Bart-Mangled Banner (The Simpsons)

Bart-Mangled Banner is the twenty-first episode of the fifteenth season of The Simpsons.

Plot
A photo showing Bart accidentally "mooning" the USA flag makes the Simpsons the most hated family in Springfield.

Why It Mooned The Flag

 * 1) This episode portrays devoted Americans as stuck-up hypocrites who immediately hate and slam anyone who criticizes the country.
 * 2) * Furthermore, when Marge criticizes America on television, the reporter starts getting unnecessarily hostile toward them.
 * 3) It is a torture episode for The Simpsons family again, and it's also a rehash of the infamous episode "Kill the Alligator and Run", except on a nationwide scale.
 * 4) Dr. Hibbert is unlikeable in this episode as he makes it to where the Simpsons can't sue him for accidentally swelling up Bart's ears.
 * 5) Because Bart was deaf when the flag dropped, he had no idea that the school band was playing the national anthem, nor even hear people booing him.
 * 6) This episode suffers from lots of errors that can easily be written off:
 * 7) * Minor nitpick, but Todd plays the violin, and Rod isn't even part of the band.
 * 8) * Apu says he didn't come to the country illegally to be hated, yet in an earlier episode he already has a green card.
 * 9) Even if Bart wasn't deaf, it's not like he's protesting. After all, he mooned Australia with the flag painted on his rear end in a previous episode all because they mistreated him over an international prank call.
 * 10) Plot Hole:  During the scenes where Skinner was making his speech and while the flag was being dropped, Bart was playing with a donkey by teasing it with a carrot.  That donkey stayed with Bart until the flag was dropped and by that time, the donkey lunges after Bart’s shirts to get the carrot in his back pocket and that was done in front of the whole audience in plain sight. Why didn’t anybody notice the donkey and the incident where the donkey ate Bart’s shorts?
 * 11) The infamous scene where Bart gets pushed and beaten up by Jimbo, Kearney, and Dolph.
 * 12) The plot changes too often. By the end of the episode, it feels like a completely different episode.
 * 13) The episode is derivative of the Futurama episode  "A Taste Of Freedom" which features a main character (Zoidberg) being tormented over a misunderstanding involving the respect of a flag and aired almost a year and a half before this one, and this episode handles the flag issue just as poorly as “A Taste Of Freedom”.
 * 14) Bad ending: Nothing is resolved in the end, all of the Simpsons go to New York as immigrants and start their lives all over again there, and everyone who ridiculed them and caused the "mooning" accident to happen gets away scot-free.
 * 15) * Also, Homer already had animosity toward New York. This is yet another continuity error.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) The beginning part of the episode, where Dr. Hibbert tries to get Bart to take his shot, is very creative and decent.
 * 2) Some funny moments and lines.
 * 3) * The scene with Elmo in jail is funny.
 * 4) * The scene where Skinner shows a couple of pictures of Bart, including one with a railroad spike in his head, is funny.
 * 5) * "You'll see us there? Good-bye? Dial tone?"
 * 6) * "What did you say about me mother? For you're information, her feet stank, cause she works in manure all day! But it's still the best damn Starbucks in Glasgow!"
 * 7) The couch gag (both the original and FXX versions) are more entertaining than the episode itself.

Reception
Since the episode first aired, Bart-Mangled Banner received overwhelmingly negative reviews from fans of the series, and is often considered by many as one of the worst episodes of the whole show. Most of the negative reception is due to being a mean-spirited Simpsons torture episode, as well as its the high number of random plot changes, similar to another infamous episode, The Frying Game. NoHomers ranked Bart-Mangled Banner as the third worst episode of the entire show in 2011. However, the episode received a more mixed rating at 6.2/10 on IMDB.

Trivia

 * In the original FOX airings, the Powers of Ten couch gag was used. On the FXX airings, DVD release, international airings, and the version used on Disney+, the microwave couch gag is used.