when i googled the NRO review i also came across this analysis of the simpsons from a foreign perspective...i thought it was quite good
it's pretty long, and seems a tad over-oriented to the mechanics of how the series works, but draws the correct conclusions..
uta.fi
4. Conclusion
As seen above, the characterization of The Simpsons can usually be interpreted to represent the authors' views of the three examined occupational groups. These cornerstones of western societies are usually approached with irony based on the language that the characters in The Simpsons use. The representatives of police forces, doctors and lawyers, as they are pictured in the series, are not only negative stereotypes, but also caricatures based on both these stereotypes, as well as on exaggeration, which satirizes these stereotypical beliefs. In other words, the authors not only seem to state their opinions, but also create humour, which is best done by ironizing both the actual behaviour of these occupational groups and the general ideals and views people have of them. Humour is, then, used as a means to slip in more delicate and general social commentary.
In conclusion, it can be said (with slight exaggeration), that in the miniature society of The Simpsons, the police are pictured as lazy and incompetent individuals who abuse their power. Doctors are pictured as seekers of personal gain who have no ethics, and lawyers as greedy ‘shysters’ who manipulate and disobey the law to achieve their personal goals. Of course, these features do not appear in every circumstance nor are they always as extreme. If irony is overused as a method of social commentary, it tends to lose its power. This is why the humour in The Simpsons appears on several levels: besides subtle irony and clever observations on cultural and social phenomena, there is always quite a bit of more traditional cartoon humour in every episode.
Besides commenting upon American occupational groups, the authors of the series can be argued to express their opinions also about other, more general matters, such as politics and the lack of proper social security. This criticism appears in two ways. First, it is often merged with certain characters with certain occupations, as in the examples examined here. Secondly, criticism is often shown via cultural and social references to ‘real’ American society (for example, via starring popular celebrities and commentary on contemporary media issues).
Detecting social criticism demands quite a bit from the viewer, or, say, a translator working with The Simpsons. Besides having the background knowledge of American society and ways of thinking, the viewer needs to be able to interpret and identify the criticism, which is sometimes embedded, or not visible on the surface. In order to form a personal understanding of the social reality that is described and commented upon via the characters in The Simpsons, the viewer has to be able to see the big picture of American reality, and The Simpsons as only one representation of it. Only, for instance, by keeping up with what goes on in the world and by examining the picture of the world as given in other popular culture texts would a viewer or a translator be equipped to understand what is actually being made fun of in The Simpsons.
However, because the humour and social commentary of The Simpsons works on a variety of levels and demands background knowledge from the viewer, it is understandable that few viewers can detect each and every embedded piece of potential social commentary in the series. Such commentaries can be seen to resist the viewer’s individual screening, because he/she cannot see it. Rather, one would be tempted to say that in such a situation the subtle social commentary affects the viewer unconsciously.
If the viewer cannot detect a socially motivated detail in The Simpsons, he/she cannot form his/her own opinion about the authors' way of portraying the particular phenomenon in question. Therefore, the receiver cannot maintain a personal distance to how American life is pictured. The portraits of American life drawn weekly in The Simpsons may, thus, have an insidious effect on how the viewer comes to see American society and culture. This is one of the reasons why it is important to examine the language used in The Simpsons and to find out what sort of image the series actually presents of American reality.
Language plays an essential part in how the miniature society of The Simpsons is formed and in how it is used as an equivalent of American society. Other texts and media presentations are cited and satirized, for example, in the speech of the characters, and language conventions and language-use situations are often reformed and their rules are broken on purpose. Besides the irony and satire, the more traditional visual cartoon humour and slapstick comic serve to balance the more refined humour and give viewers an easy access to the series.
However, the main tool in the creation of humour and the potential social commentary is the language, without which the authors of The Simpsons could not describe American society and other topics discussed in every episode of the series. |
