The Simpsons - A Cartoon Portrait of the American Family
Critics describe the series as "the most realistically surreal cartoon series ever." Former First Lady Barbara Bush commented in an interview that was published by People magazine (September, 1990) that the show was "the dumbest thing I've ever seen." In 1992, a group of parents in Greenwood, South Carolina, protested the school board's approval of the name "Springfield Elementary" for a new school being built there. ("Springfield" is the name of the Simpson's hometown.) The school board supervising Greenwood had sponsored a creative writing contest that would ultimately allow local students to choose the new school's name. The concerned parents group decried the choice saying that the character of Bart Simpson is a bad role model and said that it was disgrace that the district would honor the name of Bart's school. The school board although initially unaware of the name's television counterpart, held firm. Greenwood now has an elementary school named "Springfield." The Simpsons, a constant festival of disrespect, has graced television (if "graced" is a word that can ever be applied to the cartoon family) and the United States with a greater impact than most television series ever created. No wonder such a debate has arise
Lister, David It Jumps, It Moves, It Makes You Laugh and Cry...But Is It Art? The Independent, Tucker, Ken The Simpsons Keeps Outdoing Itself with Wry Sarcasm, Topical Themes, and Part of the charm of The Simpsons is their truly sweet, and bumbling, sincerity. The writers, producers, and Groening have masterfully illustrated that family life is so complicated, so full of unspoken wants and phobias, that it is impossible to narrow a portrayal of American home life to a series of sarcastic comebacks or emotional routine. The nearest the show has ever come to presenting a "message" were several episodes that turn the spotlight on the alcohol industry in the form of the profoundly cynical "Duff" beer company ("Can't get enough . . . of that wonderful Duff" is the company's tag line). (Victor, 1997) Ken Tucker, a columnist for "Entertainment Weekly" has noted that people have been investing strong emotions in cartoon characters at least as far back as Mickey Mouse. Fans of The Simpsons find that the program's sustained cleverness and humanity proves that devotion to animated characters is not misplaced. (Tucker, 1993) According to Tucker (1993, p.48), Groening's writers tend to make their sharpest points quickly, matter-of-factly. For example, when Bart's teacher thanked the little antihero for bringing in a deadly looking, American-made "neural-disrupter" gun for show-and-tell. "Don't thank me," says Bart with grand fake sincerity, "thank an unprecedented eight-year military buildup." (Groening, once asked if his politics weren't left of center, said, "I like to think of myself as middle of the road, but the rest of our culture would define me as loony left.") Artist-cartoonist-writer Matt Groening's animated family began life as disruptive little drawings tucked in between the sketches of real actors on "The Tracey
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1239
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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