Why is The Simpsons so Popular?

Its faithfulness to the original story, a musical and comedic taste and friendliness towards children makes the film more interesting and approachable to watch, appealing more people than the play. Moreover, as the Simpsons’ version is more straightforward and hence easier to understand, the producers’ message can be conveyed further. Likewise, as The Simpsons’ characters are familiar, it is easier to empathize with them and for viewers to put themselves in their

Along with the satire of the ignorance of consumers these episode also discusses many stereotypes of modern day society. In this episode Bart meets a new kid, Bashir whose family recently moved to the United States from Jordan. The Simpsons have Bashir and his family over for dinner and Homer becomes suspicious of them because they are Muslim. Throughout the episode Homer tries, to prove that Bashir’s parents are terrorists. This situation represents the stereotypes that are created by society and some believe that all Muslim are dangerous terrorist. Sarcasm is shown in many instances, one that stuck out was when Homer makes fun of the Muslim religion and culture. Instead of saying “Praise Allah” he says “Praise be to Oliver” and instead of saying the Kuraan, he says “the Corona” Stereotypes are shown when Homer automatically assumes that Bashir’s parents are terrorists since they are Muslim. Another example is when one of Homer’s friend Leny tells him “He’s Muslim, so he must be up to something.”

The show was all but ignored by the older viewing public, who discounted it as a trashy cartoon. The "consumption" (Delingpole) of the program and its messages by the American public when the show first aired regularly was drastically different than what it is now and what the writers of the show intended. On face value alone, "The Simpsons" is not much more than a cartoon about a middle-class family and their ridiculous escapades. But when examined more closely and with a more objective eye ? "consumed" as the show?s writers would intend ? one can see that "The Simpsons" is truly a comment on American society.

This essay offers a postmodernist reading of the popular television program The Simpsons, with special regard to the postmodern theories of intertexuality, hyperreality, and metanarratives. Before delving into The Simpsons, some major theoretical aspects of postmodernism in aesthetic production are outlined. Three of the most prominent theorists of postmodernism – Lyotard, Baudrillard and Jameson – are introduced, as well as their theories which will be brought into consideration in the following chapters. The objective

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

The Simpsons episode is considered comical to it’s viewers. It is not supposed to be a serious tone like Lord of the Flies. This is why the groups of kids both have different ways of handling things and keeping things in order. In the episode “Das Bus”, Nelson portrays Jack, Lisa portrays Simon, the two twins portray Sam and Eric, and Milhouse portrays Piggy. When Milhouse is charged for getting them stuck on this island, it is proposed that they have a court session to

The reason The Simpsons has been able to continue over so many years and seasons are because the programme is animated. In real time, of course, Bart Simpson would by now be almost 40 years old, and Homer and Marge would be in their 60s. Animation allows the characters to be preserved in a timeless bubble where no one has to get older. Bart and Lisa are frozen in the fourth and second grades, and Maggie is still yet to talk. Animation also allows for an entirely flexible setting that is evident in the way the Simpsons’ home town of Springfield is endlessly malleable. Depending on the needs of the episode, Springfield has mountains, a harbour, a beach, can be freezing cold or suffer from an extreme heatwave, and can also have been simultaneously

Satire is a way of making a serious subject talked about without all of the seriousness that goes along with it. It is used to poke fun at serious topics, for example, politics by using exaggeration and parody. In a show like The Simpsons, satire is used in every episode and even though it is meant to be light to make viewers laugh, it is somewhat educational because they are using real-life situations in the show. An article “Beyond a joke: Teaching Satire Using The Simpsons” by Jan Doyle said “Rather than making our classrooms more lounge-roomish, The Simpsons is a powerful tool for teaching the value of social comment, irony and an insight into expressive potential of satire (Doyle, 1999)”. This quote shows that even though the show is meant for entertaining the public, it is also used to inform people as well about real life. I believe that the satirical aspect of the show being used to inform viewers would only be very effective for adolescents because when I was a young child, I did not fully understand what was the reason for some of the things that were being shown on that TV show because being a child, you are not as aware of what is going on in the media because children usually do not watch the news.

There are many prevalent issues, including abortion, race, religion, and pedophilia, that exist not only in America, but across the world, that many people have a difficult time discussing. These topics have a tendency to make people uncomfortable, and when brought up in discussion it can be easy to offend someone who has an opposing opinion. Even though conversation about these issues is difficult to engage in, the conversations are important to have. Satire has a way of making light of uncomfortable topics, and it allows for the conversation about these topics to be started. Since satire approaches these topics in a joking manner, people might be less inclined to be offended. In Bojack Horseman and South Park, the characters are able to talk about an incredibly controversial topic, abortion, in a way that should not be taken offensively. These examples demonstrate that if done in an effective way, satire can touch upon any topic. Since these two episodes are fictional and presented as an animation, there is a separation from reality that makes it easier to tackle more controversial topics effectively. Being a cartoon, audiences automatically view these shows as as fictional, so discussion about controversial topics can be brought up and audiences are less likely to be offended. When topics that are difficult or uncomfortable to talk about are covered in different mediums, like articles, novels, and non-animated shows, it is easier for

1. Rearrange these numbers in order of size, starting with the smallest and ending with the largest, in both digit form and in words. • • • • 5 078 231 5 807 123 587 321 5 780 321 Number (in Digits)

John Oliver’s Sugar - Satire Review “The Average american eats 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, 5 times the proper amount!” This is a quote from the host of “Last Week Tonight” John Oliver in his video over making producers include an ‘added sugar’ slot on products nutrition labels. We should at least get to know what the food we eat contains. With the producers trying to avoid including the “added sugar” on their labels their reaction makes you question how much they include in their products. John Oliver’s video on sugar is an effective form of satire because of its exaggerated proposal of a serious problem and the way he use Ironies, Hyperboles and a Parody to get his point across.

The show makes an obvious distinction between how men/boys and women/girls act. Anyway, the episode continues with lisa playing with her doll pretending that Malibu Stacy is giving a speech at the U.N, but Lisa is disappointed when she realizes that the new and improved doll says sexist remarks such as “don’t ask me, I’m just a girl” and “let’s buy make up so that boys will like us!”. Lisa goes on a rant about how “millions of girls will grow up thinking that this is the right way to act! That they cannot be anything more than vacuous ninnies...!”and gets really mad when Bart does not understand why she is so upset. The difference in communication styles is shown here as Lisa is more adept with words than Bart is as Bart can only give Lisa a stupid reply like “that’s what I was going to say.” This illustrates the stereotype that girls are more expressive and sensitive than boys are. On the other hand, Marge plays the more traditional housewife as her mind never delves into issues that are not relevant to the domestic center; she is not privy to relevant discussions on social issues like Lisa and cannot understand why Lisa is so upset. She said that Lisa had been speaking up “an awful lot lately.” This suggests that typical lady-like behavior does not include speaking out and that the mother should enforce positive female behavior. Additionally, in

It is shown and based on research that Homer has Intermittent Explosive disorder. Intermittent Explosive disorder is a condition that is characterized to unable resist aggressive behavior which can cause assault or property damage. Signs and symptoms in this disorder are irritability, rage, aggressive impulsive acts, racing thoughts during aggressive acts, despair and remorse after actions, and can cause divorce, job loss and suspension from school. (Psychology Today, 2015) . Homer has angry outbursts, implusive and gets into fights and has a share of destructive behavior. He often strangles his son Bart when he gets angry which is linked to his anger behavior. Homer most of the time regrets his decisions after he commits them (Pearce, 2015). An example to show that Homer has this anger disorder, in the episode I am Furious (Yellow), Bart makes a comic book series of

One of the most well known and most prevalent pop culture satire of our time is Family Guy. Over 15 seasons were made of the show and it is known internationally for its riska

The Simpsons is an animated adult series created by Matt Groening. it depicts the lifestyle of middle class America in a satirical form represented by the dysfunctional Simpson family consisting of Homer, Marge,Bart,Lisa and Maggie. it is also a parody to American culture, television,society and conditions humans find their selfs in everyday. the show first aired on December 17th, 1987 and has broadcasted 558 episodes and on September 28th, 2014 the 26th season of the show started and is the longest-running American TV sitcom.