An Analysis of The Simpsons

Essay by jonyHigh School, 10th gradeB-, February 2004

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An Analysis of The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a very successful animated sitcom. Sitcom is an abbreviation of situation comedy. A sitcom is a comedy in which you have different storylines every episode. Other famous animated sitcoms are Family Guy, Futurama and South Park.

The Simpsons is the brainchild of Matt Groening (rhymes with complaining) and started of as 30 second sketches on the Tracy Ullman Show. They proved so successful that the Fox Network decided to produce a half hour long version and so on December 1989 The Simpsons as we know and love was born.

Before The Simpsons was introduced many sitcoms were quite bland and a perfect reflection of family life. Matt Groening decided to make a programme that reacted against these middle class, formulaic sitcoms.

The purpose of The Simpsons is above all to entertain otherwise no one will watch it, however The Simpsons also exposes stereotypes and satirises aspects of mainstream cultures and institutions that are wrong as a way of ridiculing them.

The main appeal of The Simpsons lies with its target audience. My younger sister enjoys watching The Simpsons as she enjoys seeing Bart and Lisa getting into trouble and also because it has a lot of funny moments that even children will enjoy, for example when Barney rolls into everyone during the soccer riot. Me and my parents enjoy it as it has adult jokes and adult themes such as when Patty and Selma are seducing the repairman. Many other animated sitcoms like South Park have failed to equal The Simpsons wide age range and that is a reason why they don't match The Simpsons' accomplishments.

In 'The Cartridge Family', Homer buys a gun to protect his family after a 'citywide orgy of destruction' but it causes friction with Marge...