�PAGE � �PAGE �9� Jorgenson
Matt Groening: artistic, verbal, and satirical genius
Every author's dream is to create such a multidimensional work, that people of all walks of life can enjoy it. Matt Groening has produced several works that have been able to capture the attention of not only the citizens of the United States, but also throughout over seventy countries. His most well known project, "The Simpsons," has kept its place among the top 15 most watched shows, since its debut in the late 1980s.
Childhood shapes the way people transition into adulthood, and ultimately into success stories. Born the third child in a family of five, he was a typical middle child (Billen 2). He strived for attention; often finding it through antics at school. His character was very much influenced by his father, Homer, a filmmaker, and his mother, Marge (Authors 2).
They encouraged his creativity, which led to his first time getting published as a preteen.
English: Matt Groening at the 2010 Comic Con in Sa...
Matt Groening at the 2009 Comic Con in San Diego.
Cover of Life In Hell No. 4, published in 1978."Jack and Jill" magazine solicited its patrons to send in an ending for a Halloween story. With his morbid ending, that involved a boy that dies and haunts his family (2). Groening struggled in school to contend with the authority figures' suppression of creativity. He was routinely sent to the office for drawing in class (Peacock 42). It never made any sense to him why teachers would rip up his cartoons. Art is one of the few ways people are able to understand their ancestors--societies that do not encourage artistic freedom are preventing its legacy from being understood by the world (Authors 2).
Groening's frustration with the bureaucracy of the schooling system is evident at the beginning of each "Simpsons" episode. The son, "Bart," is shown at the introduction of every show writing on the chalkboard as punishment. Most...