Essay/Term paper: The simpsons

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Culture

The Simpsons


This cartoon for grown-ups takes place in a fictional town called
Springfield in the 1990's. The main character in the show is Homer Simpsons, a
father of three and a husband. Homer works at the Springfield nuclear power
plant. He is portrayed as a slacker who is completely unqualified for his job.
He's also shown as a lazy couch potato and a little bit of an alcoholic. He's
also shown as a "pig" when it comes to food. His wife, Marge, is a good parent
who has to keep an eye on Homer and the rest of the family most of the time.
Bart, their oldest son, is a poor student who enjoys comic books and television
and hates girls. Lisa, the middle child of the family, is an excellent student
and a nice person. She is almost the complete opposite of Bart except they both
enjoy the violent cartoons of "Itchy and Scratchy". Maggie, the baby of the
family, is known for constantly smacking her pacifier. She is portrayed as
being smarter than Homer. Almost every little thing in the show is intended
tobe humorous.
In general the show is very funny but has some bad language and other
offensive material. The fact that the show is a cartoon may be what has kept
some people from watching. The cartoon though is what helps achieve many of the
humorous aspects. For example a spill of nuclear waste would not be very
amusing in a show with real people.
The show has the assumption that it is OK if your family argues all the
time. It shows this by the little arguments that the family constantly gets
into. It also shows that it's pointless to try to be good all the time. One
example is when they're eating at home they use no table manners whatsoever and
when they go to church they try to be like normal families. There are times in
the show when they step away from comedy and give a meaningful message about
family values, or friendship, etc..
In conclusion The Simpsons is a very funny show with a unique cartoon
aspect.