The Simpsons: A Thorough Essay on America's Favorite Cartoon Family

Lisa, if you don't like your job you don't strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way." - Homer Jay Simpson


The Simpsons are America's favorite cartoon family. Watched by 60 million viewers in over 60 countries (O'Meara), and now on its fifteenth season, the show portrays a somewhat typical American family with cynicism, irreverence, and biting satire. One who is unfamiliar with the show might ask, how did a cartoon show manage to last so long? What is it exactly that makes the show so popular? That can easily be explained. It is the shows own particular brand of humor. Many people would agree that The Simpsons is easily one of the funniest shows on television, as it has been consistently since it's debut in 1989. But what is it precisely that makes it so funny? I think it is the truth in the humor: we see America in The Simpsons. We see our friends, our neighbors, our parents, our schools, our churches, and our legal system. Exaggerated, maybe, bizarre, of course, ridiculous, certainly, but nonetheless, the show takes American culture, society, and politics and humorously points out its foibles one after one. Every character in the show is a satire in and of his or herself.


Beginning with Homer, a fat, lazy, unmotivated slob with a love of beer and all things fried. This portrayal represents a nation of fast-food obsessed, outdoor phobic people who hate their office jobs and allow their lives to be ruled by prime time television. Homer is referred to in more than one episode as a sort of "everyman," a representation of American men. An unflattering portrayal, true, but let's look at the facts: he is an anonymous worker at a large company (despite all the run-ins he has had with his boss, Mr. Burns, his name remains unknown), he watches ridiculous amounts of television, he is devoted to his favorite domestic beer (Duff), he shows an inconsistent interest in his children, he rarely cleans or cooks, and his home projects always fail miserably (like putting together a Bar-B-Q grill in episode AABF15: "English side ruined, must use French side......LE GRILLE?! What the hell is that?!").