In ‘The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family’ Paul Cantor writes that The Simpsons ‘may seem like mindless entertainment… but… it offers some of the most sophisticated comedy and satire’ on TV (Cantor, 1999: 734). Although some episodes of The Simpsons seem ridiculous due to the slapstick nature of the show, it often offers the audience more realistic views of the world than other shows do.
Despite Fox being owned by Rupert Murdoch (a right wing, Republican, billionaire) the views of The Simpsons do not necessarily reflect his. In the article ‘The Age of Murdoch’ James Fallows writes that Murdoch ‘is proud of The Simpsons for both its popularity and its wit’ and has provided his voice ‘for a self-mocking appearance on the show, in the role of a grasping plutocrat’ (Fallows, 2003). It is clear that The Simpsons doesn’t have a definitive political stance as its most dislikeable character Mr Burns is very Republican but the show often satirises Mayor Quimby who is a Democrat.
From my viewing of The Simpsons I have found that it often covers topics that other shows will not. For example environmental issues are often covered in the show. Radioactive waste dumping has featured as an issue on the show many times as Homer’s job is at a nuclear power plant. This issue first came up in Season 1, Episode 3 and now after 26 seasons and a movie The Simpsons has satirised this issue time and time again.
The very political nature of the show is disguised by the fact that it’s a cartoon which makes it appeal to young people. As a result the “disguise” that makes it seem like mindless entertainment is beneficial for its younger audiences. Young people in particular may not have access to these kind of issues unless they’re being influenced by their parents or other adults in their life so The Simpsons may help them to make up their own mind about the world.
Bibliography:
Cantor, Paul A. 1999. ‘The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family’ in Political Theory, Vol. 27, No. 6 (December, 1999), pp. 734-749.
Fallows, James, 2003. ‘The Age of Murdoch’, in The Atlantic Monthly (September 2003).