Mmm...Doughnuts and a "Cup of Culture"
by David Chapdelaine
It was Lisa Simpson who said that “If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time.” What a profound statement.
In its 16 consecutive season, The Simpsons holds the record for the longest-running prime time cartoon. The Simpsons record surpassed The Flinstones its 166 th show back in 1997. (Paakkinen, 2004) Type “Simpsons” in a search on yahoo.com and you'll receive over six million results ranging from “The Simpsons and Religion,” to obsessive fan club homepages. What makes this show so successful? The Simpsons' appeal to the American culture is basically a subtle reflection of the culture itself. (Paakkinen, 2004)
Josh Weinstein, executive producer of The Simpsons , says that The Simpsons is “in a lot of ways more realistic than a lot of sitcoms.” Jon Horowitz observes the many reflections of the American culture in an exhaustive article posted on “The Simpsons' Archive.” Horowitz says that “the realism in the show is its portrayal of the average American family.” (Horowitz, 1999) Let's explore a couple characters and their roles in reflecting the American Culture.
Homer Simpson is a blue-collar working father whose passions are beer, doughnuts and television. He offers what advice he can as a father of three children, usually with humorous connotations attached. Homer's well thought, but random comments would make most people assume that there is something disconnected upstairs. Hardly the father figure one would imagine for a representation of the “American father”. More often than not, people can identify most with Homer Simpson in his humble awkwardness.
After one pre-Thanksgiving dinner, Homer prays over the meal: “Lord, are we the most screwed up family in the whole universe or what?” (Dark, 2004) Homer alone is not enough to win audiences' laughs and common ground. Four other family members contrast Homers' character in the show. Bart, the eldest child and only boy in the family, is a rebellious “misanthrope,” as Horowitz calls him. Bart is very outspoken, continuously trying to get attention from adults and his peers at school by misbehaving. Bart relates to American culture through the many mischievous young boys that have or do attend our middle schools.
The mother figure, Marge, reflects the American-suburban mother. Horowitz describes Marge as “the voice of reason in a slightly dysfunctional suburban household.” (Horowitz, 1999) Intelligent, quiet and caring, Marge hardly fits the Simpson family profile without Lisa, the eldest daughter, and Maggie, the forever-infant daughter. Lisa finds most of her support from her mother in the individualistically minded activities that she takes part in. Maggie hasn't said but one word in all 16 seasons of the show, and some researchers say that she is representational of “generation-y,” which is stereotyped by silence.
The Simpsons ' style of humor and diverse characters make it easy for audiences to find common ground and identify with a certain character. David Dark writes that “when watching The Simpsons , it's certainly okay to wince or to be a little bit bothered sometimes.” The Simpsons reflects our culture through the many different walks of life it portrays through characters and the emotions that we are all so familiar with.
“Occasionally, through one child punching another on the arm of Marge gently stroking the back of Homer's hand or kids on the playground exchanging a high-five, we get to hear the strange, delightful sound of this (emotion).” (Dark, 2004) America watches The Simpsons because, in a way, we are all like The Simpsons.