The Simpsons: The Simpsons Countercultural Activists Or Modern Nuclear Family?


Effects of Media: Effects of Media Reinforces dominant values and ideology Through hidden messages presents countercultural agenda Children’s television Provides identity models Defined through consumer choice


Conflicting Messages: Conflicting Messages Presents counterculture agenda Exposes hypocrisy in educational system, religious beliefs, American political structures, and capitalism Supports dominant ideology Reinforces middle class values Revolves around white, lower-middle class, seemingly normal family with three kids and a dog Characters’ lives reflect different interpretations of the media that the viewer can either adopt or reject based on his own experiences


The Simpsons as Images: The Simpsons as Images TV’s leading anti-family Dysfunctional Mocking idealistic families Characters are bright yellow “made it look as if TV needed adjusting” Candid artificiality


Bart Simpson: Bart Simpson Rebel Perpetually in trouble with teachers and principal Spends most of time skateboarding and watching TV Shows failure of public schools “I will not expose the ignorance of the faculty” “This punishment is not boring and pointless”


Homer Simpson: Homer Simpson Classic dupe Identity from consumption of beer, television, and food “Bart skates around the edges of the media landscape, stealing image fragments along the way from which to stage a coherent, if mutable, identity, without ever being fully immersed in the landscape” “Homer, by contrast, is the landscape; he is anything and everything churned out by the culture industries”


Lisa Simpson: Lisa Simpson Voice of reason Learns from her experiences and acts in accordance with her beliefs Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy “I wish they taught shopping in school” “Don’t ask me- I’m just a girl”


Method : Method Plot typically reaffirms middle class myths and lifestyles Affirmation permits the subtle critique contained outside of the narrative An analysis of a typical episode reveals a text both politically subversive and mainstream


Maggie Makes Three: Maggie Makes Three Flashback of Homer telling Bart and Lisa about Maggie’s birth Reaffirms realties of middle class life Ironic elements challenge American consumerism “You can’t expect us to sit through thirty minutes straight! I’m going to get a snack.” I’m going to think about products to purchase. Oh, I don’t have that….Hey I could use that.”


Hidden Media Message: Hidden Media Message “The media’s stupid and manipulative, TV is a narcotic, and all big institutions are corrupt and evil” By end of every episode, Homer is publicly embarrassed for his consumptive practices Don’t consume blindly like Homer Use culture industries strategically like Bart


Conclusion: Conclusion Continually makes fun of traditional American family Also offers enduring image of nuclear family Many values of traditional American family survive satire, above all value of nuclear family itself Take home message Be wary of authority Celebrate genuine community


Slide12: “It’s not our fault our generation has short attention spans, Dad. We watch an appalling amount of TV” ~Lisa “Dad, thanks to TV, I can’t remember what happened 8 minutes ago. No really it’s a serious problem. Ha, ha, ha! What are we laughing about?” ~Bart “Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.” ~Homer “Remember as far as anyone knows we’re a nice, normal family” ~Homer “When will I learn? The answers to life’s problems aren’t at the bottom of a bottle, they’re on TV” ~Homer “Then we figured out we could just park them in front of the TV. That’s how I was raised and I turned out TV” ~Homer