The episode focuses on animation and includes several in-jokes about "The Simpsons" and the animation industry in general. In a scene depicting the "Itchy & Scratchy" writer's lounge, each of the writers shown is a caricature of someone working on "The Simpsons" at the time. The joke was conceived by the show's animators. Later in the episode, Roger Meyers fires a Harvard alumnus who resembles "Simpsons" writer Jon Vitti. At the awards ceremony, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is shown in the audience. Lisa is also seen reading a book titled "How to Get Rich Writing Cartoons" by John Swartzwelder, a "Simpsons" writer credited with nearly sixty episodes of the show. The credits at the end of Bart and Lisa's "Itchy & Scratchy" episode (shown in very small print) are a copy of the credits at the end of "The Simpsons".