Sun, June 3, 2007
D'oh!—11:47 AM
TVSquad has a quick blurb about how Springfield, Minnesota is not having any of the Simpsons Movie hoopla. It includes a quote from a woman who hates the show, finding it "unwholesome."
Which is technically true, but come on.
A couple of weeks ago, I picked up Seasons 7 thru 9 of The Simpsons on DVD for the low, low price of $27 apiece. (Thanks, Sam's Club! Now quit building Wal-Marts! No one wants you!) On the way out of the store, the lady who scribbles on your receipt with a highlighter took a look at my loot and said, "Oh, you like The Simpsons? I hate that show." And then something along the lines of "It's filth." We smiled and nodded, because there's no reason to debate ideologies with a woman who's being paid minimum wage to scribble on receipts with highlighters for no apparent reason other than she and the highlighter weren't doing anything else. (And don't think for a minute that if Walton MegaCorp could find a way to get the highlighting onto the receipt without that lady, they wouldn't kick her to the curb and stomp on her non-existent medical benefits.)
It seemed an odd place for soap-boxing. Maybe there's something about working at a big, faceless corporation with only one point of interaction with customers that causes people to use that moment as a mouthpiece.
Anyway, the point is, of course you can dislike The Simpsons. (And wouldn't it be great if both of these women were objecting not because of taste but because the show's writing has devolved into mirthless, tin-eared goop over the past few years?) In 1991, it made plenty of sense to be jumping up and down about how "unwholesome" the show was, because it was legitimately pushing boundaries, and some people are just crazy like that. But now, nearly twenty years later, it's absurd. It's integrated into the culture; we've collectively said, "Yes. That's within the bounds of contemporary mores and standards." For that matter, it helped create some of those standards. Today, The Simpsons is tame compared to its former self, as well as just about anything else on television. More importantly, in today's TV world, even the bawdiest, edgiest episode of The Simpsons would be pretty tame.
"Mike" — Sun, 6/3/07 4:28pm
And yet, it remains one of the few shows on TV where the characters go to church every Sunday, people get punished for doing wrong, and the family's unconditional love for each other shines through. These things were especially true during the most edge-pushing years of the show...sigh.
Joe Mulder — Sun, 6/3/07 7:06pm
I can see the WalMart lady yelling at you if you were buying, like, Season 18, but, Seasons 7-9?
Clearly anyone who says they "hate" "The Simpsons" just hasn't bothered to watch it (that goes for Seasons 3-11 or 12, by the way. You can hate the stuff that's on now if you want).
And Mike is right: during the years where people would have formed their opinions about "The Simpsons," it was indeed one of the most not unwholesome shows on TV.
Finally: I've been to Springfield, Minnesota. I've played baseball in Springfield, Minnesota.
Shame on Springfield, Minnesota.
Bee Boy — Sun, 7/8/07 4:15pm
What Would Homer Do? – detailing a rabbi who uses clips from The Simpsons to illustrate moral lessons in Hebrew School. So clearly some people get it.