First and foremost, I believe that the Simpsons as a television show, succeeds on many levels. It is a funny cartoon. It makes statements about issues. It often bucks against the melodramatic trends of American society. Nothing is safe from the Simpsons. Anything is fair game. So, now we begin to see. Two very different people can watch the same show, and get something very different out of it.
A bit more on the way the Simpsons rebels against fundamental principles of American society. For starters, there are clear elements of feminism seen in the female characters. Marge is the glue which holds the dysfunctional family together. Another thing is that it challenges the premise of television in the first place. TV before the Simpsons, basically made you feel good, and that was it. Now it makes you scratch your head in perplexion. Rose Delgarno talks about how the show is based around two principles: repression and anarchy. Repression is prevalent throughout the show. The characters are all trapped in a box, which they can never get out of. For example, Principal Skinner, is perpetually stuck entertaining his mother. Lisa is perpetually stuck in the role of a genius who will not be heard. All of the characters are stuck in Springfield. Because they are repressed, sometimes anarchy breaks out. There are many scenes of mobs running out of control. There is always a fine line between repression and anarchy. The Simpsons walks this tightrope, as does the real people who watch the show. The Simpsons also takes religious convictions to a different level. Religion is turned on its head by the Simpsons. The Simpson family has a basic respect for religion -- we even see Bart praying on one or two occasions. They go to church regularly, but still they spurn it. Yet at other times, we see that the Flanders are the only family in church. This is symbolic of the growing dissatisfaction America has with religion. And we see, that whenever people are not in church, (cite the one where aliens take over Springfield), wild mobs are a likely candidate to take its place.
The Simpsons is so appealing on so many levels that it is hard not to like it. It mimics reality to a degree that is almost disturbing. Then it distorts it. Then it layers a level of cynical humour on top. And there you have it. For whatever reason, the Simpsons have captured America's heart. Even if they don't like it, nearly everybody will have some passing familiarity with the show.
Well, that was a very badly written article. How about some interesting facts. Simpsons debuted in 1990, so is in its 11th season. The origins for the name Bart was brat. Matt Groening, the creator of Simpsons has parents named Henry and Margaret and a sister named Lisa. Marge has such tall hair because that is how Matt saw his mom's hair as a kid. Matt had a short spiky haircut as a kid too.....like Bart. There've been probably in excess of 200 guest celebrity appearances on the Simpsons. Yeardley Smith, the voice of Lisa used to be on Herman's Head, one of what I thought was the best stupid shows ever. Maybe an article on it will be forthcoming...