Sociology of The Simpsons

Sociology of the Simpsons

The definition of what consitutes a “family“ has definatly changed over time. Usually, what constitutes making up a family is relative to a specific culture, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule. Ever since the golden age of television had sprung upon American culture, it has tried to mimic the "ideal" American family through it's programming. Even as early as the 1950's, television producers made

programming that would represent what exactly the ideal American family was.

Take for example the show "Leave It to Beaver". There was a father figure, his job, or

responsibility rather, was to financially support the family, while being an exemplary father to his children. The mother on the other hand, was solely responsible for being a typical housewife, while not neglecting the rearing of her children. The children did not have any real responsibility, but they respected their parents and attempted to stay out of trouble. Television shows for the most part in this early era of programming followed among these guidelines.

However, it is not in a drama that American family life is best represented

in the 1990's. Instead, it is in the animated series, "The Simpsons".

"The Simpsons" follows suit with the other dramas that reflected the decade

in which they aired. According to the U.S. consensus for March 1998, the

majority of households in America are married couples (U.S. Consensus pp. 1,

3,4,6). The Simpson's meet this. Also according to the consensus, the

average married couple has approximately 2.6 children per household (U.S.

Consensus, Household Characteristics p.1). Since there cannot be six-tenths

of a child, I will round up to three children, in which the Simpson family

has: Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Also, the average American is a blue-collar

worker. The father figure, Homer, meets this factor with his job at the

nuclear power plant within his hometown of Springfield. So according to the

statistics, the Simpson family could be considered an average American family. Homer Simpson is the father figure of the household, whose responsibilities include financially supporting the household, since he is the household's primary source of income. He has his flaws like any person would, but somehow he and his family tend to work it out. Some of his mishaps are very similar to those that most of us have had to face.