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The Simpsons Essay example

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The Simpsons

When the FOX network aired "The Simpsons" in 1989, the show brought the yellow-skinned and four-fingered cartoon characters named Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson into millions of American living rooms. This bent archetype of the American family, as well as the hundreds of zany characters that populate their all-American hometown of Springfield, fast became the targets of enormous criticism. Elementary schools banned T-shirts bearing the images of the Simpson family and their slogans. Former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett and even President George Bush berated the show as subversive and demeaning (McAllister 1494). However, a more careful investigation of the show reveals far more than …show more content…

In one episode, Homer makes an unwitting jab at U.S health care. "America's health care system is second only to Japan's . . ." he says, then adds, "Canada's . . . Sweden's . . . Great Britain's . . . well, all of Europe" (McAllister 1494). In another, Homer tries to buy a gun although he is a felon and a former mental patient on the government's list of "potentially dangerous" people. In a lampoon of American gun control, the dealer tells him that being "potentially dangerous" means only that he must wait a week before he can buy a weapon (Cantor).

In fact, according to those behind the scenes, these forays into politics mark more than just material for the next laugh; rather, they are deliberate efforts to shape American society. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening says that, under its facade of humor, the show is trying "to nudge people, jostle them a little, wake them up to some of the ways in which we're being manipulated and exploited." He adds, "'The Simpsons'' message over and over again is that your moral authorities don't always have your best interests in mind" (Doherty).

Going beyond politics, and perhaps into trickier territory, "The Simpsons" often criticizes religion in America. For instance, the Simpsons' over-pious neighbors are a stereotype with which the show lambastes the Religious Right, and the local minister condemns gambling, "the eighth deadly sin," while his church hosts bingo, Reno, and Monte

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