuel F. Parvin discuss the episode in their book The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leader's Guide for Group Study, and use examples from it to stimulate discussion among youth about the nature of the soul. Pinsky and Parvin note Bart's statement to Milhouse from the beginning of the episode: "Soul — come on, Milhouse, there's no such thing as a soul. It's just something they made up to scare kids, like the Boogie Man
Bogeyman
A bogeyman is an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour...
or Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
," and then suggest questions to ask students, including whether they know individuals that agree with Bart, and their views on the existence of a soul.
In Planet Simpson, Chris Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
quotes Bart's revelation to Lisa that he sold his soul to Milhouse for five dollars and used the money to buy sponges shaped like dinosaurs. After Lisa criticizes Bart for selling his soul, Bart responds: "Poor gullible, Lisa. I'll keep my crappy sponges, thanks." Turner comments "Here Bart is the epitome of the world-weary hipster, using the degraded language of modern marketing to sell off the most sacred parts of himself because he knows that some cheap sponge is more real, hence more valuable, than even the loftiest of abstract principles."
Cultural references
On the DVD audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for the episode, writer Greg Daniels cited Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
's 1985 film After Hours
After Hours (film)
After Hours is a 1985 American black comedy film, written by Joseph Minion and directed by Martin Scorsese. Paul Hackett , a New Yorker, experiences a series of adventures and perils in trying to make his way home from SoHo.-Plot:...
as an influence on Bart's night-time trek to retrieve his soul from Milhouse, only to experience a series of unusual encounters. Reverend Lovejoy leads his congregation in a hymnal version of the song "In a Gadda Da Vida", by Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly
Iron Butterfly is a US psychedelic rock band best known for the 1968 hit "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".Their heyday was the late 1960s, but the band has been reincarnated with various members. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida is the 31st best-selling album in the world, selling more than 25 million copies.-History:The...
, titled "In the Garden of Eden". The version of the song in The Simpsons episode lasts for 17 minutes, and Reverend Lovejoy inspects the music and states "Wait a minute — this looks like rock and/or roll."
During an argument between Lisa and Bart, while discussing the relationship between laughter and the soul, Lisa quotes Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an poet Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
, and Bart responds "I am familiar with the works of Pablo Neruda." Kurt M. Koenigsberger comments in Leaving Springfield
Leaving Springfield
Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture is a non-fiction compilation work analyzing the effect of the television program The Simpsons on society, edited by John Alberti. The book was published in 2004 by Wayne State University Press...
"While Bart may be familiar with the canon of Chilean poetry, the joke takes its force in part from the probability that The Simpsons
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the book Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., by Judy Blume
Judy Blume
Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
.
Reception
In its original American broadcast, "Bart Sells His Soul" finished 43rd in the ratings for the week of October 2–8, 1995, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 8.8, equivalent to approximately 8.4 million viewing households. It was the fourth highest-rated show on the Fox network that week after The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Melrose Place, and Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
.
A 2007 article in the San Mateo County Times notes that "Bart Sells His Soul" is seen as one of "the most popular episodes in 'Simpsons' history". Noel Holston of the Star Tribune
Star Tribune
The Star Tribune is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is published seven days each week in an edition for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area. A statewide version is also available across Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota, and North Dakota. The...
highlighted the episode in the paper's "Critic's choice" section. The Intelligencer Journal
Intelligencer Journal
The Intelligencer Journal, known locally as the Intell, is the daily, morning newspaper published by Lancaster Newspapers, Inc in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is the 7th oldest newspaper in the United States and one of the oldest newspapers to be continually published under the same name...
described "Bart Sells His Soul" as "a particularly good episode" of The Simpsons. The Lansing State Journal
Lansing State Journal
The Lansing State Journal is a daily newspaper published in Lansing, Michigan owned by Gannett.-Overview:The Lansing State Journal is the sole daily newspaper published in metropolitan Lansing...
highlighted the episode in the season seven DVD release, along with the conclusion of "Who Shot Mr. Burns" and "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular
"The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" is the tenth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on Fox on December 3, 1995. As the title suggests, it is the 138th episode and the third clip show episode of The Simpsons after "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show" and...
". The Sunday Herald Sun called it one of the "show's most memorable episodes", as did The Courier Mail.
The Aberdeen Press & Journal described the episode as "one of the darkest episodes of the Simpsons". In their section on the episode in the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood comment: "Undoubtedly the most disturbing episode of the series, with Bart's nightmare of losing his soul — illustrated by a macabre playground where all the souls of his playmates are visible, and his is tagging along with Milhouse — more frightening than funny. ... An illustration of just how far the series could go by this point."
In 2003 the episode was listed by The Simpsons creative team as among the top five best episodes of the series, including "Last Exit to Springfield
Last Exit to Springfield
"Last Exit to Springfield" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons fourth season which originally aired March 11, 1993. It was directed by Mark Kirkland and was the last episode written by Jay Kogen and Wallace Wolodarsky...
", "Cape Feare
Cape Feare
"Cape Feare" is the second episode of the fifth season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 7, 1993, and has since been featured on DVD and VHS releases...
", "22 Short Films About Springfield
22 Short Films about Springfield
"22 Short Films About Springfield" is the twenty-first episode of The Simpsons seventh season, which originally aired on April 14, 1996. It was written by Richard Appel, David S. Cohen, Jonathan Collier, Jennifer Crittenden, Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester, Rachel Pulido, Steve Tompkins, Josh...
", and "Homer at the Bat
Homer at the Bat
"Homer at the Bat" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons third season, which originally aired February 20, 1992. The episode follows the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team, led by Homer, having a winning season and making the championship game. Mr. Burns makes a large bet that the...
". In a 2005 interview The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
commented "I don't have a single favorite. There's a bunch I really like," but cited "Bart Sells His Soul" and "Homer's Enemy
Homer's Enemy
"Homer's Enemy" is the twenty-third episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It was first broadcast on the Fox network in the United States on May 4, 1997. The episode's plot centers on the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant's hiring a new employee named...
" as among episodes he loves. Bart's voice actress Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Cartwright
Nancy Campbell Cartwright is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. She is best known for her long-running role as Bart Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons...
stated "Bart Sells His Soul" is one of her top three episodes together with "Lisa's Substitute
Lisa's Substitute
"Lisa's Substitute" is the nineteenth episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 25, 1991. In the episode, Lisa's teacher Miss Hoover takes medical leave due to what she thinks is Lyme disease, so substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom takes over the...
" and "Bart the Mother
Bart the Mother
"Bart the Mother" is the third episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons, originally airing on September 27, 1998. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Steven Dean Moore. It was the last full-length episode Cohen wrote for The Simpsons before leaving to work on Futurama...
".
The episode has been used in church courses about the nature of a soul in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
and in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and was shown by a minister in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in one of his sermons. A 2005 report on religious education in secondary schools by the UK education watchdog group Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) noted that the episode was being used as a teaching tool.
External links
- "Bart Sells His Soul" at The Simpsons.com