#4 Mob Mentality v. Mob Mentality (yay homographic puns) ((haha NeRD))

One way in which "Last Exit to Springfield" satirizes workers and unions is when Homer's union meets to vote on the new contract. It is announced that the contract is basically the same deal except in exchange for the dental plan, the workers get a free keg of beer at their meetings. The scene implies that union workers lack of common sense and are easily bought because they do not think about long term issues or prioritize important things. Another way in which unions are satirized at the beginning of the meeting is when Lenny mentions that their union president, who was earlier shown to be playing football on TV, has not been seen since he had last promised to clean up the union which could indicate that union representatives do not really care about the workers in the union. The workers are also satirized by their physical appearances. Homer points out that one guy would not have been able to get his tooth gem without a dental plan and at the same time another worker steals the diamond out of his mouth. This is a double whammy, suggesting that the working class spend money on material items that could otherwise be spent on something they actually need, and that they steal. An old worker is pointed out as having only one tooth, Ol' Chomper, which portrays the workers as not caring about their appearance or not taking care of personal health and hygiene.

Homer's thought process about the dental plan is an example of how the episode characterizes union workers' intellect. He is only thinking a handful of words that repeat back and forth in his head, when he's interrupted by Carl dropping a pencil down his butt crack. This lowbrow humor just backs up the idea that workers are unintelligent. When Homer gets elected as the new president of the union, the mob mentality of union workers gets evoked. To me, it feels like the writers are trying to compare the workers to sheep who will follow anyone, especially because Homer barely gives them a reason to elect him and moments before they were all excited about the free beer. Finally, when Homer get elected as the new union president, he asks Lenny, “Hey what does this job pay?” and Lenny replies “Nothing, unless you’re crooked!” This is less of satirization and more just a jab at union representatives, criticizing their selfishness and only looking out for their own interests rather than the workers’.

One way in which “Last Exit to Springfield” satirizes management/ owners of the means of production is by comparing Burns to mob bosses. The writers do this by showing Bart and Homer watching a TV show about a the mob and a violent killing spree. Homer tells Bart, “It’s just a movie son, there’s no one that evil in real life.” when the scene cuts away from the TV and onto Burns laughing evilly in his office chair like a villain. We then see that Burns is laughing at a worker dangling from a rope between two pieces of broken wood he was probably standing on. Burns closes his blinds from the inside of his plush office and continues to laugh from his big chair in his plush office. When the flashback is over, we see Burns still in his office looking through the new union contract proposal. He is appalled that the workers want better benefits, perks, and even a green cookie on St. Patricks day. “It didn’t use to be this way” he says. Then, in a flashback where Burns recounts a childhood memory, he remembers a worker being taken away because he had atoms in his pocket. The worker exclaims, “You can’t treat the working man this way! Someday we’ll form a union and get the fair and equitable treatment we deserve.”
This scene directly points to the greed of management, trying to make as much profit as possible by giving the workers just the minimum. It also looks at generational wealth/greed that is passed down as the means of production is passed down. Another scene in which the writers criticize management corruption is when Burns and Homer meet to negotiate the new contract. Burns tells Homer, “if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” and, “if I should slip something into your back pocket what’s the harm?” Although it is fairly obvious that Burns is speaking straight forwardly about bribery, we get comic relief from Homer’s misunderstanding, who instead thinks that Burns is coming on to him. Another stab at management comes when Burns is talking to his assistant and says, “why you and I could run this plant ourselves.” Anyone who has ever had a boss knows what a joke this is. The joke is visually reinforced when we see Burns and his assistant dancing around the plant on the control panels and playing with barrels of toxic waste. 

The episode affirms and normalizes the prevailing ideology of capitalism when the factory machines are turned back on and workers have work to do again, even if it is for Fake Vomit Inc. It ends with Burns still being the owner of means of production and the workers getting their dental plan, clearly saying that it is necessary to work because it gives workers access to what they need which would otherwise not be accessible. This resolution also result in Lisa being able to get the fancy braces that she wants rather than the cheap, scary ones that make her socially unpopular. All of this reinforces the idea that if you work hard you can earn the money to afford nice things. 

The episode interrogates and challenges the prevailing ideology of capitalism by criticizing both private owners and workers unions to be corrupt and greedy. It shows us that working hard is not a solution to lack of wealth, but being the business owner is what counts as success. What it fails to do is offer a solution in order to combat the consequences of this power imbalance. If either side were to want less for themselves and compromise or decide to work together in order to run business in an efficient and profitable way, things would be better for everyone. Instead the episode ends where it began in the first place.