I'm doing a research paper on the Simpsons for my university degree, and I thought you guys might be able to help me.

So.. do you learn anything from The Simpsons? Obviously the crazier episodes don't have any hidden subtexts, but a lot of the episodes have some moral implications.

Do you take anything - apart from the humour - away from the show? Do you think the family/environment/political issues are just created for laughter, or do the writers intend to draw the watchers attention to these issues?

I would much appreciate any responses!

Honestly? No, I don't. I take the show purely as entertainment. I do realize that the show parodies so much in life, but I don't learn from that, I just enjoy it. I'm such an apolitical person, I don't pay much attention to current affairs.

SWEET! More internet "research" I get to "contribute" to.

Do I take anything away from the show aside from humor?

Here's a helpful answer: I don't really know. I mean, the reason I watch the show is that it makes me laugh(well, that was the reason 10 years ago... now I mostly just watch it out of loyalty and because it makes me chuckle on occasion). However, in its prime, I think the episodes were quite intelligent, satirical, and spot on. Usually they mirrored my own beliefs though, so I'm not sure I was walking away with anything I didn't have. One thing I can remember is that they have this thing they do where the majority will look out for their own interests at the obvious expense of the minority and someone invariably says "I've said it before and I'll say it again, democracy just doesn't work". Although the idea seems fairly trivial, for an eleven year old kid being fed in school that democracy is the thing that makes us great, that was a fairly revolutionary and philosophical comment that certainly made me think. Either that or I was a dumb kid. You decide.

The Simpsons at its peak will remain amongst the greatest politic/social commentary/satire of the last few hundred years.

Its up there w/ Gullivers Travels, The Confidence Man & numerous other canonical works. I get a lot out of it regarding the American condition, being that I'm not American. It sent me off learning more about pressure groups on Capitol Hill, connections between Churches and US business, city planning in the US and a ton of other stuff.

On its own terms, it can only touch at the hem of a lot of problems with the States, as it attempts to tell a humorous story in 22 mins, but it has been an invaluable tool for the left in the US, and I use the show often in my media classes to illustrate points about ethics in advertising, political hot issues etc.

I was going to say something similar, but Ishmaelscoffin got there first.

The Simpsons has been quite daring over the years, and commented on a number of political hot potatoes with great insight. It also comments on the way news is reported, which occasionally elevates it above CNN on an intellectual level (although some would say that's not too difficult!). I should point out I'm from the UK, but the humour travels quite nicely.

I work at Toyota UK making cars, so the thing I learnt was dont let me design them like Homer did for his brother, cos it'll turn out rubbish.

I just got a canary and my son broke the latch on the door of its friggin' cage! After realizing that this problem couldn't be solved with a twist-tie (it's a crazy "draft-free" cage), I remembered "Deep Space Homer". I searched around the house and suddenly stumbled upon... AN INANIMATE CARBON ROD!!!!!!! I managed to wedge it into the door so the canary wouldn't burn up on re-entry would be safely contained. Yes, sir! That rod truly deserves all of the praise this show has bestowed upon it. It has definetly won the "Worker of the Week" award for this week!

quote:

Originally posted by Monkey_Boy:
I just got a canary and my son broke the latch on the door of its friggin' cage! After realizing that this problem couldn't be solved with a twist-tie (it's a crazy "draft-free" cage), I remembered "Deep Space Homer". I searched around the house and suddenly stumbled upon... AN INANIMATE CARBON ROD!!!!!!! I managed to wedge it into the door so the canary wouldn't burn up on re-entry would be safely contained. Yes, sir! That rod truly deserves all of the praise this show has bestowed upon it. It has definetly won the "Worker of the Week" award for this week!