The Simpsons

The Simpsons 'The Simpsons' is a humorous show about the average American family,

yet it manages to portray social and moral issues

through the unusual medium if cartoon. How is this achieved?

'The Simpsons' is a comedy cartoon, created originally over ten years

ago. The cartoon idea for adults lampoons everything Americans hold

dear, and is now more popular worldwide than ever before. It focuses

mainly on one family, the Simpsons of Springfield. They are

dysfunctional in the extreme, a family of unwitting victims who have

no idea why life keeps knocking them around. The Simpson family has

five members: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and baby Maggie. Each character

has their own bizarrely normal, stereotypical unique personality.

Homer works in the local nuclear plant, a safety inspector who sleeps

on the job. As the stereotypical American man, he is lazy, overweight

and careless, and is usually to be found sprawled on the sofa,

drinking Duff beer, eating unhealthy food and watching his soul mate -

the television. Despite being the patriarch of the Simpson family, it

is unlikely that he has ever done an honest days' work in his entire

life. His response to practically any crisis is to mutter

unintelligibly and slap himself on the forehead. This is not your

standard cartoon hero. Marge is his blue-haired wife and the

ever-patient model mother. The stereotypical housewife role played by

Marge sees her waiting upon the every need of her family, rarely

complaining. This role is also slightly sexist, as Marge is the homely

wife and mother who ...

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... in America, and it is

unlikely that there are many people who do not know who the Simpsons

are.

In the beginning, the show set out to be different. It didn't just

want to be thirty minutes of wise crack jokes, but more of a sitcom.

Eleven years later and this has well and truly been achieved. The way

that it works on several levels is amazing, something which not many

other programmes have accomplished. The refreshingly normal family

works in a cartoon, and I think that if it was used with real actors

it wouldn't work as well.

In my opinion, the cartoon is brilliant. I watch it when it is on, and

I can always find something to relate to and find amusing. As Demon

magazine stated in 1998, "The Simpsons is not just Americas' longest

running prime-time cartoon show; it's a way of life." (Demon magazine

1998).