The Success of the Simpsons
The Improbable Long-Term Success of The Simpsons
When examining the history of modern prime-time television, there is a certain pattern that virtually every successful show inevitably falls into. After a period of initial success, perhaps lasting three or four years, the writing on the show becomes stale by using the same format and same jokes over and over. The viewing audience becomes bored, and eventually, the show fades into television oblivion. Or, as Jeff MacGregor states in The New York Times, “Historically…(successful shows) collapse under the weight of their own complacency, hanging on for a few lifeless seasons while the producers wait to cash out their millions and move to Maui.” Based on this premise, it would seem that “The Simpsons,” an animated series that debuted in 1987 as thirty second segments on “The Tracey Ullman Show,” should have worn out its welcome long ago.
However, “The Simpsons” is still going strong today. The secret to the show’s success lies in its producers’ ability to understand the expectations of the television audience and the culture that surrounds them. This understanding, combined with “wry sarcasm, topical themes, and superb scripting that puts most other comedies to shame,” as well as some old-fashioned slapstick comedy, makes “The Simpsons” one of the most popular programs in television history. The show is often complex and highly intellectual, while remaining funny at the most basic levels. As Jim Gleeson states in The College Tribune, “The show is rare in rewarding attention to detail, with especially obscure references that… even if you had never heard of…you would still laugh, giddy with the crafted sleight of it all.”
This fact that the show works on several levels at once draws a generationally diverse fan base. The adults are attracted by the surprisingly sophisticated dialogue, while the children enjoy the clumsy antics of Homer and the traditionally “cartoonish” aspects of the program. An example of a multidimensional scene occurs in the episode where Marge, the mother of the Simpson family, starts a crusade against campaign violence. Maggie, the baby, is mesmerized by an “Itchy and Scratchy” cartoon show in which the mouse pummels the cat over the head with a sledgehammer. Later in the episode, Maggie imitates the actions of the mouse by hitting her fathe...
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... theory suggests that the success of “The Simpsons” is a consequence of television history, and could not have taken place if the show had originated twenty years earlier. The medium of television needed time to build up complexity and diversity, so that the show could virtually redefine what is expected of a television program. Based on this theory, “The Simpsons’” effect on television is similar to the Beatles’ effect on music. The theory predicts that the show will continue on until, just like the Beatles, they have nothing left to do.
At its current pace, “The Simpsons” seems like it could go on forever. The show is continually progressing and perhaps funnier than ever. The writers are further developing the characters with each passing episode, and the show’s possibilities, for the time being, seem limitless. It is difficult to explain exactly what the allure of the show is, but at the core its most appealing characteristic is that it is simply funny. From the simple pleasure of watching Homer fall flat on his face to the most obscure reference imaginable, “The Simpsons” continues to entertain over a decade after its conception and shows no signs of slowing down.
NBC network’s The Office is definitely a show that a lot of youth watch nowadays or well, used to at the least. Some people are amused by the show’s style of humour, however many are not so entertained. Personally, I find that the style of humour in this particular show is used to depict hegemonic relationships and stereotypes that exist in modern culture. Thus, for this specific reason, I will attempt to apply and analyze the theme of cultural hegemony to The Office.
In conclusion, Futurama Fry is a funny and popular meme. I love looking and sharing different memes when I am on social media. Though, I always watch what I share to make sure no one gets offended. I never really paid too much attention to the details of a meme until this assignment. Although people really enjoy memes, and they truly can impact someone’s life. They can also state what everyone is actually thinking without having to say it to someone’s face, and they usually take it better when it comes
Defining where the homeless stand in our society scale is one of hardest aspects in conducting a study of the population and understanding the definitions used in research is one of the most challenging tasks for people who want to use its results. Most would agree that people in Shelters or literally living on the street are homeless, but there is less agreement regarding people in the following circumstances: Youth on their own, with no permanent residence or even an usual place to sleep; children who have been separated from their homeless parents and are in foster care or are living with relatives; People living in stable but physically inadequate housing (having no plumbing, no heating, or major structural damage, for example) Which of these people should be consider homeless? There is no right answer; there can only be agreement on a convention. Homelessness is a term that covers a big territory. It seems that homelessness is at best an odd-job word, pressed into service to impose order on a hodgepodge of social dislocation, extreme poverty, seasonal or itinerant work, and unconventional ways of life.
Furthermore, as dominant discourse states that homelessness is due to individual failure much of the middle class and working poor criminalize individuals who are living on the streets. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize that in most cases homelessness is not the fault of the individual and directly related to the structural issues in society which it can then target any individual who may be in an economic
Karl Marx lived from 1818-1883 and was alive during the Industrial Revolution which was a time that moved Europeans to cities from rural farming.. Marx observed the economy he lived in and saw the huge flaws with capitalism. Poverty, class conflicts and private property were all flaws of capitalism that Marx thought we could avoid if historical change took place. Capitalism according to Marx is an extremely unsatisfactory government system that gives power to the upper class landowners and keeps the proletariat exploited. The proletariat in a Capitalist society are continually exploited for their labor and don’t receive any of the profits for the item they produced for their firm. Shareholders of the firm end up being the ones who reap the rewards from the company even though they have nothing to do with manufacturing the good expect investing money. Marx insists that society would be better off if working class individuals controlled and owned all of the capital in the economy. In a capitalist society the bourgeoisie make huge amounts of money off the proletariat which is something that can’t last forever. Marx argued that as time passes increasing tensions between classes will surface and end capitalism altogether. Essentially, the lower class will revolt and force the government to abolish the capitalist system by putting in place socialism. Socialism doesn’t support alienated labor or employees as commodities for sale. Alienation of labor occurs in a capitalist society according to Ma...
33,000, this is the number of homeless that live on the streets in Canada and 8,000-11,000 of those people are youth in the age range of only 16-24 years of age. This number has increased and grown bigger by the days due to social and economic factors and coming up with a solution becomes more complicated. Many teens become homeless because of hardship in their life or addiction and mental/psychical disabilities, which affects the integrity of that person. This essay will explain the factors of how youth end up on the streets and the harmful effects it can cause and how Canada reacts and helps this problem. The world is discovering how the population of youth on the streets is growing and their trying make many solutions regarding this problem hoping to take many off the streets and start having a healthier better life for themselves.
Many people debate on weather homeless people should receive guidance or just be abandoned. Do homeless people deserve our service and to be supported, or are they just lazy individuals trying to take advantage of people? Homelessness is a growing dispute in cities. It has became an extensive problem for the community. Homelessness can not and should not be ignored. The number of homeless people in the United States is quickly growing. It seems like no one cares to help them. Even our heroes like police officers show no sympathy towards the homeless. “Homeless people appeared on the streets of Bucharest in 1990. Since then, their number and the problems created by this phenomenon have steadily increased in all major
With the worsening state of the economy there has been a steady rise in the rates of homelessness for all ages. The causes amongst youth homelessness include financial instability, abusive guardians, conflict between the youth and their guardians in dealings with sexual activity or pregnancy. This leads to a greater need for government assistance, welfare, charity. It includes those same youths growing up to experience higher rates of divorce and mental illness. They will have a greater chance of ending up in prison, in poverty, or even plagued by addiction.
This paper will attempt to explain from an developmental and ecological framework the myriad of issues and obstacles effecting the health and development of those who experience homelessness in youth. Homelessness at such an early and integral stage in one’s life presents lasting consequences and we must work to better understand, prevent and reverse the effects of homelessness on children.
Since television came into existence, it has evolved into a useful tool to spread ideas, both social and political, and has had a great effect on the generations growing up with these heavily influential shows. To these younger generations, television has taken the role of a teacher, with the task of creating a social construction by which many of us base our personal beliefs and judgments on. This power allows television shows take the opportunity to address problems in a manner that many audiences can take to heart. Many television shows present controversial topics in a comical matter, in some ways to soften the blow of hard-hitting reality at the same time bringing attention to the issue being addressed. In the television show, Everybody Hates Chris, season one, episode four entitled “Everybody Hates Sausage”, the stereotypes that continue to fuel racism are examined in a satirical motif, and class is presented in a comical way, but carries serious undertones which present a somewhat realistic view of the different social strata within the United States.
Homelessness has gained mass attention throughout the world. It’s an ongoing, insoluble issue that continues to exist and affect many in the Unites States. “Approximately 3.5 million people are homeless in the United States at any given time” (McBride, 2012). Sadly, due to the nature of homelessness, it is difficult to obtain an accurate number of the homeless population (McBride, 2012). Many people have negative prejudice views of homeless individuals. Self-worth, dignity, as well as trustworthy affects the homeless, often questioned by society. Through the testimony of John Doe, a better understanding will enlighten others, myself included, and bring awareness to this mass population.
Homelessness has not always been such a substantial issue. Homelessness “did not emerge until the 1980s” (Stergiopoulos et al., 2016, p.1). “There are between 700,000 to 800,000 people that are homeless on any given night” (Stergiopoulos et al., 2016, p.4). This issue has many involving factors; the following discussion will answer the question created by Open Arms Ministry of are there examples of effective programs, coalition, cities, communities that eliminate or attempted to eliminate homelessness? To prepare, there will be a definition of homelessness, new homelessness, usual care and a description of the issue of homelessness. This will be continued by the discussion of effective strategies that have helped end homelessness
The many causes of the homelessness issue has arisen from global conflict, unemployment increase, education tuition costs rising, and the increase of poverty. Homelessness is affecting all ages, ethnicities, and religions striking in both urban and rural communities. “Just last year, the national poverty rate rose to include 13.2% of the population. 1 in 7 people were at risk of suffering from hunger in the United States. In addition, 3.5 million people were forced to sleep in parks, under bridges, in shelters or cars.”
Homelessness can be defined as the lack of a fixed regular and adequate nighttime residence. Furthermore, homelessness also entails people who are people who are at risks of being evicted from their residential houses or people who are discharged from institution such as hospital or prison and they have nowhere to go. Families that experience homelessness usually have limited education since lack of adequate educatio...
There is a lot of reasons that let people became homelessness, some of them faced bank corrupt or poor financially situation like Veterans, also you could become homeless by doing crime such as sexual harassment. Some homeless became homeless with out doing anything like children who their parents can not take care of them. The implication of this is that efforts are in place to ensure that at least, the problem of homelessness is solved. For this purpose, the paper will provide a detailed discussion regarding the state of homelessness and how it be effected to adult and children in the West Virginia and the united state also some part of the world.