Ep 7. Bart's Inner Child

Bart's Inner Child is the seventh episode of the fifth season of the animated television series The Simpsons. The episode aired on November 11th, 1993, on FOX. The episode explores the impact of self-help gurus and positive thinking on Springfield.

The Simpson family attends the grand opening of "Family Dynamics", a new shopping mall in Springfield. While there, the family comes across Brad Goodman, a self-help guru who promotes positive thinking. Brad convinces everyone in the crowd to chant, "I am a sp...ecial person." The Simpsons are skeptical of Brad's message, but Bart decides to give it a shot.

Bart announces to his friends that he is going to start believing in himself and be more positive. His friends find this hard to believe and mock him for it. However, after following Brad's advice, Bart becomes confident and outgoing. He even starts a business selling t-shirts with his own positive slogans. Meanwhile, Homer struggles with his negative attitude and seeks Brad's advice on how to change.

At school, Principal Skinner hires Brad to speak to the students. Brad encourages them to be their own role models and praise themselves. This leads to chaos as the students start ignoring their studies and competing for attention. Skinner soon regrets his decision and begs Brad to undo the damage.

Finally, the town holds a "Do What You Feel" festival, inspired by Brad's teachings. Bart uses this opportunity to promote his t-shirt business, but when the festival becomes too chaotic, the town turns against Brad and blames him for the mayhem. Bart realizes that self-help gurus may not have all the answers after all and decides to go back to being his old self.

The episode explores the idea of positive thinking and self-help gurus, and how they can be both helpful and harmful. It also takes a humorous look at the impact of such teachings on society and individuals. Bart's Inner Child is a classic episode of The Simpsons that remains relevant to this day.