Original artwork, not a still
It's true! We are aliens! But what are you going to do about it? It's a two party system! You have to vote for one of us!
— The Simpsons ‧ 1989
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
A joke about the 1996 election that never went out of date: even when the candidates are literally aliens in disguise, the argument goes, you will still have to pick one of them. The scene is brutal about third-party voting, and it landed so well that it has been dug up in every American election season since as a bleak summary of the ballot. It is the Simpsons at their most cynical and most quoted.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The SimpsonsShow the scene
The scene closes "Citizen Kang", the third story in "Treehouse of Horror VII" (The Simpsons, season 8 premiere, October 1996). The tentacled aliens Kang and Kodos have kidnapped Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and taken their forms to win the presidential election. Homer exposes them in front of a crowd outside the White House. Kodos shrugs it off and points out that voters have only two real choices. When one voter suggests a third-party candidate, Kang tells him to go ahead and throw his vote away. The next day Kang is announced as president, and the aliens enslave the country.
Sources (3)
- Wikiquote: The Simpsons/Season 8Treehouse of Horror VII, after Kang and Kodos are exposedReference checked
- Simpsons Wiki: Treehouse of Horror VIICitizen Kang synopsisReference checked
- Wikipedia: Treehouse of Horror VIILead and Citizen Kang sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
