CRITICAL ANALYSIS: THE SIMPSONS
"...freakish little doodles keep a lot of people gainfully employed" Critical Analysis Presentation
The following is a presentation I did for a Pop Culture class.
The Simpsons is an animated half-hour comedy that has redefined the term 'cartoon'. The show is in its 17th season, and with over 240 episodes it is by far the longest-running prime-time animated TV show. Well known for its excellent writing and bewildering array of characters, The Simpsons has collected 15 Emmy awards and 33 nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpson family first appeared in 1988 in small animated skits on The Tracey Ullman Show. Creator Matt Groening and producer James L. Brooks turned the idea into a full half-hour show, which premiered on the Fox network in December of 1989. The Simpsons was a hit from the start and has remained one of the most popular television shows in history (as well as the longest-running prime-time cartoon). When looking at the show through a critical perspective, Psychosocial is best since it assumes that the audience is persuaded by their needs, desires and values. The show depicts our society through the use the humor of this % member family. Simpson family members include father Homer, a beer-loving safety inspector from the local nuclear power plant; Marge, the sensible mom with a blue beehive hairstyle; Bart, the mischievous fourth-grader whose pride in being an "underachiever" was, at first, controversial; Lisa, the second-grader whose achievements and smarts go largely unnoticed; and Maggie, the speechless, pacifier-loving infant. With $.. In merchandise sold every year, from action figures to oven mitts, they must be doing something right.
Rhetoric plays such an important role in the culture of any civilization. Our culture is made up of books, magazines, movies, and T.V. shows. "The simpsons" does a great job of keeping up to date with the ever-changing rhetoric of our culcure. From the previous clip, you can see an example of how "The Simpsons" incorporate the theme song from "Sienfeild", a widely recognized T.V. show. Additionally, the show's weekly cornucopia of guest stars has included the likes of Ringo Starr, Christina Ricci and Stephen Hawking, among many others. Moreover, the show uses rhetorical examples such from books, movies, and plays such as "The Lord of the Flies" and the musical "The Music Man" as bases of their show in order to recreate and educate.
"The Simpsons" use our desires, along with our values and needs and incorporates them into the lives of the characters to make us laugh. The audience can easily relate to the feelings and actions of the characters in the show.
That clip shows the members of "The Simpsons" family. Dad, Mom, the 2 kids and the baby. As the audience, most of us can relate to this family structure. It depicts a normal, modern family. It also displays normal feelings that we get everyday, like boredom and the excitement we get over the small things in life such as a Family Fair or even a doughnut. It's easy for the audience to relate to the characters even though they are just cartoons. Homer hates his job and would rather sit on the couch. Bart likes too have fun and make mischief. Marge gets tired of cleaning up after everyone and Lisa would rather go to a museum and we as the audience, can relate to them because homer still has to go to work because he cant afford not too, Bart has to stay after class, Marge has to make dinner and Lisa has to go to a Public school instead to a fancy private school.
The rhetors, or screen writers, shows their humor through the actions and events of the show. Through this humor, they can also easily voice their political and personal statements through the mouths of the characters and in their 17 years on T.V. they have proven their credibility and made many statements.
This show is funny. Through both the animation and screen writing, it's easy to make personal connections with the characters and the struggles and adventures they face. Through the comedy the audience can learn morals, lessons and even a little history about other rhetoric.
In its 17 years on prime time, "The Simpson's" have captivated millions. Through the ½ hour per week show, it has become the focus of magazines, books and newspapers. Although the show has been criticized for its racy comments and vulgar language, it has still gain way more praise in its 17 years and has successfully voiced itself as the number one cartoon ever.
Although it is just a cartoon, the family values and community structure is often very similar to that of ours. Although some parts may be exaggerated the basic makeup and morals that are shown often parallel our own society. The need for friends, family, and community are both important to us and "The Simpsons" and although the events are not based completely on fact, it is easy to understand and compare them to our world.
The ethics of Springfield is very noteworthy. Religion is present in the Simpsons' world, because it is present in our society. And, like all other parts of society portrayed on "The Simpsons", religion is help up for ridicule. However, God's presence is always shown as a positive thing in the Simpsons' lives, and consequently, good morals and ethics are usually upheld by the characters. But perhaps most importantly, is what Tom Kisken says in "The Gospel of Homer" in his article from the Ventura Country Star. "The show always is kind to people of true faith," but "people who build their religion on words and not feelings are treated less kindly". This message is very important in a society filled with televangelists and empty promises. Perhaps if every family had as much true faith as "The Simpsons", the world just might be a better place.
In conclusion, all these propertied are displayed in a brilliant artistic displace that involves hours of work from countless writes, and animators and voice actors. As Matt Groening stated in a personal interview for Simpsons Illustrated Summer 1993, "It's impossible to keep in mind how many millions of people watch TV. The numbers continue to stagger me. Another staggering thing is the huge number of people who have jobs because of The Simpsons. It's spun off into merchandising, books, syndication, advertising, law suits, and this magazine. These freakish little doodles keep a lot of people gainfully employed, at least part-time." Made up of 3 main elements, "The creation of a single script takes on average three months to complete by a 15-member writing crew, who often work 52 weeks a year to hammer out 24 new episodes of the show." Therefore, don't forget to watch an all new episode every Sunday night at 8 o'clock on FOX. And I finish, I'll leave you with a quote from the famous philosopher Bart Simpson.
WORKS CITED
Kisken, Tom. "The Gospel of Homer." Ventura Country Star 4 Sep. 1999. .
Unknown. "The Simpsons - the TV Series." The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything 21 July 2000.
Angell, Jamie. "Explaining Groening - One on one with the sultan of fun." Simpsons Illustrated, Volume 1, Number 9, Summer 1993. Pages 22-30
"Canada, eh." The Simpsons. Writ. Greg Daniels. Dir. Wesley Archer. Fox. 19 Sept. 2000.
"Halloween Special !0 Dr. Who." The Simpsons. Writ. Greg Daniels. Dir. Wesley Archer. Fox. 8 Oct. 2004.
The following is a presentation I did for a Pop Culture class.
The Simpsons is an animated half-hour comedy that has redefined the term 'cartoon'. The show is in its 17th season, and with over 240 episodes it is by far the longest-running prime-time animated TV show. Well known for its excellent writing and bewildering array of characters, The Simpsons has collected 15 Emmy awards and 33 nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpson family first appeared in 1988 in small animated skits on The Tracey Ullman Show. Creator Matt Groening and producer James L. Brooks turned the idea into a full half-hour show, which premiered on the Fox network in December of 1989. The Simpsons was a hit from the start and has remained one of the most popular television shows in history (as well as the longest-running prime-time cartoon). When looking at the show through a critical perspective, Psychosocial is best since it assumes that the audience is persuaded by their needs, desires and values. The show depicts our society through the use the humor of this % member family. Simpson family members include father Homer, a beer-loving safety inspector from the local nuclear power plant; Marge, the sensible mom with a blue beehive hairstyle; Bart, the mischievous fourth-grader whose pride in being an "underachiever" was, at first, controversial; Lisa, the second-grader whose achievements and smarts go largely unnoticed; and Maggie, the speechless, pacifier-loving infant. With $.. In merchandise sold every year, from action figures to oven mitts, they must be doing something right.
Rhetoric plays such an important role in the culture of any civilization. Our culture is made up of books, magazines, movies, and T.V. shows. "The simpsons" does a great job of keeping up to date with the ever-changing rhetoric of our culcure. From the previous clip, you can see an example of how "The Simpsons" incorporate the theme song from "Sienfeild", a widely recognized T.V. show. Additionally, the show's weekly cornucopia of guest stars has included the likes of Ringo Starr, Christina Ricci and Stephen Hawking, among many others. Moreover, the show uses rhetorical examples such from books, movies, and plays such as "The Lord of the Flies" and the musical "The Music Man" as bases of their show in order to recreate and educate.
"The Simpsons" use our desires, along with our values and needs and incorporates them into the lives of the characters to make us laugh. The audience can easily relate to the feelings and actions of the characters in the show.
That clip shows the members of "The Simpsons" family. Dad, Mom, the 2 kids and the baby. As the audience, most of us can relate to this family structure. It depicts a normal, modern family. It also displays normal feelings that we get everyday, like boredom and the excitement we get over the small things in life such as a Family Fair or even a doughnut. It's easy for the audience to relate to the characters even though they are just cartoons. Homer hates his job and would rather sit on the couch. Bart likes too have fun and make mischief. Marge gets tired of cleaning up after everyone and Lisa would rather go to a museum and we as the audience, can relate to them because homer still has to go to work because he cant afford not too, Bart has to stay after class, Marge has to make dinner and Lisa has to go to a Public school instead to a fancy private school.
The rhetors, or screen writers, shows their humor through the actions and events of the show. Through this humor, they can also easily voice their political and personal statements through the mouths of the characters and in their 17 years on T.V. they have proven their credibility and made many statements.
This show is funny. Through both the animation and screen writing, it's easy to make personal connections with the characters and the struggles and adventures they face. Through the comedy the audience can learn morals, lessons and even a little history about other rhetoric.
In its 17 years on prime time, "The Simpson's" have captivated millions. Through the ½ hour per week show, it has become the focus of magazines, books and newspapers. Although the show has been criticized for its racy comments and vulgar language, it has still gain way more praise in its 17 years and has successfully voiced itself as the number one cartoon ever.
Although it is just a cartoon, the family values and community structure is often very similar to that of ours. Although some parts may be exaggerated the basic makeup and morals that are shown often parallel our own society. The need for friends, family, and community are both important to us and "The Simpsons" and although the events are not based completely on fact, it is easy to understand and compare them to our world.
The ethics of Springfield is very noteworthy. Religion is present in the Simpsons' world, because it is present in our society. And, like all other parts of society portrayed on "The Simpsons", religion is help up for ridicule. However, God's presence is always shown as a positive thing in the Simpsons' lives, and consequently, good morals and ethics are usually upheld by the characters. But perhaps most importantly, is what Tom Kisken says in "The Gospel of Homer" in his article from the Ventura Country Star. "The show always is kind to people of true faith," but "people who build their religion on words and not feelings are treated less kindly". This message is very important in a society filled with televangelists and empty promises. Perhaps if every family had as much true faith as "The Simpsons", the world just might be a better place.
In conclusion, all these propertied are displayed in a brilliant artistic displace that involves hours of work from countless writes, and animators and voice actors. As Matt Groening stated in a personal interview for Simpsons Illustrated Summer 1993, "It's impossible to keep in mind how many millions of people watch TV. The numbers continue to stagger me. Another staggering thing is the huge number of people who have jobs because of The Simpsons. It's spun off into merchandising, books, syndication, advertising, law suits, and this magazine. These freakish little doodles keep a lot of people gainfully employed, at least part-time." Made up of 3 main elements, "The creation of a single script takes on average three months to complete by a 15-member writing crew, who often work 52 weeks a year to hammer out 24 new episodes of the show." Therefore, don't forget to watch an all new episode every Sunday night at 8 o'clock on FOX. And I finish, I'll leave you with a quote from the famous philosopher Bart Simpson.
WORKS CITED
Kisken, Tom. "The Gospel of Homer." Ventura Country Star 4 Sep. 1999. .
Unknown. "The Simpsons - the TV Series." The Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything 21 July 2000.
Angell, Jamie. "Explaining Groening - One on one with the sultan of fun." Simpsons Illustrated, Volume 1, Number 9, Summer 1993. Pages 22-30
"Canada, eh." The Simpsons. Writ. Greg Daniels. Dir. Wesley Archer. Fox. 19 Sept. 2000.
"Halloween Special !0 Dr. Who." The Simpsons. Writ. Greg Daniels. Dir. Wesley Archer. Fox. 8 Oct. 2004.
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