At the end of the title sequence the family come together, which gives us the impression that they do have family moments together, even though they all rush home to watch T.V. it shows us a connection between them revealing to us that there are moments of a modern nuclear family.
Looking at this it leads us to expect that there is always going to be some sort of problem running in the family, especially with Bart as he known to be a ‘problem child’ but it will then come to a halt with the family together in the end.
The first Simpsons episode to be released was ‘The Simpsons roasting on an Open Fire’ where no more than 10 different comic devices were used. Devices such as puns, hyperbole and coincidence provide the main bulk of The Simpsons humour. At the start of this episode, we are surprised by Lisa’s dramatic ritual dance and fire juggling. Bart’s mischief is also used for comical effect. The device used is puns, which are shown in the alteration of the lyrics in ‘Jingle Bells’. In the scene after this we see two other devices being used, one of which is breaking the dramatic illusion and is revealed when Bart asks for a tattoo, which in reality kids cannot have, especially at the age of 10. The other is shattered expectation, which is when the opposite of what you think is going to happen does happen. This is shown when Bart thinks his mother would be proud of him getting a tattoo with ‘Mother’ written on it, but instead was very angry. As this unfinished tattoo had to be removed they made it look like a very dangerous and complicated procedure involving a large laser, which is totally unnecessary. The device used here was over exaggeration. The other devices used include coincidence (Christmas bonus and savings lost), mistaken identity (Bart mistakes his father for someone else and yanks his beard off) and hyperbole (Homer steals a Christmas tree instead of buying one). At the end of nearly if not all of the episodes there is always a typical and family role ending. In this episode we see everybody happy and together without feedback from any family members on how bad the day was.
In ‘Homer Badman’, many devices are also used just like the ‘Roasting’ episode. An example is when Homer steals a rare gummy replica of the Venus de Milo but in ‘Roasting’, he steals a Christmas tree. What we see here is that he makes and uses a Buzz Cola candy grenade (sweet) to escape. This again is just like the removal of Bart’s tattoo. Another example is the way ‘Homer Badman’ ends. The family is seen together even though it is for a few seconds but we know some things have turned out right. This once more reveals a typical and family role ending.
As you can see all The Simpsons episode are similar in the way devices are used and the way it is structured. In every episode of The Simpsons, the narrative structure stays the same throughout, which enables the viewers to know what to expect.
Another episode, which I will talk about in more detail, is ‘The Cartridge Family’, in which Homer buys a gun to protect his family after a ‘citywide orgy of destruction’ but it causes friction with Marge who feels guns will endanger the family and therefore issues Homer an ultimatum. Your family or your gun.
In ‘The Cartridge Family’ violent Scottish football fans wearing tartans and with red hair worsen a soccer riot. They say ‘Call this a soccer riot’ and bring out weapons. These fans are conforming to the stereotype of Scottish people and British hooligans. This stereotype has been exaggerated so that it can be brought to our attention and so we realize how silly the stereotype is. On the other hand the father stereotype is being subverted in ‘The Cartridge Family’. When the ‘Ex-Con’ salesman comes over Homer doesn’t listen to a word he says. Instead he shouts ‘Lets get that’ in a very excited manner with his eyes wide open. This is subverting the stereotype because the father should be calm and have good judgement. The father should know what is best for the family. Homer doesn’t. Matt Groening could be trying to tell us that all fathers are not clever or have good judgement. He could be poking fun at the fact that the father is supposed to be wise and intelligent even though this is not always the case.
The Simpsons also satirises some aspects of American mainstream culture. The main aspect criticised in ‘The cartridge Family’ is the gun culture.
In this episode, The Simpsons is trying to persuade us that guns are dangerous because in America many people own guns. To do this The Simpsons exaggerates that guns put your family at a lot of risk instead of protecting them. For example when Bart almost shoots Millhouse. The Simpsons points out that a gun owner is hypocritical. When Homer says ‘Piece of mind is what you shall have’ to Marge there is a combination of scenes to highlight this hypocrisy. After reassuring Marge, straight away we see Homer ask the shopkeeper for his deadliest gun. By doing this Matt Groening hopes people will think twice about keeping guns in the house. He also shows how silly it is to keep guns to protect your family by showing the gun going off and shooting Marge’s photo. Even though this is unlikely to happen in real life it shows accidents do happen and that guns endanger instead of protecting.
In ‘The Cartridge Family’ law and politics are criticised a lot. Matt Groening feels there are several aspects of American law and politics that have to be changed. Mayor Quimby is supposed to typify the politician and because of this he leads a very seedy and corrupt private life. Mayor Quimby comes into Marge’s room with a blonde woman and asks if Marge needs the room for the whole night. This is showing that politicians often abuse their power and are very dishonest because there are some real life Mayor Quimbys e.g. Bill Clinton.
The Simpsons also satirises the legal world by focusing on the 'Five Day Waiting' law. Homer must wait five days before he can be issued a gun. This is done to ensure that proper checks can be undertaken on whether someone is eligible to carry guns. However The Simpsons claims that five days is not enough to determine if someone is fit to carry guns, as this could be a life or death decision. This is highlighted by the fact that Homer says ‘Five days! I’m mad now’. This is saying that often people buy guns on an urge and that they do not really think about what they are getting themselves into. Also the law is portrayed as not being very effective. Homer is an ‘alcoholic’, has a ‘mental problem’ and has beaten up important people, however this only limits Homer to 3 guns. This is ridiculing the law, as it is not working and if it was, America would not have such a high crime rate.
Unlike English mainstream culture, America does not view soccer that highly. Americans consider it boring as it is ‘low scoring’ and has ‘draws’. Because of this The Simpsons makes fun of our soccer culture. The Simpsons satirise the fact that soccer supporters get overly emotional about the ‘Beautiful Game’. Before the match, Homer turns to Marge looking very worried and claims that he will ‘kill himself if Portugal win’. Matt Groening is trying to say some supporters treat soccer as a life or death situation and get too intense about their team. The Simpsons also tries to imply football is all hype. The expectation of the crowd is tremendous during the build up to the match but it all fizzles out once the boring match kicks off. The Simpsons is saying that football does not live up to the hype and excitement created by the media.
The Simpsons parodies certain median genres or styles to show how tacky or formulaic they are. In ‘The Cartridge Family’ Homer says to Marge ‘There is so much I want to tell you’. This is imitating corny romance films in which a character says ‘There is so much I want to tell you’. Changing the tell to yell not only makes it funny but also shows how predictable and unoriginal these films have become. The Simpsons is trying to show us that we should not accept these identical and unimaginative films because The Simpsons is successful as it is not unimaginative or formulaic.
In addition The Simpsons satirises the power of the media and the TV. During ‘The Cartridge Family’ everyone is watching the television silently. The Simpsons is pressing home the depressing truth that the whole family only gets together to watch TV. They do not come together for each other. Also when the whole family is watching the TV all we see is the television screen. This is suggesting that kids especially become very influenced by what they see. All they can see is what TV says to do and nothing else. This is also the case when Bart and Lisa run to Homer and ask to be taken to the soccer game, however they know nothing about soccer and they never would have wanted to go to the match if they had not seen the advert.
The Simpsons makes fun of is the American consumer culture. This is done as Matt Groening is unhappy that society as a whole think they need lots of things or possessions to be happy even though they don’t. When the salesman comes to Homer’s house, Homer agrees to buy ‘Lucite’ and a ‘pretty alarm’ even though it is obvious that those things are not needed. Groening is saying that often we don’t think we need something until someone suggests it. It could be the TV or other people who suggest it but once we hear about it we feel as if it’s essential to have. The Simpsons is doing this to say things aren’t important. The important things are your friends and family.
The main purpose of ‘The Cartridge Family’ is to persuade us not to keep guns in our possession as they are very dangerous and cause a lot of problems. The title of the episode gives this away. There is a pun on words because ‘The Cartridge Family’ sounds like ‘The Partridge Family’, which is a sitcom about a perfect family. However a cartridge reminds us of a gun but on the whole I think this episode was quite successful. It has strong images such as the gun falling into Bart’s hands and then Bart nearly shooting his best friend when he has the gun. These ideas stick in our minds so we think twice about buying guns. However the episodes strongest feature is the comedy it can generate over as sensitive a subject like keeping guns in the house
An interesting point is that The Simpsons contradicts itself. Firstly it has become what it is against. ‘The Cartridge Family’ makes fun of celebrities being used to sell products and the public buying these things, however I have seen The Simpsons lend it’s name to all sorts of products like cereal and ready meals. So in a way either accidentally or deliberately it has become a contradiction. However I find it hard to believe that someone as clever as Matt Groening would be inexperienced enough to accidentally let The Simpsons become the contradiction it now is.
The Simpsons has become the sitcom of the new generation and old following the conventions of a typical sitcom. It tries to free itself from this expected norm to bring out issues that exist in the real world by pulling them together and presenting them in a new more exciting comic way. This makes the audience relate The Simpsons to their own lives and shows them that there is a greater meaning and purpose to The Simpsons. Over the years The Simpsons has changed sitcoms into controversial and interesting programmes. The show is successful due to the way it plays with our expectations and how it blows them out of proportion. It has taken ideas from sitcoms such as ‘Leave it to Beaver’ and improved them. As it is an animated sitcom, it makes it funnier as characters can do things that could not possibly be done in reality. Even celebrities have taken a shine to the sitcom. I think that the show is really good at what it is meant to do which is to entertain its audience. It not only shows the audience how life is but also involves them.
