The Simpsons (Doh, Simpletons)
by Marcus Bachler
"The Simpsons" is a TV program that gets right up my nose! It is a satire that draws most of its humour by poking fun at the Homer Simpson's stupidity and incompetence. It glorifies the trivial and mundane in life – with nothing better to offer. Recently I read a newspaper article about Tony Blair starring in a recent episode of "the Simpsons" that was screened for the first time in the UK last Friday. The article says that the Simpsons reaches an audience of 70 million viewers in more than 70 countries around the world, and is about to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the longest-running sitcom in television history, with more than 360 episodes produced in the past decade and a half.
In the Blair episode, Blair meets the Simpson family at Heathrow Airport and is mistaken by Homer for Mr Bean. This is a typical example of the type of jokes in the show, but why is it considered funny? Is it the height of Homer's stupidity and lack of general knowledge that the audience responds to or is it that Blair is being indirectly compared to another well-known bumbling incompetent character? I think it is probably both. Nevertheless, there are a lot of fans of the show worldwide that think the program is very witty and satirical highlighting the stupidity of popular culture and political correctness.
So what does the show present as an alternative? Al Jean, a writer and executive producer of the show says that "the mood of the show is nihilistic; we see the government and big business conspiring to defeat the little person and his family. And you've got to keep going as a family in the face of all the major forces against you." The basic idea behind these stories then is that there are bad things that happen to "small people" in life through "powerful forces" that cannot be avoided. Because the small people (e.g. the Simpsons) will stay oppressed and the powerful forces (e.g. Mr Burns) will prosper. The only redress is for characters like Homer Simpson to cross their eyes and shout "Doh", while the audience laughs on. He may pick himself up, brush himself off and feel good about himself only to await the next kick in the pants. A type of philosophical fatalism that can only be combated through anarchy and nihilism. The article, however, notes that the show is politically important as it draws special attention to issues such as the environment, religion and corruption in the media. Al Jean disagrees; the show in fact does not concern itself with any specific issues or causes. "The truth is that, if something is important, we try to get it into the show because we always need plots. But we're not trying to get a message out. We're just trying to trying to get another show out, to get another cheque."
Not only does the show not have any kind of consistent values or principles, but it is also highly repetitive in humour and characterisation. Al Jean says "Audiences like the fact that the show never changes. The characters never age. They can see an episode from season 15 that they like and it is just like one from season 3."
The Simpson's is not the first comedy to laugh at life or to glorify stupidity, but it is one of the most popular and long-lived. Audiences once liked to laugh at Charlie Chaplin's "tramp" and his silly and naïve antics. However, the tramp always succeeded in the end. He always defied the odds in order to get the girl, or the job, or to save an orphan from the poorhouse. These were endings that truly tried to lift the spirits.
Unfortunately, audiences of today respond to characters that wallow in their own self-pity or cynically sneer at an incomprehensible world full of "powerful forces". The Simpsons, is empty of any uplifting values and can only appeal to those that seek reassurance in the trivial and mundane. How shallow of you, Mr Tony Blur (sic). Here is the synopsis of the Emmy award-winning "HOMR" from season 12. "Doctor's find a crayon lodged in Homer's brain, which accounts for his slow wit. After it is removed, he becomes much smarter. But he doesn't like being intelligent and returns the crayon to his brain, becoming his stupid old self again."
Roars of laughter from 70 million viewers worldwide.
Marcus shrugs, sighs and reaches for another Charlie Chaplin video.
The End.
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