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Speech In Defence Of Matt Groening

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Intertextuality – Speech in Defence of Matt Groening [Transcript]
Good evening to all of you. Today, I stand before you to defend a man who, despite having a mountain of critics, has done nothing wrong. That man, Matt Groening, has been accused of tarnishing the works of famed poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe in his TV series The Simpsons. Such allegations are asinine and untrue. In fact, not only is Mr. Groening not guilty of defacing the works of Poe, but he has revived the dark romantic theme of the 1850s in a way that reflects the needs of his audience, the current society, and the modern-day person. Because of this, Mr. Groening should be commended, for his transformation of Poe’s works is not precipitous but prudent; not …show more content…

Groening cleverly applies this notion to a new context in which the relationship between parents and their children are explored, and in particular, the tendency of young children to push their parents to the edge. Bart’s tormenting nature is captured in his catchphrase “eat my shorts!” and characterisation as mischievous and disrespectful. Bart expresses calm, unresponsive body language and nonchalance in response to Homer’s insanity, captured by interchanging camera angles that emphasise Homer’s disorientation, and the dark colour palette that emblemises Homer’s descent into “darkness” brought about by Bart’s torment. But instead of scaring us as Poe has done, Groening presents to us an average father in Homer Simpson, who reminds us that parents can lose it every now and again when their children are being terrible pains.
Now let’s turn our attention to another of Edgar Allan Poe’s classics, this time a short story called The Tell-Tale Heart. In this tale, Poe explores the battle between good and evil in the mind of the human, and that each human being has the capacity for evil. Poe explores this idea using a madman character, who’s insistent tone in saying “why will you say that I am mad?” and “You should have seen how wisely I proceeded” in an attempt to convince the reader of his sanity. His insanity is revealed in the contradictory nature of his actions,

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