FREE ESSAY ON SIMPSONS

SIMPSONS

I DIDN'T DO IT How The Simpsons Affects Kids 
The Simpsons is one of Americas most popular television shows. It ranks as the number one
television program for viewers under eighteen years of age. However, the ideals that The
Simpsons conveys are not always wholesome, sometimes not even in good taste. It is
inevitable that The Simpsons is affecting children.
Matt Groening took up drawing to escape from his troubles in 1977. At the time, Groening
was working for the L.A. Reader, a free weekly newspaper. He began working on Life in
Hell, a humorous comic strip consisting of people with rabbit ears. The L.A. Reader
picked up a copy of his comic strip and liked what they saw. Life in Hell gradually
became a common comic strip in many free weeklies and college newspapers across the
country. It even developed a cult status. (Varhola, 1) Life in Hell drew the attention of
James L. Brooks, producer of works such as Taxi, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Terms of
Endearment. Brooks originally wanted Groening to make an animated pilot of Life in Hell.
Groening chose not to do so in fear of loosing royalties from papers that printed the
strip. Groening presented Brooks with an overweight, balding father, a mother with a blue
beehive hairdo, and three obnoxious spiky haired children. Groening intended for them to
represent the typical American family who love each other and drive each other crazy.
Groening named the characters after his own family. His parents were named Homer and
Margaret and he had two younger sisters named Lisa and Maggie. Bart was an anagram for
brat. Groening chose the last name Simpson to sound like the typical American family
name. (Varhola, 2)
Brooks decided to put the 30 or 60 second animations on between skits on The Tracy Ullman
Show on the unsuccessful Fox network. Cast members Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner did
the voices of Homer and Marge. Yeardley Smith (later to star in Herman's Head) did the
voice of Lisa. Nancy Cartwright did the voice of Bart. Cartwright previously supplied the
voices for many cartoons, including Galaxy High, Fantastic Max, Richie Rich, Snorks,
Pound Puppies, My Little Pony, and Glo-Friends. Tracy Ullman later added Cartwright to
her cast. (Dale and Trich, 11) Brooks, Groening, and Sam Simon, Tracy Ullman's producer,
wanted to turn the Simpson family into their own show. The Fox network was looking for
material to appeal to younger viewers. The only show they had that drew a young audience
was Married With Children. To Fox's pleasure, The Simpsons saved the network from near
failure. (Varhola, 3) On December 17, 1989, The Simpsons got their break. The Christmas
special, Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire aired. (Dale and Trich, 19) 
In the episode, Bart got a tattoo, much to Marge's dislike. She quickly spent all of the
family's Christmas money to remove Bart's tattoo with a laser. At the same time, Homer,
still on his morning coffee break at 4:00 in the afternoon, learns that he will not
receive a Christmas bonus. When he learns that Marge is relying on the money for
Christmas, he decides that he will do the Christmas shopping for the year. He quickly
buys Marge panty hose, Bart paper, Lisa crayons, and Maggie a dog toy. When he realizes
that he is not doing very well, he gets a second job as a mall Santa for the extra money.
On the way home from work, he steals a Christmas tree. The next day at the mall, Bart
sits on his Dad's lap and pulls down his beard. Homer responds by choking Bart and making
him help make Christmas better. On Christmas Eve, Homer receives his check, $13.70 for
over 40 hours work. Homer takes Bart to the dog track as a final chance for Christmas
money. They discovered a gem in the third race, Santa's Little Helper. How could this dog
loose on Christmas Eve? The odds were 99 to 1, they were going to be rich. Homer put all
of his money on Santa's Little Helper, and to his horror, he never even finished. As
Homer and Bart were scouring the parking lot for winning tickets into the night, they saw
the track manager throw out a dog. It was not just any dog, it was Santa's Little Helper.
When Bart and Homer came home to their worried family, they had a good Christmas after
all. Now they had a dog. (Pond) 
Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire was not the typical Christmas story. It dealt with body
art, sleeping in the work place, sibling rivalry, stealing a Christmas tree, a misbehaved
son, and gambling. Although it was unorthodox, it was very successful. The Fox network
decided to air it again on Christmas Eve. (Dale and Trich, 19) In a little over a month,
The Simpsons made it's debut as a weekly show, Bart the Genius was the first regular
episode. In the middle of a feared assessment test, Bart switches his test with the
completed one of Nelson Prince, Class Nerd. Bart and his parents are called into
Principal Seymour Skinner's office where they are told that Bart has a 216 IQ. (Homer
thought is was 912.) Skinner requests that Bart attends The Enriched Learning Center for
Children. Suddenly, Homer takes a liking to his son. They joke together, play ball
together, embarrass Marge at an opera together. (Toreador, oh don't spit on the floor.
Use the cuspidor. That's what it's for. Bart sings along with the opera Carmen.) Soon at
Bart's old school, Springfield Elementary School, Bart's graffiti is roped off and
tagged, The Principal. By Bart Simpson. IQ 216. Bart's friend no longer like him, they
refer to him as Poindexter. The kids at his new school trick him into giving up his
lunch. In frank, Bart is miserable. Then, after turning himself green in an uneducated
science experiment, Bart reveals to his new principal that he cheated on the test. That
night, as Homer is helping Bart clean himself off, Bart tells Homer the same. Homer
instantly transforms into a murderous rampage again. The episode ends with Bart locking
himself in his room and Homer trying to knock down the door so he can tear Bart into
pieces. (Vitti) 
Soon, Simpsons merchandise was all over America. Every kid wanted an Underachiever and
Proud of It, Man or an I'm Bart Simpson, Who the Hell Are You? shirt. Hats could be seen
everywhere that had Bart dressed like a devil saying Go For It, Dude! or with Homer, his
arms open, lunging forward saying Why You Little. The most popular shirt was a family
picture with Homer choking Bart. During the first week of school in 1990, two thirds of
the sixth graders in America wore Simpsons paraphernalia. (Dale and Trich, 43) As the
popularity of The Simpsons grew, so did parents' fears. To their horror, Bart Simpson
became a role model. Aye Carumba! was a popular expression among kids. Almost anything a
child did wrong was attributed to last Sunday's Simpsons. (Dale and Trich, 45) Bad ideas
continued to be broadcast into kids' minds. In the third episode, a baby-sitter robbed
the Simpson household of most of it's belongings. In the fourth episode, Homer caused a
nuclear accident, got fired, and attempted suicide. Bart stole the head off of the statue
of Jebidiah Springfield, Springfield's founder in the sixth episode. In the eighth
episode, Bart took a picture of Homer with an exotic dancer and distributed them to the
entire town. Marge had an affair in the ninth episode. Homer stole cable, and almost
everything else imaginable in the fifteenth episode. (Groening, 37) 
The Simpsons is often viewed as one of the biggest threats to Christianity. The Simpson
family goes to church on a regular basis, but Bart and Homer loath it. A typical Sunday
School conversation is as follows: Child: Will my dog, Fluffy go to heaven? Sunday School
Teacher: No Other Child: How about my cat? Teacher: No, Heaven is only for people. Bart:
What if my leg gets gangrene and has to be amputated? Will it be waiting for me in
heaven? Teacher: Yes Bart: What about a robot with a human brain? Teacher: I don't know!
Is a little blind faith too much to ask for? (Pepoon) The pastor, Reverend Lovejoy is a
hypocrite. In 22 Short Films About Springfield he leads his dog to the Flanders' yard to
go to the bathroom. He praises the dog until Ned Flanders comes outside. He then acts
angry and threatens the dog with hell. When Ned leaves, he praises the dog again.
(Swartzwelder) In one episode, Homer quits going to church and falls in love with life.
He claims to have his own religion so he doesn't have to go to work on holidays, such as
the Feast of Maximum Occupancy. In a conversation with Lisa: Lisa: Dad, I don't
understand, why have you dedicated yourself to living a life of blasphemy? Homer: Don't
worry Lisa, if I'm wrong, I'll repent on my death bed. (Meyer) 
The Simpsons is not just an enemy of Christianity, though. In one episode, where Krusty
the Clown is reunited with his father, a rabbi, almost the entire episode is spent making
fun of Judaism. Lisa asks Bart, Do you know what a rabbi's most valued possession is?
Bart replied, I dunno, those stupid little hats. Hinduism is constantly joked with by
using East Indian, Kwik-E-Mart clerk, Apu Mahasapeemapitalon. Apu is once asked is he is
Hindu. He replied, By the thousand arms of Bishna, I swear it is a lie. Once Homer was in
the Kwik-E-Mart: Homer: Hey Apu. No offensive, but when they were handing out religions,
you must have been on the can. Apu: Mr. Simpson, please take your jerky and get out and
come again! (Meyer) The average child can acquire a plethora of foul words from one
episode. In Flaming Moe's, Bart is jinxed, meaning he can't talk until somebody says his
name. Homer: What is it boy? Bart: [Grunts] Homer: Us anything the matter, my son? Talk
to me young man. Bart: [Takes a pencil and writes 'Say my name.] Homer: Say your name?
Why should I do that, my lad? Bart: Because I'm jinxed damnit! Homer: [Punches Bart in
the arm.] Bart: Ow! What was that for! Homer: You spoke while you were jinxed, so I get
to punch you in the arm! Sorry, it's the law! (Cohen) Homer Simpson definitely has the
worst influence on children. Once, Homer overheard Ralph Wiggum say the he would do
anything for Lisa. In the next scene, Ralph is coating the Simpson's roof in tar. Ralph
calls out, Mr. Simpson, the tar fumes are making me dizzy. Homer, relaxing in a hammock
replies, nonchalantly, Yeah, they'll do that. Homer fits the genera of the parent who
pressures his kid to do well in sports. In one episode, after Bart scored a winning goal,
Homer congratulated him, Okay Bart, you won the hockey game. Now, just as I promised,
here's your turtle, alive and unhurt. Homer got angry at Marge once for spending lots of
money to vaccinate Maggie against diseases she doesn't have. His advice on how to get out
of jury duty is to tell them that you're prejudiced against all races. His self
proclaimed, best advice is, Sometimes the only way you can feel good about yourself is to
make other people look stupid. (Groening, 26) Personally, I believe that The Simpsons
affects children, but not necessarily in a bad way. Children never hurt themselves
mimicking The Three Stooges, nor do they with The Simpsons. Almost every episode ends
with a family that loves each other. 
Some episodes have answered the question of them affecting children on their own. Once,
Marge began to protest Itchy and Scratchy cartoons. Itchy is a psychopathic mouse who's
only purpose is to kill and torture Scratchy, a cat. Nearing the end of the episode,
Marge realizes that Itchy and Scratchy is not hurting anyone. They take a satirical view
to the situation when a group of mothers try to stop Michaelangelo's David from visiting
the Springfield Museum of Art by means that it is pornographic. (Koger and Wolodarsky)
Unlike many sitcoms, The Simpsons is more like everyday life. Homer works in a power
plant. In many other sitcoms, the father works a popular job, such as an accountant, or
with a television studio. The Simpson family is not a wealthy family living in a $300,000
house. Many children can relate to this. (Rebeck, 622) In some cases, The Simpsons is
educational. Karen Brecze credits Homer Simpson with saving her 8-year-old son, Alex's
life. Bence, of Auburn, Washington, says the boy was choking on an orange when his
10-year-old brother, Chris, used the Heimlich maneuver, which he learned from Homer at
the Bat, where Homer is choking on a doughnut. Unlike Alex, Homer doesn't receive help
and coughs up the doughnut as his co-workers look at the Heimlich maneuver poster. (Dyer,
D3) 
The Simpsons affects kids, just as anything around them will. Perhaps people fear The
Simpsons because they can see a little of The Simpsons in themselves. We all have inner
child's trying to get out that behave just like Bart. We all do pull a Homer sometimes.
It just happens. The show doesn't make us do it. It just happens. If this world did not
have The Simpsons children would behave in the same manner, they just might laugh quite
as much.
Works Cited
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