The show of the infamous dysfunctional TV family, The Simpsons, is the longest running animated series of all time. What was concocted by Matt Groening in the lobby of James L. Brooke’s office has now become a pop culture phenomenon. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and even Maggie, have managed to touch the hearts of millions since their very first appearances in the Tracy Ullman Show, when they were just part of a 10 minute skit. It wasn’t until 1989 that they branched off into their own 30 minute spin-off, The Simpsons. Since then, The Simpsons have had over 400 episodes, a movie, video games, and produced award winning shorts, like Maggie’s segment “The Longest Daycare”. The show and its contributors have won a total of 136 awards and been nominated for another 195. It’s been 25 years since its pilot episode and it’s still going. It seems like, as it was stated in the song played during the episode ‘Gump Roast’, “they’ll never stop the Simpsons” (a parody of Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire”).
The
show began with Matt Groening’s goal to provide audiences with something
different from the “mainstream trash” they were watching. The family was
nothing like what was on TV at the time of its creation. They were (and still
are) violent and dysfunctional, to say the least, but it was their
imperfections that brought viewers closer to those yellow characters on a
personal level. Homer struggled, as a father and husband, to keep his family
together. In the first full-length episode, The
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, Christmas for the family was on the
verge of being ruined when Bart had a run in with the law and Homer’s boss, Mr.
Burns, announced that there would be no Christmas bonus. He struggled along
with the millions of fathers to provide for his wife and kids. Viewers saw a
man determined to instill his values in his children and give them what he was
never given as a child. In later episodes, his character changed into the
dimwitted drunk but he always kept his sweet side.
Bart is a typical boy: rebellious,
struggled with bullies, overall just trying to fit in. He related to the
teenagers of the 90’s with his spiked up hair do, riding around the town of
Springfield on his lime green skateboard. Eventually, his face was everywhere
from t-shirts to cereal boxes. He even came out with a music video and later an
album featuring his hit song, ‘Do the
Bartman’.
Lisa first started out
as Bart’s female counterpart, playing the role of his bratty little sister, but
later branched out to a more in-depth character. At the very young age of eight,
her intelligence surpassed that of the majority of the students in her school
(and very likely that of many Springfield citizens). That, along with her
maturity, made her an outcast in school. She struggled to find her identity,
until her saxophone helped her express herself through her music. Lisa is an
inspiration to many young girls, including myself.
Marge, woman with the
iconic blue hair, started out as the stereotypical nagging wife but became
Homer’s moral compass. Her role of wife and mother proved to be just as
challenging as it is in the real world. In some cases it became too
overwhelming, a feeling mothers know all too well…
Maggie is the sweet
little baby that completes any family. Although she was mostly seen in the arms
of her mother, she turns out to be a very dynamic character. At first, her
adventures came in small clips of her and the household pets, Snowball II and
Santa’s Little Helper. However, her character proves to be more profound than
the babies of other cartoon families. Maggie proves to be smarter than given
credit for; she’s saved Homer’s life several times but also turns out to be the
shooter in the two part story ‘Who Shot
Mr. Burns?’ This is a baby that is anything but two dimensional.
*Note: This is an extremely rough draft, a lot will be cut, moved and added.
I really like that you added some history in the beginning. It was interesting and kept me reading. The Simpsons are still something weird, different and people still watch it all the time. The analysis about Homer is brief but it is still good. I think you can add a little bit more, about what kind of archetype he is implying. Bart is of course, the typical rebellious boy, I agree and the information provided for him is well- thought out. I think you can find more ways to compare him to other teenagers around his age. For Lisa, you can compare how it is usually said that girls are smarter than boys and take things more seriously. You can also mention that many girls in America go through an awkward stage that is portrayed in the show. I really like how you analyzed a little bit of each character. You have good start and details that I can see a great expansion in all of them. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteYour essay is great so far. I like the character analysis you have throughout. If you expanded on it further you would probably have a lot information to relate back to popular culture and society. I also think you should talk more about the family dynamic that the show features. You mention that they are a dysfunctional and violent family but do not expand further than that. You might also talk about the other characters featured throughout the episodes and any stereotypes related to them. Finally, you might consider talking about any popular culture references in the show and why they might be made.
ReplyDeleteAhhh the Simpsons. Homer is the common man. This show makes an animated replay of high culture vs. low culture issues, sitting on the couch watching TV, hanging out at the local bar, donuts, beer. The only characters that can straddle the two views of culture are Marge, and Lisa, ( I would say Maggie is following the females in her family if you have seen the cartoon shorts about her. She is very bright).
ReplyDeleteThis show deals with poor quality public education, environmental quality but Springfield has a nuclear power plant, Homer sleeps on the job, there are 3 eyed fish in the rivers and lakes. The show also deals with religion, there are Christian neighbors, Flander's family and the preacher. The cartoon makes fun of religious people that do not practice what they preach or claim to believe in, the show also criticizes critics. The show deals with serious issues and contrasts the issue with a superficial gain. An example, Springfield is going to allow same sex marriages, Homer takes an internet course so he can become a licensed minister and get paid for marrying gay couples. My only complaint about the Simpons is this show is the longest running television series and they are paying less to artists and technicians; the show was outsourced to South Korea, it is less expensive.
I should have given an example of the Simpsons and high vs. low culture. The character Troy McClure, "you may remember me from such roles as..." and then he names something really obscure and low brow culturally. To me, this is the Simpsons making fun of our low cultural values, we even devote shows to them. So the Simpsons are both poking fun and embracing our cultural interests.
ReplyDeleteI think the simpsons is a great television show to analyze. The is so much that can be said with every episode. I wish I had thought of this. But anyways I think that this is a great start. You provide a good background. I think you did a good job breaking down each character and what their roller is in the show. Like you had noted this is a rough draft so you’ll be adding things in, so im sure you already have it figured out. But I think you should mention withing a specific episode or with the characters in general how they send positive and negative messages and how it could affect the viewers.
ReplyDelete