Does Matt Groening succeed in making his cartoon show appeal to such a wide audience? Discuss one particular episode of 'The Simpsons' in detail.

Every episode of The Simpsons begins with a short two minute credit, in which the viewers are very cunningly told about each of the characters. The credits begin with blissful and godly music suggesting an angelic family and “The Simpsons” title coming towards the viewers from behind moving clouds. But what we are about to see next we find out that the Simpson’s are far from being angelic. The camera takes a long range overview of Springfield, zooming through the town towards the local elementary school where we see Bart writing detention lines already suggesting that he is badly behaved.  As the school bell rings Bart dashes out of the door leaving for home on his skateboard. The focus then switches to Homer, whom we see is working at the nuclear power plant. He is working with some green radioactive rod when he hears the bell, indicating the end of the shift. Quickly forgetting what he is doing, Homer drops the rod which bounces back into his overall without him noticing. By just watching this we can see that homer is reckless and immature. He only realises the radioactive rod down his back later in the credits.

After that we see Marge with Maggie in the supermarket where Marge is reading a ladies magazine. This, as we can clearly see is satirizing American wives who basically have to do every household chores as well as doing the shopping etc. Following on from Marge and Maggie we then see Lisa in a music lesson where she is playing the saxophone in a different tune to the rest of the class. This tells us that Lisa is independent and different. Next we view that all the members of the family are going home to watch TV. Matt Groening is again satirizing Americans through the Simpson’s as he is telling us that all Americans revolve around television. Anyway as the family are about to sit down on the couch and watch TV, something bizarre or hilarious always happens to the couch like it turns into a fish or runs away. This couch gag changes every episode like Bart’s detention lines and real Simpsons fanatics will be looking forward for every episode to see what the new detention lines and the couch gags are. All this is crammed into a space two minutes and therefore the credits are always quick, accompanied by fast flowing background music.

The scene that I am going to study in depth is the therapy centre of the episode “There’s no disgrace like home”. Here Homer takes the whole family to this therapy centre where it guarantees saintly family. He saw this therapy commercial in Moe’s bar where Dr Marvin Monroe says that for only $500 he can cure badly behaved families or double the money back. So seeing the commercial and really convinced he goes home and wants to sell the TV. But Marge so desperate for the TV, offers her engagement ring. This is a clear satire on American family as it tells us that all American people revolve around TV and value nothing else. However homer sells the TV and takes the family to the therapy centre. At the centre they meet Dr Marvin Monroe where he sets the family their first task, which is to draw a picture of the centre of violence in the family.  Everyone else draws Homer but Homer draws a fighter jet, clearly showing that he is paying no attention what so ever. Then the family are given foam mallets to gently hit each other, but Bart removes the foam from the mallets so only the metal stick remains. This satirizes all American violence in general. Nevertheless the most important scene is where the family are linked to electric chairs and are told to zap each other in turns.  This goes too far as the family zap each other so much that Springfield runs out of electricity. This satirizes American belief in psychotherapy and the American electric chair. The scene was taken from the original ‘A clockwork Orange’ directed by Stanley Kubrick and as a result will be funny to those film fans. So in the end Dr Marvin Monroe kicks the family out as they achieve no results. But Homer tells Dr Marvin Monroe that the therapy commercial said that if there was no result there would be double the money back. Now nervous, Dr Marvin Monroe tells homer that did he believe in the commercial satirizing American people as it tells us that TV is their life. Nowhere to go Dr Marvin Monroe pays Homer $1000 and now the family are able to get a better-quality TV. At the beginning of the scene the family sell the dearly loved TV to pat for the therapy treatment and now at the end of the scene the family can by a better one, which takes the whole story round and round in a circle.