The Simpsons and Politics
E Pluribus Springfield
Dr. Markus Hünemörder
LMU München
The Simpsons as Political Satire
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The Simpsons and Politics
The Simpsons as a Political Satire
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The Simpsons looks like an animated
sitcom, but is really a social, cultural
and esp. political satire
the show satirizes many aspects of
American society and politics
political satire on The Simpsons most
often contains a kernel of truth, then
exaggerates it to the point of craziness
in this manner, The Simpsons question
and subverts political authority by
displaying the crazy side of political
issues and institutions
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Mayor Quimby, a corrupt, drug-using, womanizing, incompetent
Democrat has been Springfield’s mayor for 25 years.
The Simpsons and Politics
The Simpsons: a Leftwing, Liberal Show?
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The Simpsons is obviously not
conservative, but is it liberal?
during the early years, conservatives
criticized The Simpsons as a bad
influence on children
liberals sometimes criticize the show
for not attacking social wrongs more
directly
the show does not pursue a political
agenda directly; instead, it typically
satirizes all sides of an issue, exposing
both conservative and liberal stupidity
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Groundskeeper Willie coined the phrase “cheese-eating surrender
monkeys”, which became a conservative insult to the French at
the beginning of the Iraq War.
The Simpsons and Politics
Making Fun of Politicians
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The Simpsons and Politics
Politicians on The Simpsons
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making fun of politicians is one of the
most obvious methods of political
satire
as a rule, real life politicians do not do
their own voice acting on The Simpsons
when they are satirized
started when George H.W. Bush
attacked The Simpsons in 1992
Bill Clinton also appeared frequently on
the show
George W. Bush and Barack Obama
have not appeared, but often
mentioned
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In “Bart to the Future” (2000), Bart has a vision of Lisa as
president in the future.
The Simpsons and Politics
Bush v. Simpsons
The Simpsons, 1992,
4th season (DVD bonus feature)
This was a special re-run of 3rd season
episode “Stark Raving Dad”, aired
shortly after president Bush said he
wanted American families to be “a lot
more like the Waltons and a lot less
like the Simpsons”.
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The Simpsons and Politics
Two Bad Neighbors
The Simpsons, 1996,
7th season
George H.W. Bush moves in across the
street from the Simpsons. They do not
get along at all and start an epic
neighborhood feud.
In this clip, Homer and Bart play a
prank on Bush.
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The Simpsons and Politics
Saddlesore Galactica
The Simpsons, 2000
11th season
Lisa feels that her band lost unfairly at
a contest. She keeps complaining,
even to the president. Eventually,
Clinton shows up and gives her the
award.
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The Simpsons and Politics
The Simpsons,
Political Parties, and Elections
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The Simpsons and Politics
Political Parties in Springfield
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the Springfield Republicans: rich
white men meeting at a vampire’s
castle and behaving like a secret
society
the Springfield Democrats: women,
gays and minorities meeting at a
salad bar
both are common clichés about the
parties
neither cliché is true, but there is
enough (exaggerated) truth to them
to be satirically funny
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Montgomery Burns is the richest man in town and leader of
the Springfield Republicans
The Simpsons and Politics
E Pluribus Wiggum
The Simpsons, 2008
19th season
Springfield holds the first presidential
primary in the nation. Because so
many Springfieldians are fed up with
established politicians, they support
Ralph Wiggum, the mentally
challenged son of the chief of police.
Consequently, both the Republican
and Democratic parties want Ralph as
their candidate.
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The Simpsons and Politics
E Pluribus Wiggum
The Simpsons, 2008
19th season
Springfield holds the first presidential
primary in the nation. Because so
many Springfieldians are fed up with
established politicians, they support
Ralph Wiggum, the mentally
challenged son of the chief of police.
Consequently, both the Republican
and Democratic parties want Ralph as
their candidate.
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The Simpsons and Politics
Elections in Springfield
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elections play a frequent role on The
Simpsons
many Springfieldians run for office,
including Mayor Quimby, Mr. Burns,
Krusty the Clown and even Homer
elections from real life also come to
Springfield, esp. presidential elections
and the presidential primaries
The Simpsons often make jokes about
strange candidates and issues and
allegations of election fraud (e.g. 2004
in Ohio)
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Mayor Quimby has been mayor of Springfield for over 20
years. His election slogans are often bizarre.
The Simpsons and Politics
E Pluribus Wiggum
The Simpsons, 2008
19th season
Springfield holds the first presidential
primary in the nation. Because so
many Springfieldians are fed up with
established politicians, they support
Ralph Wiggum, the mentally
challenged son of the chief of police.
In the end, Ralph is nominated by
both parties
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The Simpsons and Politics
Treehouse of Horror XIX
The Simpsons, 2008
This is the opening of the 2008
Halloween episode, aired shortly
before the presidential election.
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The Simpsons and Politics
Political Issues on The Simpsons
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The Simpsons and Politics
Political Issues on The Simpsons
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over the years, The Simpsons have
satirized many of the most
controversial political issues in the US
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gun control
illegal immigration
war and patriotism
same-sex marriage
environmental issues
women’s rights
political corruption
many others
in many cases, there are one or more
entire episodes focusing on these
issues
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Lisa is the most political member of the Springfield family,
and often the first to be outraged by injustice and corruption.
The Simpsons and Politics
Real Political Issue: Same-Sex Marriage
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from the late 1960s until today,
homosexual / LGBT Americans have
achieved equal rights in nearly all
aspects of society
the last big barrier was marriage
conservative churches and most of the
Republican party oppose same-sex
marriage
for many years, one of the sharpest
social conflicts in America
in 2015, the Supreme Court legalized
same-sex marriage in all of the US, 10
years after it was legal in Springfield!
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The Obama administration supported the legalization of same-sex
marriage and lit the White House in rainbow colors in celebration.
The Simpsons and Politics
There's Something About
Marrying
The Simpsons, 2005
16th season
When tourists stop coming to
Springfield, the town meeting
legalizes same-sex marriage to attract
gay couples’ business. The town even
runs a TV commercial to promote its
new policy.
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The Simpsons and Politics
There's Something About
Marrying
The Simpsons, 2005
16th season
When Springfield legalizes same-sex
marriage, Reverend Lovejoy opposes
the new law. Liberal Marge tries to
engage him in theological discussion,
to no avail.
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The Simpsons and Politics
There's Something About
Marrying
The Simpsons, 2005
16th season
Homer comes to the rescue.
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The Simpsons and Politics
Special Feature:
The Simpsons vs. Donald Trump
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The Simpsons and Politics
Making Fun of Donald Trump
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for many years, the idea of a Trump
presidency was a joke
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the Simpsons predicted it in 2000
when Trump actually ran for
president, the Simpsons produced
several jokes about him
The Simpsons predicted a Trump presidency in 2000.
In 2016, they were not happy about being right.
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The Simpsons and American Society
Bart to the Future
The Simpsons, 2000
While visiting an Indian casino, Bart
sees a vision of the future in 2030,
when Lisa is president of the United
States.
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The Simpsons and American Society
Trumptastic Voyage
The Simpsons, 2015
Homer is hired to cheer at a Donald
Trump campaign rally. When he
comes close to Trump’s infamous
hairdo, Homer is pulled into a strange
wonderland.
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The Simpsons and American Society
3 a.m.
The Simpsons, 2016
Marge and Homer Simpsons turn on
the TV to decide whether to vote for
Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
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The Simpsons and American Society
Homer Votes 2016
The Simpsons, 2016
Homer plans to vote for Clinton like
he promised Marge. Then he meets a
strange man at the polling station…
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The Simpsons and American Society
you can download this presentation (no videos, sorry)
and a bibliography for further reading
at www.amerikahaus.de/simpsons
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The Simpsons and Politics