- Accidental Aesop: A new edition of an established franchise changing certain aspects of a character doesn't have to be a big deal as long as the story stays true to its roots. Bart ended up laughing at the female Itchy and Scratchy because it was still the same Black Comedy and Family-Unfriendly Violence as he was used to, just with women.
- Critical Dissonance: The episode received favorable reviews by critics, especially because of its feminist message, while the audience reception was overwhelmingly negative, for reasons being that the show tackled feminism in a cheap attempt at being relevant and progressive, and doing it poorly at that. In fact, the negative IMDB rating for the episode is second only to "Lisa Goes Gaga". Plus this was written by Megan Amram, who is considered one of the best comedy writers especially as evidenced by her work on An Emmy For Megan, Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, and many expected it to be better.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/YMMV/TheSimpsonsS30E18BartVsItchyAndScratchy
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