The Simpsons is known for its running gags, and one particular joke in ”Cape Feare” has become so widespread that The Simpsons has managed to convince people Friday the 13th’s Jason Vorhees carries a chainsaw. In “Cape Feare,” Bart (Nancy Cartwright) is being stalked by Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer). Bob begins sending Bart threatening letters written in blood. Knowing that Bob is after Bart, the Simpsons are put into witness protection, but Bob figures out where they are by catching a ride underneath their car.

Voiced by the talented Kelsey Grammer, Bob is one of the most well-known animated villains of all time. Sideshow Bob’s backstory begins with his first appearance as Krusty the Clown’s sidekick in “The Telltale Head.” In “Krusty Gets Busted,” Bob frames Krusty for armed robbery as payback for his mistreatment only to be foiled by Bart Simpson. Bart stops Sideshow Bob’s plans again in “Black Widower.” Immediately upon his release from prison in “Cape Feare” Bob sets out to kill Bart.

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“Cape Feare” contains a particular gag in which Homer (Dan Castellaneta) enters Bart’s room carrying weapons reminiscent of slasher villains. First, Homer bursts into the room and yells, “Bart, you want some brownies before you go to bed?” while carrying a large kitchen knife before apologizing to Bart, who is still on edge about Sideshow Bob. Without missing a beat, The Simpsons’ main character Homer bursts into Bart’s room once again, brandishing a chainsaw and hockey mask, and yells, “Bart, you want to see my new chainsaw and hockey mask?” This moment in what many argue is The Simpsons’ best episode has had such an impact on pop culture that to this day, those who aren’t devotees of the horror genre think Jason Voorhees, the hockey mask-wearing killer in the Friday the 13th franchise, carries a chainsaw. He doesn’t in fact carry a chainsaw, but the image of Jason with a chainsaw in his hand spread in a Mandela effect, convincing people that he must.

While it’s clear to horror connoisseurs that the gag is meant to allude to both Friday the 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the reason people began to associate Friday the 13th’s villain Jason Voorhees with a chainsaw instead of Leatherface with a hockey mask is fairly cut and dry. Even audiences who hate horror movies know that Leatherface wears a leather face. Leatherface from Texas Chainsaw Massacre is known both for his mask made of human skin and his chainsaw because they’re in his name and the title of his franchise. Viewers of The Simpsons who don’t know much about horror have a harder time remembering what type of weapon Jason Voorhees uses. Jason’s weapon is hardly emphasized in any of the films’ advertising, let alone stated in the franchise’s title. The Mandala effect spread across thousands of people. Even if audiences haven’t seen the episode based on Scorsese’s movie Cape Fear, if they haven’t watched Friday the 13th, there’s a good chance they still think of Jason as the hockey mask-wearing, chainsaw-wielding killer.

The one thing most audiences remember about Jason Voorhees is his iconic hockey mask. Jason is hardly ever seen without his mask, and rarely for more than a couple of moments, never in advertising or trailers. Anyone who hasn’t seen the movies likely has no idea what Jason looks like. He always has on a mask. He doesn’t get the famous hockey mask until the third film – the second movie he serves as the antagonist for – but the Friday the 13th franchise is 12 movies long. Even the cover art for every subsequent Jason film is focused on the mask. Many of the Friday the 13th covers don’t even show Jason, just his hockey mask. Only a few of them advertise his famous machete which is often shown at an awkward angle. Some ads even show completely different weapons, such as an ax. While the machete is iconic where horror buffs are concerned, it will never live up to the fame of Jason’s hockey mask. Thus, the infamous moment from The Simpsons became Homer dressed as Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th – wearing a hockey mask and carrying a chainsaw – not a play on two separate horror villains.

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Joséphine Michèle
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Joséphine Michèle (Josie) is a movie and TV features writer for Screen Rant. Josie’s writing experience comes from their background in academia. They have a degree in Economics, specialized in pre-law, and minored in both political science and applied mathematics. During their time as an undergrad, Josie worked as a writing tutor for college and graduate students. Josie’s love of both movies and writing started very early. As a kid, Josie could memorize the words to just about every movie they saw and constantly wrote scripts and plays that they would perform with their cousins. Josie also enjoyed playing the scores for their favorite movies on the piano and still has great respect for every element of film-making. Josie’s favorite movies tend to be horror films, and they are a huge fan of the genre with a few of their favorite franchises being Saw, the Conjurverse, Child’s Play, and A Nightmare on Elm Street; however, they don’t discriminate and are happy to recommend movies and TV shows from any and every genre. Josie’s special talent is the ability to hear a film score and name the movie it’s from and/or the person who composed it, even if they’ve never seen the film before. Josie’s ultimate goal is to become a screenwriter and director, but don’t be fooled, they are still pursuing their academic career as well.

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