The Simpsons Are Sociologically Savvy: a Postmodernist Perspective

The Simpsons atomic number 18 Sociologically Savvy a Postmodernist spatial relation Using The Simpsons, a long-running Ameri ass animated continuing series, as a case exact I ordain analyse the links amid hearings, production and text in the creation of meaning. Using a triangulated rise of close textual reading, and theoretical models of post-modernism and mystify theory to question the occasion of agenda mountain in contemporary society, I will point particular mechanisms of agenda setting within this example.The Simpsons, described by capital of Minnesota Cantor (1999) is a postmodern re-creation of the first generation family sit-com (p738) which can be intaked effectively to illustrate innovative and radical themes and encourages small thinking. David Arnold (2001) describes The Simpsons as an irresponsible text, integrity rich in associations and con nonations a self-parodic, self-referential variety of previous texts (p264).I will endeavour to show that despite the detail that The Simpsons is associated with cartoons, which in their very record ar assumed to be child wish and frivolous, it is because of all of the above associations that the postmodern Simpsons be useful as a pedagogical tool (Hobbs, 1998) and can be used to teach adults and children non-homogeneous sociological issues including sexual identities and hegemony. The Simpsons lends itself to be a vehicle of a media-virus which harmonize to Douglas Rushkoff (1994) can carry the revolutionary message conveyed in an app arently innocent, torpid package (cited in Irwin et Al 2001 p254).Such programmes appear to conduct turn up to be the most acceptable and accessible spaces to show such subjects as homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (glbt) identities because of their separation from reality. Arnold (2001) claims that the ridiculousness of the summercaterny yellow looking characters who take aim down up on your tv set and look almost human, that with g rim storylines and unbelievable un-human like behaviours increase their ability to function as satirical signifiers (p262).Its because of their unfeasibility, their lack of seriousness that Diane Raymond (2003 cited in Dines & Humez) maintains waives programmes like The Simpsons to play with themes low cover of humour where those themes might be too volatile or horizontal too didactic for an separate sort of audience (p101). The Simpsons creators and writers imprecate on the recital of other shows and they take from them all the best titbits recognize their viewers according toRushkoff (2004) with a-ha events or pattern recognition (p296). Whether it is Maggie in A Streetcar Named Marge (1992, 9F18) attempting to rescue her dummy-tit at Springfields day-care midpoint to the theme tune of The Great Escape by Elmer Bernstein. Or when home run arrives to pick her up some of the babies are precariously perched and watch on, which to the media literate is an obvious spoof of The Birds a classic Hitchcock movie from 1963.The wedding delineation from The Graduate is spoofed in One fish, two fish, blowfish (1991, 7F11) where bell ringer bangs on the living room window and shouts Marge at the top of his voice. Lisas Substitute (1991, SF19), is where we wait yet another classic scene from the The Graduate, where the change teacher is feeln at the front of the class through Mrs Krabappels fork which is hitched up on the desk and baronets teacher says those famous linguistic communication Mrs. Krabappel, youre trying to seduce me. Some of the audience, children more thanover adults may see the ridiculousness of the scenes as funny but may not see the more hidden intertextual message due to their time pass viewing media texts. and David Buckingham (2001) claims that children are more active, and sophisticated users that they see much more boob tube and are able to detect and decipher the formal codes and conventions near genre and narrative, and a stir(predicate) the production process (cited in Barker and Petely 2001).These pieces of intertextual fragmented texts cod unalike connotations to different readers. For example in The Graduate the storyline, for the chief protagonist, was about the coming of age and losing his virginity and the power it gave him, this revolutionary message would not be available in prime-time viewing unless such a vehicle as The Simpsons made it accessible through its animation. Ironically The Simpsons was created to be a bridging gimmick for The Tracy Ullman Show to cross from the main parts of the show into adverts (Rushkoff 2004 p295).The Simpsons became more favorite than the host show and Matt Groening the shows creator was offered $10m and a 13 episode series at FOX Television (Ibid p295). gibe to Allen Larson (2004) technological advances, the availability of cable, federal deregulation and corporate consolidation were already in distance from the 1980s and 90s but the media conglomerat es further assisted the breeding of corporations like FOX Television which refined prime time sit-coms and the commodification of the audience, they re-imagined, and re-exploited benefit maximisation (cited in Stabile & Harrison 2004 p56).At the onset of the 90s production be for a show like The Simpsons would oblige cost around $600,000 (Mallory 1996, Karlin 1993b cited in Stabile & Harrison p56) and so forethought to attracting the widest demographic was crucial. Merchandising to children was the future as the cable-age children had already become consumers and so the conglomerates turned the full force of their attention to fightds maximising the potential revenue streams provided by children (Ibid pp57-59). USA Today inform in 2009 that in the previous year Consumers worldwide spent more than $750 nerdion on Simpsons-related licensed merchandise (Lieberman, 2009).Television programming is not only programming the viewers sets but the viewers themselves in order to sell t hem a product (Rushkoff 2004, p293) which would prove why advertisers spent $314. 8 million in 2008 on the prime-time show on Fox and reruns that local anaesthetic stations air (Lieberman, 2009). Postmodernism points toward the fact that we no longer create anything other than the texts made up from the materials which already existed and we patch them together to make fun of that which is present and at present.Furthermore there is a notion of it doesnt get any better than this The Simpsons uses all the good bits from the past to fill the present, history is no longer being made it could be perceived. Arnold claims that The Simpsons lampoon and amplifies that grows foibles up to and beyond the point of absurdity (2004 p264). Jameson is in transcription (1984 and 1991) he insists that postmodernism has a new depthlessness and that globalised late capitalism does not allow for the text to be critically analysed but commodified and consumed.Jameson states that they no longer man ifestly quote, as a Joyce or a Mahler might have done, but incorporate into their very substance (1991 p3). Intertextual referencing is key to how The Simpsons works as a postmodern text, although legible to the avid reader of texts, a certain sum total of media literacy is required which has taken many decades to achieve, leaving the adult to appreciate the intertextuality of lofty assimilation embedded in the funny animation.The timing with which The Simpsons emerged into mainstream picture has proven to be crucial- The Simpsons could not have thrived on prime-time network television unless it was embraced by an audience so advanced in TV literacy that they are able to recognize and relish the signs and symbols from TV culture which the show in steadinably throws at them (Bj? rnsson 2006). In various episodes The Simpsons have portrayed many sociological concepts, for example Aging and health in Stark Raving dadaism (1991, 7F24) Class and socioeconomic status in Burns Heir (1994, 1F16) execration law and criminal justice in Homer the Vigilante (1F09).Homer has dealt with the urge to cheat on his wife Marge The Last come-on of Homer and Life on The Fast Lane (1993, IF07 & 1990, 7G11). The horror of war was tackled in The Principal and the Pauper (1997, 4F23) and homosexuality in Homers phobic disorder (1997, 4F11) (The Simpsons Archive, 2010). It is this last issue of other sexual identities in The Simpsons which I will be analysing using despoil theory as an analytical framework. prevent is a category in flux according to Raymond (2003, cited in Dines & Humez p98).historically the term was used in a negative or derogatory manner, although most recently the term is used to identify marginalised identities such as ethereal, lesbian bisexual and transgender (glbt). Queer theory identifies a body of pestship connected to but not identical with lesbian/gay studies (Ibid p98). fit to Raymond (2003) queer theory emerged in the 1960s and 1970s and u nlike their to begin with theoretical forebears like Marxism and feminism do not demand exclusive theoretical consignment or hegemony (Ibid p99). Instead it asks what is the point in asking why someone is gay?Or what is the function the question of causation serves in the culture and in ideology? Queer theorists look less at the nature/nurture argument of Charles Darwin and in addition ask that we see the term as fluid and not fixed. Homers phobic neurosis (1997, 4F11) looks at Homer and his homophobic behaviour when he meets and befriends a gay man fast one who is voiced by writer and director John Waters of the critically acclaimed and very plurality film Hairspray. John sells kitsch collectibles in a shopping mall and enjoys chatting to his customers.John tries to explain to Homer what camp means when he is showing him around the shop which Homer doesnt understand. To explain John says that camp is The sadally ludicrous? The ludicrously tragic? When Homer still doesnt g et it, he adds more like inflatable furniture or Last Supper TV trays The penny in the long run drops as Homer has made a connection, albeit a financial one, and replies and that sooner stuff is worth money? Man you should come over to our place Its full of valuable worthless crap. Johns views echoes pagan critic Andrew Ross argument that camp is primarily concerned with reconstituting historys trash as reasure (Cunningham 2003).Ross (1989) writes The knowledge about history is the precise moment when camp takes over, because camp involves a rediscovery of historys waste (p151, cited in Cunningham 2003). This piece besides serves to confirm Medhursts claim that camp is now absolutely everywhere (1997 p289 cited in Sullivan, p194) and so Homer has become wholly blind to it. Homer has not realised John is gay even though there have been quite a few unimaginative a-ha moments (Rushkoff, p296) or knowing nods to his sexual identity.John has knowledge of female Hollywood actresses a nd gossip, an appreciation of Marges hair John even answers in a camp manner with my heart is palpitating, hoo hoo. Marge conversely has obstinate Johns sexual identity and later, at home, informs Homer of it (much to his disgust). This may signal that the producers are aware of how different people have different cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1977) or that Marge and women for that matter are more adept at reading the signals in media-represented images of sexual identities and can see the signifiers due to the time spent watching television.It may also intend the ways in which gay men have been reduced to the status of women i. e. engaging in tittle-tattle and pointing out good hair-dos. According to tax income (1995) misinformation and gay stereotyping in the media is due to lack of first-hand knowledge of gays and lesbians (cited in Raymond 2003). Media texts are polysemic, meaning they have many meanings to many people, although Stuart Hall (1980) states the texts do not have a n infinite number of interpretations as they remain structured in dominance. Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) claims that audiences are not blank pieces of paper (p140 cited in Hanes 2000). reception Studies agree that the meaning is not inherent within the text itself and that the audience create the meanings using their own cultural capital. Morleys reception involve Nationwide in 1980 will attest to this fact. In 1992 Morley revisited his Nationwide study and found that there were totally contradictory readings of the same programme peak . There are many criticisms of reception theories, Morley himself states that it shows an understanding of the micro-process of consumptionand without elongation to the broader cultural question which is then of only limited value (1992, p272).Signs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (glbt) identities are clearly shown in The Simpsons in Homers Phobia (1997, 4F11) Roscoe and his fellow workers at the Springfield Steel Mill are openly gay and host gay discos after working hours. The scene in the mill looks like a guerrilla attack where hundreds of gay men have descended on the unsuspecting Simpsons to make them feel like the minority in the queered space. Guerrilla tactics like queering are seen in the States where glbt people gather in an unsuspecting venue.The venue would commonly be frequented by mainly straight persons, the dominant sexual identity. With a flood of glbt patrons the glbt have changed their position to a dominant one within that space. This encourages the audience to see what it must feel like to be in the minority, but also highlights that there are other sexual identities, that heterosexuality is not top-notch and that gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people live in your street, work in your factories, they have worthwhile jobs contributing to society just like heterosexual people.Queering extends to texts too as shown above and also in Three Gays of the condominium (2003, EABF12) where Home r shared a room with Grady and Julio who were both openly gay. Glbt identities are also hidden, for example Judge Constance Harm is transgender in The Parent bump (2001, CABF22) the judge refers to once being a man. There are also the characters such as Waylon Smithers and Dewey Largo who are still in the closet and all of these stories offer viewers a little queer pleasure.In My Fair Laddy Brunella Pommelhorst the gym teacher at Barts school tells her students she will return in the next semester as Mr Pommelhorst the new shop teacher (2006, HABF05). Marges sister cake who comes out to her in when Springfield became a same-sex-marriage tolerant town to sustain in much needed revenue (after Bart brings it into disrepute). Agenda setting in the media is made accessible in The Simpsons and can be seen in particular in Theres Something about Marrying (2005, 16E10). Mayor Quimby in a speech says he is happy to legalise gay money I mean ah gay marriage.This may be in reply to an arti cle reported by Catherine Donaldson-Evans (2004) written for FOXNEWS. com that states Recognizing same-sex couples and families as an emerging market, heroic corporations have begun targeting the demographic in their ads the ads are focused on the micro-lifestyles of the consumers, and same-sex families are a micro-lifestyle. This clearly shows the emergent culture of commodification of sexual identity.Theres Something approximately Marrying (2005 16E10) which is a clear intertextual reference to the film Theres something about Mary which itself may also be pointing out through the use of intertextuality the name given to Gay men i. e. Marys or little-Marys) was it seems written in response to the controversy in America over gay marriages which was a particularly hot topic in the US at the moment during election campaign (BBC 2004). In February 2004 President Bush announced his support for a thoroughgoing amendment banning gay marriage, saying he wants to stop activist adjudi cate from changing the definition of the most enduring human institution (Huus, 2004). This makes for a difficult position to be in as a queer viewer.Jacqueline Rose (1986) has noted, The relationship between viewer and scene is always one of fracture, partial identification, pleasure and distrust (p227 cited in Raymond, 2003, p100). The Simpsons are not incitive or anti-family, in fact they are probably quite buttoned-down Homer attempts to vote for Democrat Barack Obama in Treehouse of Horror XIX (S20E04, 2008) and the machine would not allow him and instead registered his vote for John McCain a Republican in a humorous take on the allegations of voter fraud that had occurred in prior elections (Stelter, 2008).