of the townsfolk, such as Mr Burns (Homer's miserly boss), Smithers (Burns's loving assistant), Apu (Indian shop owner), Principal Skinner and Moe (owner of the local bar). There are a number of reasons why we cannot simply view The Simpsons as a cartoon like any other. The rules and conventions that it follows are far more those of television or cinema than those of animation. The humour within The Simpsons exists on many different levels ranging from the obvious to the subtle, from the literary to the movie reference, and beyond. But most importantly we must consider the show's ability to make significant social comment, on general issues of culture and society, but more specifically on television, film and media, and on audience viewing and acceptance of these media. Traditionally, cartoons have been action driven and animation. Aside from the use of cameras to create the visual illusion of depth (Walt Disney famously explained the 'complicated' technique used to allow Mickey Mouse to walk along a street without distorting depth or perspective), cartoons had a language of their own, unique and separate from that of cinema or television. They were simple and without layered meanings. They had their own conventions that were regularly used and easily understood by children. These included falling anvils, cannon balls, dynamite and gunpowder. Generally most situations in traditional cartoons are very simple and similar. They are based on a basic relationship between the chaser and chased. For examples look no further than children's television and you will see Tom chase Jerry, Wylie Coyote chase Roadrunner and Yosemite Sam chase Bugs Bunny. So what makes The Simpsons different from these more traditional cartoon forms? Both the characters in The Simpsons their roles and situations are far more complex than in traditional animation. Indeed, what are seen as sub-characters are often the bases of stories, as executive producer Bill Oakley explains: "Over eight years we've developed a town full of characters...Moe, Mr Burns or Principal Skinner can all provide the engines for stories." Producers of The Simpsons say they concentrate more on scripts than on animation, making the show more humour and script based than action based. But despite The Simpsons being seen by many as a sitcom, Oakley likes to keep the show fresh, and generally avoids sitcom writers: "We want people who are not ruined by the standard sitcom form." One of the most important factors in explaining The Simpsons's cross-generational and broad demographic appeal is the sophistication of its writing. It is constructed to exist at many different levels. In terms of its humour, creator Groening says: "There are the obvious jokes, the visual sight gags, the subtle literary allusions and at the most subtle, what we call the freeze frame gags." While I agree with Groening, I would categorise the humour slightly differently. The first level is 'blatant comedy'. This includes "obvious jokes". The appeal to children that originally heralded The Simpsons is based on blatant comedy and the antics of Bart, such as his famous phone pranks: Bart phones Moe's tavern. Moe: Moe's Tavern. Bart: Hello, is Al there? Moe: Al? Bart: Yeah, Al. Last name: Coholic. Moe: Lemme check... [calls] Phone call for Al. Al Coholic. Is there an Al Coholic here? [bar denizens laugh] Wait a minute... [to phone] Listen, you little yellow-bellied rat jackass, if I ever find out who you are, I'm gonna kill you! This level also includes other forms of blatant humour, such as juxtaposition, and many of the visual sight gags. It can also include the simplistic use of repetition, such as catch-phrase comedy. Many of the characters have catch-phrases which are repeated wherever possible. The most famous of these are Homer's "D'oh!" and Bart's "Eat my shorts!" Other repetitive jokes are in the form of the opening sequence, of which there are many variations. They are the lines that Bart writes during his det

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4127
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)