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troperville

All Elections Are Serious Business
Crying Indian: Parodied. The Crying Indian is seen and does cry when he sees a can carelessly thrown at his feet, but another Indian appears next to him and tells him not to turn around and see the true horror that pollution has wrought on the former location of Springfield.
Delivery Guy Infiltration: Homer gets backstage at a U2 gig by posing as the "poh-tah-to man". He gets in when the guard asks him, "Where the hell have you been?"
Did Not Do the Bloody Research: When this episode first aired in the UK, it caused controversy because of how it had multiple characters say "wankers" (which is a really offensive thing to call someone in the UK) in a show airing before the 9 pm watershed.
Downer Ending: Springfield is so badly trashed that the only solution is to move the whole town five miles down the road.
Green Aesop: Word Of God said this was unintentional.
In Memoriam: This episode was dedicated to Linda McCartney, who appeared alongside her husband Paul in "Lisa the Vegetarian".
Ink Suit Actor: Ray Patterson looks just like Steve Martin.
Jerkass: You can see why some consider season nine a turning point in Homer's characterization (and a reason behind the show's decline, besides the fact that the stories were getting more and more unrealistic and derivative and all the good writers either left to do other shows or were promoted to producers and were hiring people who didn't know how to write a proper Simpsons episode). He cuts off his family's garbage service over a petty argument and runs for sanitation commissioner rather than apologize. Once he gets elected, he renders the entire town uninhabitable in a matter of months.
Karma Houdini: Played With. All of Springfield unanimously agrees to horse-whip Homer for messing up Springfield, but strangely, as Springfield is being moved five miles down the road, Homer gets amicably welcomed by Moe when he heads into his tavern.
Life Imitates Art: Narrowly averted. In Toronto, Canada, the Toronto City Council had seriously considered turning the abandoned Adams Mine into a dumping site for Toronto's garbage until then-councilors Jack Layton and Olivia Chow showed them this episode, and they immediately changed their minds.
Malicious Slander
Ray: You told people I lured children into my gingerbread house!
Homer: Heheheheh. Yeah, that was just a lie.
Oh Crap: Homer realizes he's in big trouble when the garbage men heard his insult of 'trash-eating stinkbags'.
Only Sane Man: Ray Patterson was smart enough to see that Homer basically has no clue what being sanitation commissioner is all about. First, during the debate:
Ray: All right, fine. If you want an experienced politician, vote for me. But if you want to believe a bunch of crazy promises about garbagemen washing your cars and emptying your kitty litter, then by all means, vote for this sleazy lunatic.
- Second, as he leaves his office:
Ray: Simpson, the American people have never tolerated incompetence from its elected officials. You are going to crash and burn, my fat headed friend.
Homer: See, we're still friends. Come on, how about a hug?
Shout Out: The song "The Garbage Man" spoofs "The Candy Man" from Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, and its end parade spoofs that of The Music Man. Also, Oscar the Grouch appears in one of the trash cans in said parade.
- Homer's appearance on the big screen at the U2 concert is a spoof of Bill Gates' appearance at the 1997 Macworld Expo, in which Gates announced that Microsoft would be investing in the (then-)struggling Apple Inc.
- Ray Patterson's end speech was inspired by an incident in which Redd Foxx was to perform in Las Vegas, but noticed that there were very few people present, prompting him to immediately leave; the band which played him on with the theme from Sanford and Son, after a moment's confusion, played him off with the theme again.
Take That: "Pantyhose, melon rinds, a term paper from Texas Tech?"
Trash of the Titans: Trope Namer, though many examples of this trope have been seen prior to this episode.
Unaccustomed as I Am to Public Speaking
Ray Patterson: Oh gosh. You know, I'm not much on speeches, but it's so gratifying to- (sighs) leave you wallowing in the mess you've made. You're screwed, thank you, bye.
Moe: He's right. He ain't much on speeches.