Every Garage And Three Eyes On Every Fish Summary

In episode four of season two of the Simpsons entitled “Two cars in every garage and three eyes on every fish” we see the corruption of power and politics. Mr. Burns a very wealthy man runs for governor, he is very unconcerned for the citizens of Springfield, and is only concern is the power he will attain from becoming governor. Mr. Burns has made his wealth for starting a nuclear power plant which dumps waste in a nearby lake. He has been confronted with the eco- friendliness of his plant and of course he doesn’t seem to mind. Mr. Burn who is on the verge of winning due to his dirty political tactics and out spending his opponent. He has the election wrapped up his last stop is eating dinner at the Simpsons house which will be ironically televised due to Bart Simpson
discovering the three eyed fish in the same lake that his plant dumps waste in, he is served the mutated three eyed fish from Marge Simpson and spits it out. This will essentially loose him the election as truth and honesty prevail.
I think the overall purpose of this episode is get the viewer to understand that even through money did let Mr. Burns get away with a lot. His carelessness and narcissism led to his downfall. He was approached with ways of fixing his toxic waste problem but due to his greed he rejected all ideas. When he essentially got “a taste of his own medicine” the world saw him for who he really was. The viewer learns that caring for others and treating others with respect is the way to create a connection or in this episode win an election. The same reason that Mr. Burns wanted to become governor became his biggest hurdle, wanting to do whatever he thought was right not considering the citizens who fished in that lake. His only concern was the power the governor’s office would entitle him with and all the things he could get away with and enforce on others. This was very well put together episode an audience of any age would be able to digest and comprehend the issues that were tackled. What is unique about this episode is the irony of the whole situation the story telling is very specific to the viewer understanding the core concepts this episode illustrates.
The characters represents groups of people. We can all see ourselves in these characters and what they stand for. Marge Simpson who represents the common middle class family is concerned for the safety of the environment. She is disgusted at the actions of Mr. Burns, but she is conflicted at the same time as her husband is employed by him at the same nuclear power plant. She doesn’t feel like her voice can be heard like many Americans today. She eventually will serve him the three eyed fish which Mr. Burns said “was the future of the fish species” as the story turns full circle he won’t eat the same thing that he praised days earlier. The toxic waste has made the fish inedible and hazardous. Mr. Burns had no care for this problem until he was in the position of eating the same thing he had created. For many wealthy politicians it seems as if they cannot relate to the common people or do not deal with the same issues that the common person deals with. It was ironic that this ultimately was the reason he lost the
election.
Homer Simpson who really didn’t mind as the problem didn’t affect him personally is very dangerous in today’s society as we see many more people unconcerned with others wellbeing. Many people are only concern with issues that personally affect them and ones close to them. This represents those who know an injustices is going on and choose to remain silent as long as it doesn’t affect them. The dumping of toxic waste into the lake was an illegal practice covered up by the employs and management at the plant so Homer was in part responsible for the atrocities taking place and eventually came around to correct his actions. Mr. Burns buys a political machine that basically runs the election for him which illustrates that money runs politics. With no real foundation to stand on or changes he would like to implement, his machine did all the work for him, which he of course took credit for. Mr. Burns was able to play dirty and intimate others because of his wealth and became unconnected to the people of his own community. Many times today it seems as if the politician with the most money wins the election. Without a clear representation of how they will help those they want to represent. Money allows those to get away with things that those without could never do, in this situation its harming the environment but Mr. Burns had intentions of using the power he would receive to inflict more harm on those he disliked. His political machine gave him a clear advantage on his running mates and very dangerous but true situation we now see in today’s political system of big money rules.
Ultimately this episodes gives us in a funny ironic way the truth about our government and all the injustices going on. That those with more wealth have more power than others, but also that the common person can have his voice heard and can make a difference. Depicting that whatever we do will follow us good or bad. This episode shows that the struggle for power is very dark and flawed system. Staying true to who are was the reason the Simpson were able to change the election, and do what they felt was right gave them the courage to act. This was a very detailed and clear concept episode written by Matt Groening a great example of knowing the right thing and acting on it.