Preview

The Simpsons=American Culture ?

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1269 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Simpsons=American Culture ?
02.28.13
Animated Sitcoms 1.Paper

-The Simpsons=American Culture ?-
The Simpsons is an animated sitcom created in 1989 by Matt Groening for FOX. The Simpsons can be described as a series which is about a middle-class family of five and their daily life. I want to give a short information about this family. Homer Simpson is the father of the family, works at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and we can say that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Marge Simpson is the mother of the family and she is a housewife who always has to deal with Homer’s stupidity. Bart Simpson is their son who is also known as the prank king of the town. Lisa Simpson is the daughter who is exceptionally smart but not so social. At last but not least there is Maggie the baby who only communicates by sucking on a pacifier. Of course, when we are watching The Simpsons, we see a critic of current events. In other words, The Simpsons does not only show us the life of a middle-class family, but also gain a new perspective over current events that can be defined as controversial.
The Simpsons reflect American culture by shaping a city that can defined as a regular American town. Even in that small town, we can see every type of person. It is about the multiculturalism of United States of America. We see the market owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon who is a Middle Eastern. It is also reference to the habit of Middle Easterners who mostly has a market. To give an example, in Shameless which is another good TV show, we see another Middle Eastern family who own a market. In addition, Shameless is a show also about a middle-low class family and their lives. We also see Mexican Bee Guy who is actually an actor and represents Latino Community at the show. Multiculturalism is not the only thing about American culture that is represented at The Simpsons. Alongside multiculturalism, gender is a topic that people who

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Far more Americans can identify Lisa, Marge, Maggie, Homer, and Bart than the First Amendment freedoms. Only one in four Americans can name more than one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition for redress of grievances.) But more than half can name at least two members of the cartoon family, according to a survey.[1]…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many of the scenes in this episode revolve around the school age children during school areas such as the lunchroom and with Luca$ and Bart’s friend Millhouse coming over to the Simpson’s home. The social inequality of skinny verses obese starts in the interaction between Luca$ and Lisa is first Lisa’s disgust when she sees Luca$ overeating in the cafeteria but accepts him. Homer is thrilled to meet Luca$ when he comes over to a…

    • 925 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Opponents may assert that Lisa Simpson would not fit the role of a president because she comes from a family that is troubled and without purpose. Specially her father, Homer Simpson and Brother Bart, who have brought quite a trouble to her life. Although, their reckless actions have been a challenge they have not affected Lisa, she has learned how to handle the situations. Past all the troubles, Lisa differentiates from her family in many different ways, such as being mature, outgoing and observant. While growing up with her family, she noticed what was wrong and was invariably looking after Bart and Homer to help them out. Although she faced challenges and troubles she learned how to become a leader and look out for others. In despite of this reputation upon family it's clear that looking after them has helped her become the complete opposite. This taught her and helped her mature at a young age. It also additionally shows us that she is effective under challenging circumstances. Lisa’s family has helped her strengthen up and become a…

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People all across the country have different views of the American government. Some think it works well and others seem to pick out all of its flaws. In The Simpsons episode “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington,” some of these flaws which include greed, sexism, the idea of the intellectual and the overall corruption are highlighted but in a comical way. It allows all of these issues to be questioned in a less serious manner. Through satire and irony, “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington” emphasizes the divide between the glorified portrayal of American government and the actual mechanics and inconsistencies of this system.…

    • 1536 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    1.1: Explain Why Physical Activity is Important to the Short and Long Term Health and Well Being of Children…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Simpsons Satire

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Simpsons is an American TV series, created by Matt Groening. This TV show is more for children. The series is a satirical representation of the middle-class American lifestyle epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie. The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a request for a series of animated shorts with a producer James L. Brooks. The Simpsons have a place in the fictional town of Springfield American in an unknown and impossible to determine, in the US state. The show is intentionally elusive regarding the location of Springfield.…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Family Matters first aired on ABC in 1989 and lasted until 1998. There are 215 episodes that tell the story of the middle-class Winslow family from Chicago. The show focuses on Carl, a police officer and his family: Harriet, Eddie, Laura, and Judy. Harriet is Carl’s wife. Eddie is their eldest child, Laura is the oldest daughter, and Judy is the youngest of the three. Also living in the Winslow household is Harriet’s newly widowed sister, Rachel, and her child, Richie. In the “Pilot” episode Carl’s mother, Estelle, also moves into the house. The Winslow’s have a stereotypical nerd next door neighbor, Steve Urkel, who is constantly causing mischief. He is introduced midway through the first season and quickly becomes a favorite main character for many. The shows’ episodes usually involve a minor problem or conflict, but by the end of the 30 minute episode it has been resolved and everything is alright again.…

    • 3353 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Simpsons Satire

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Simpsons are one of the longest running and most popular television shows. This popularity exists because "the Simpsons [have] always operated on two levels. On one level appealing to children as a fast paced cartoon and then for the older audiences for its wit and [satire]" (Batscha). Satire is the common thread with binds all of The Simpsons episodes. The writers show the absurdity in ordinary everyday situations including religion, politics and other social issues. This has been the leading cause for its controversy and longevity. However, the Simpsons' crude style is necessary and meant to induce anger. The public school system is one of the most common targets of satire.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Simpsons Satire

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Long running animated comedy The Simpsons is known for making its audience laugh at the outrageous antics of its larger than life characters. However, The Simpsons does more than just make us laugh. It challenges us to think about issues we deal with on a daily basis such as morality, institutional power, and politics, giving us an avenue in which we can release tension we have built up over such issues through laughter at the characters’ unconventional handlings of situations arising from these issues.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Simpsons Satire

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Simpsons is a popular, prime-time, animated comedy program. Those who have never seen the program may dismiss it as being merely a children's show. That assumption could be made of many animated programs. However, those non-viewers are likely unaware that The Simpsons is a very cleverly written show. The humor in the show is written with various aspects that appeal to different segments of the audience. The characters are written in such a way that many people can relate to one or more of the characters. These factors allow the program to appeal to the large segments of the public in different ways.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1950’s commonly known TV shows like “Leave It To Beaver” depicted the perfect American household: White, suburban, breadwinning father, homemaking mother and their kids also known as, Family. Today “traditional” families have drastically changed and in accordance, so have television families. TV changed in order to stay current and gain/ maintain audience(s).…

    • 1123 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In class we this week we discuss the influences television has on our society culturally. We discuss how tv shows wanted their content to be relatable for specific audiences or lifestyles that was not credited on tv so often. The Bill Cosby Show introduce a new type of family situational comedies that viewers didn't see often on tv in the 80's. The show presented an African American family of the upper-middle class living in a fictional well developed household with four children. The shows capability to introduce a fresh concept to television revived the the growth of tv-sitcoms that are popular still to this day. There is so much variety on television after this, viewers are introduced to female dominant roles that exude a difference…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Miller asked a question in his text, The Dark Night of the Soul, which is asked on numerous occasions. ‘What might the Literate Arts be good for?’ Miller gives situations and reasons why we could say the Literate Arts are useless in today’s world. What might the Literate Arts be good for? I ask this question a lot nowadays too. When I go for an English class or see literary books, the question creeps into my mind unconsciously. In this modern world ‘reading and writing’ have gone downhill and yet people do not seem bothered or affected by it which makes the doubt in literary power even stronger. But after a lot of thinking and research, I have come to realize that literate arts are still needed in our world.…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Shaping American Culture

    • 2365 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Throughout the 1960s, there was a cultural phenomenon that started in the United States and spread like wildfire to multiple other cultures in the world. This phenomenon was also known as countercultures. This decade raised the 76.4 million Americans born during the baby boom generation. These adolescents entered their teen years during the 1960s and they definitely embraced a multitude new standards, dramatically different from the way their parents were raised. While some encompassed new ideals in dress, music and movies others joined countercultures and rebelled against the social norms. Three of the most altering countercultures were the Hippies, the Sexual Revolution and the Gay Liberation. The Hippies were the beginning counterculture of this era. The sexual revolution and gay liberation connect back to the hippies. During the hippie time sex was key factor in their freedom and rebellion and with the freedom of sex came the freedom of sexuality. These small connection do not make these countercultures the same, but all them together helped transform society in drastic ways. 1…

    • 2365 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The study of culture is very important to our society, as we have been studying our past and identities for as long as we can recall. Studying our cultures allows us to understand each other as a people, so we can comprehend what we have done, and possibly, what we may do. As we study American popular culture, we see something that began as almost nothing, to a group of patterns that has captured the minds of not only the American people themselves, but the whole world, as well.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays