Sunday, December 15, 2019
The Simpsons Are Sociologically Savvy a Postmodernist Perspective Free Essays
string(42) " the point of absurdityâ⬠\(2004 p264\)\." The Simpsons are Sociologically Savvy: a Postmodernist Perspective Using The Simpsons, a long-running American animated continuing series, as a case study I will analyse the links between audiences, production and text in the creation of meaning. Using a triangulated approach of close textual reading, and theoretical models of post-modernism and queer theory to question the role of agenda setting in contemporary society, I will identify particular mechanisms of agenda setting within this example. The Simpsons, described by Paul Cantor (1999) is a ââ¬Å"postmodern re-creation of the first generation family sit-comâ⬠(p738) which can be used effectively to illustrate innovative and radical themes and encourages critical thinking. We will write a custom essay sample on The Simpsons Are Sociologically Savvy: a Postmodernist Perspective or any similar topic only for you Order Now David Arnold (2001) describes The Simpsons as ââ¬Å"an irresponsible text, one rich in associations and connotations [â⬠¦] a self-parodic, self-referential pastiche of previous textsâ⬠(p264). I will endeavour to show that despite the fact that The Simpsons is associated with cartoons, which in their very nature are assumed to be childish and frivolous, it is because of all of the above associations that the postmodern Simpsons are useful as a pedagogical tool (Hobbs, 1998) and can be used to teach adults and children various sociological issues including sexual identities and hegemony. The Simpsons lends itself to be a vehicle of a ââ¬Ëmedia-virusââ¬â¢ which according to Douglas Rushkoff (1994) can carry [the] ââ¬Å"revolutionary message conveyed in an apparently innocent, neutral packageâ⬠(cited in Irwin et Al 2001 p254). Such programmes appear to have proven to be the most acceptable and accessible spaces to show such subjects as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (glbt) identities because of their separation from reality. Arnold (2001) claims that the ridiculousness of the funny yellow looking characters who pop up on your television and look almost human, but with crazy storylines and unbelievable un-human like behaviours ââ¬Å"increase their ability to function as satiric signifiersâ⬠(p262). Itââ¬â¢s because of their unfeasibility, their ââ¬Å"lack of seriousnessâ⬠that Diane Raymond (2003 cited in Dines Humez) maintains allows programmes like The Simpsons to ââ¬Å"â⬠¦play with themes under cover of humour where those themes might be too volatile or even too didactic for another sort of audienceâ⬠(p101). The Simpsons creators and writers rely on the history of other shows and they take from them all the best titbits rewarding their viewers according to Rushkoff (2004) with ââ¬Å"a-ha momentsâ⬠or ââ¬Å"pattern recognitionâ⬠(p296). Whether it is Maggie in ââ¬ËA Streetcar Named Margeââ¬â¢ (1992, 9F18) attempting to rescue her dummy-tit at Springfieldââ¬â¢s day-care centre to the theme tune of The Great Escape by Elmer Bernstein. Or when Homer arrives to pick her up some of the babies are precariously perched and watch on, which to the media literate is an obvious spoof of The Birds a classic Hitchcock movie from 1963. The wedding scene from The Graduate is spoofed in ââ¬ËOne fish, two fish, blowfishââ¬â¢ (1991, 7F11) where Homer bangs on the living room window and shouts ââ¬Å"Margeâ⬠at the top of his voice. ââ¬ËLisaââ¬â¢s Substituteââ¬â¢ (1991, SF19), is where we see yet another classic scene from the The Graduate, where the substitute teacher is seen at the front of the class through Mrs Krabappelââ¬â¢s leg which is hitched up on the desk and Bartââ¬â¢s teacher says those famous words ââ¬Å"Mrs. Krabappel, youââ¬â¢re trying to seduce me. Some of the audience, children moreover adults may see the ridiculousness of the scenes as ââ¬Ëfunnyââ¬â¢ but may not see the more hidden intertextual message due to their time spent viewing media texts. However David Buckingham (2001) claims that children are more active, and sophisticated users [â⬠¦] that they see much more television and are able to detect and decipher the ââ¬Å"formal codes and conventions about gen re and narrative, and about the production processâ⬠(cited in Barker and Petely 2001). These pieces of intertextual fragmented texts have different connotations to different ââ¬Ëreadersââ¬â¢. For example in The Graduate the storyline, for the chief protagonist, was about the coming of age and losing his virginity and the power it gave him, this ââ¬Ërevolutionary messageââ¬â¢ would not be available in prime-time viewing unless such a vehicle as The Simpsons made it accessible through its animation. Ironically The Simpsons was created to be a ââ¬Ëbridging deviceââ¬â¢ for The Tracy Ullman Show to cross from the main parts of the show into adverts (Rushkoff 2004 p295). The Simpsons became more popular than the host show and Matt Groening the showââ¬â¢s creator was offered $10m and a 13 episode series at FOX Television (Ibid p295). According to Allen Larson (2004) technological advances, the availability of cable, federal deregulation and corporate consolidation were already in place from the 1980s and 90s but the media conglomerates further assisted the development of corporations like FOX Television which refined prime time sit-coms and the commodification of the audience, they ââ¬Å"re-imagined, and re-exploited profit maximisationâ⬠(cited in Stabile Harrison 2004 p56). At the onset of the 90s production costs for a show like The Simpsons would have cost around $600,000 (Mallory 1996, Karlin 1993b cited in Stabile Harrison p56) and so attention to attracting the widest demographic was crucial. Merchandising to children was the future as the cable-age children had already become consumers and so the conglomerates ââ¬Å"turned the full force of their attention towards maximising the potential revenue streams provided by childrenâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Ibid pp57-59). USA Today reported in 2009 that in the previous year ââ¬Å"Consumers worldwide spent more than $750 million on Simpsons-related licensed merchandise [â⬠¦]â⬠(Lieberman, 2009). Television programming is not only programming the viewerââ¬â¢s sets but the viewers themselves in order to sell them a product (Rushkoff 2004, p293) [â⬠¦] which would prove why ââ¬Å"advertisers spent $314. 8 million [in 2008] on the prime-time show on Fox and reruns that local stations airâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (Lieberman, 2009). Postmodernism points toward the fact that we no longer create anything other than the texts made up from the materials which already existed and we patch them together to make fun of that which is present and now. Furthermore there is a notion of ââ¬Ëit doesnââ¬â¢t get any better than thisââ¬â¢ The Simpsons uses all the good bits from the past to fill the present, history is no longer being made it could be perceived. Arnold claims that The Simpsons ââ¬Å"â⬠¦lampoon and amplifies that cultureââ¬â¢s foibles up to and beyond the point of absurdityâ⬠(2004 p264). You read "The Simpsons Are Sociologically Savvy: a Postmodernist Perspective" in category "Essay examples" Jameson is in agreement (1984 and 1991) he insists that postmodernism has a ââ¬Å"new depthlessnessâ⬠and that globalised late capitalism does not allow for the text to be critically analysed but commodified and consumed. Jameson states that ââ¬Å"they no longer simply ââ¬Ëquote,ââ¬â¢ as a Joyce or a Mahler might have done, but incorporate into their very substanceâ⬠(1991 p3). Intertextual referencing is key to how The Simpsons works as a postmodern text, although legible to the avid reader of texts, a certain amount of media literacy is required which has taken many decades to achieve, leaving the adult to appreciate the intertextuality of high culture embedded in the ââ¬Ëfunny animationââ¬â¢. The timing with which The Simpsons emerged into mainstream television has proven to be crucial- The Simpsons could not have thrived on prime-time network television unless it was embraced by an audience so advanced in ââ¬Å"TV literacyâ⬠that they are able to recognize and relish the signs and symbols from TV culture which the show continuously throws at them (Bj? rnsson 2006). In various episodes The Simpsons have portrayed many sociological concepts, for example; Aging and health in ââ¬ËStark Raving Dadââ¬â¢ (1991, 7F24); Class and socioeconomic status in ââ¬ËBurnsââ¬â¢ Heirââ¬â¢ (1994, 1F16); Crime law and criminal justice in ââ¬ËHomer the Vigilanteââ¬â¢ (1F09). Homer has dealt with the urge to cheat on his wife Marge ââ¬ËThe Last Temptation of Homerââ¬â¢ and ââ¬ËLife on The Fast Laneââ¬â¢ (1993, IF07 1990, 7G11). The horror of war was tackled in ââ¬ËThe Principal and the Pauperââ¬â¢ (1997, 4F23) and homosexuality in ââ¬ËHomerââ¬â¢s Phobiaââ¬â¢ (1997, 4F11) (The Simpsons Archive, 2010). It is this last issue of other sexual identities in The Simpsons which I will be analysing using queer theory as an analytical framework. ââ¬Å"Queer is a category in fluxâ⬠according to Raymond (2003, cited in Dines Humez p98). Historically the term was used in a negative or derogatory manner, although most recently the term is used to identify marginalised identities such as gay, lesbian bisexual and transgender (glbt). Queer theory identifies ââ¬Å"a body of knowledge connected to but not identical with lesbian/gay studiesâ⬠(Ibid p98). According to Raymond (2003) queer theory emerged in the 1960s and 1970s and ââ¬Å"unlike their earlier theoretical forebears like Marxism and feminism â⬠¦ [do not demand] exclusive theoretical allegiance or hegemony (Ibid p99). Instead it asks; what is the point in asking why someone is gay? Or what is the function the question of causation serves in the culture and in ideology? â⬠Queer theorists look less at the nature/nurture argument of Charles Darwin and in addition ask that we see the term as ââ¬Ëfluidââ¬â¢ and not ââ¬Ëfixedââ¬â¢. ââ¬ËHomerââ¬â¢s Phobiaââ¬â¢ (1997, 4F11) looks at Homer and his homophobic behaviour when he meets and befriends a gay man John who is voiced by writer and director John Waters of the critically acclaimed and very camp film ââ¬ËHairsprayââ¬â¢. John sells kitsch collectibles in a shopping mall and enjoys chatting to his customers. John tries to explain to Homer what ââ¬Ëcampââ¬â¢ means when he is showing him around the shop which Homer doesnââ¬â¢t understand. To explain John says that camp is ââ¬Å"The tragically ludicrous? The ludicrously tragic? â⬠When Homer still doesnââ¬â¢t get it, he adds ââ¬Å"â⬠¦more like inflatable furniture or Last Supper TV traysâ⬠The penny finally drops as Homer has made a connection, albeit a financial one, and replies ââ¬Å"and that kinda stuff is worth money? â⬠¦Man you should come over to our place â⬠¦Ã¢â¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s full of valuable worthless crapâ⬠. Johnââ¬â¢s views ââ¬Å"echoes cultural critic Andrew Rossââ¬â¢ argument that camp is primarily concerned with reconstituting historyââ¬â¢s trash as reasureâ⬠(Cunningham 2003). Ross (1989) writes ââ¬Å"The knowledge about history is the precise moment when camp takes over, because camp involves a rediscovery of historyââ¬â¢s wasteâ⬠(p151, cited in Cunningham 2003). This piece also serves to confirm Medhurstââ¬â¢s claim that camp ââ¬Å"is now absolutely everywhereâ⬠(1997 p289 cited in Sullivan, p194) and so Homer has become completely blind to it. Homer has not realised John is gay even though there have been quite a few stereotypical ââ¬Ëa-ha momentsââ¬â¢ (Rushkoff, p296) or ââ¬Ëknowing nodsââ¬â¢ to his sexual identity. John has knowledge of female Hollywood actresses and gossip, an appreciation of Margeââ¬â¢s hair John even answers in a ââ¬Ëcampââ¬â¢ manner with ââ¬Å"my heart is palpitating, hoo hooâ⬠. Marge conversely has determined Johnââ¬â¢s sexual identity and later, at home, informs Homer of it (much to his disgust). This may signal that the producers are aware of how different people have different ââ¬Ëcultural capitalââ¬â¢ (Bourdieu, 1977) or that Marge and women for that matter are more adept at reading the signals in media-represented images of sexual identities and can see the signifiers due to the time spent watching television. It may also signify the ways in which gay men have been ââ¬Ëreducedââ¬â¢ to the status of women i. e. engaging in tittle-tattle and pointing out good hair-dos. According to Gross (1995) misinformation and gay stereotyping in the media is due to ââ¬Å"lack of first-hand knowledge of gays and lesbiansâ⬠(cited in Raymond 2003). Media texts are ââ¬Ëpolysemicââ¬â¢, meaning they have many meanings to many people, although Stuart Hall (1980) states the texts do not have an infinite number of interpretations as they ââ¬Å"remain structured in dominanceâ⬠. Nicholas Abercrombie (1996) claims that ââ¬Å"audiences are not blank pieces of paperâ⬠¦Ã¢â¬ (p140 cited in Hanes 2000). Reception Studies agree that the meaning is not inherent within the text itself and that the audience create the meanings using their own cultural capital. Morleyââ¬â¢s reception study ââ¬ËNationwideââ¬â¢ in 1980 will attest to this fact. In 1992 Morley revisited his ââ¬ËNationwideââ¬â¢ study and found that there were ââ¬Å"totally contradictory readings of the same programme item [â⬠¦]â⬠. There are many criticisms of reception theories, Morley himself states that ââ¬Å"it shows an understanding of the micro-process of consumptionâ⬠¦and without reference to the broader cultural questionâ⬠¦ [which is then] of only limited valueâ⬠(1992, p272). Signs of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (glbt) identities are clearly shown in The Simpsons; in ââ¬ËHomerââ¬â¢s Phobiaââ¬â¢ (1997, 4F11) Roscoe and his fellow workers at the ââ¬ËSpringfield Steel Millââ¬â¢ are openly gay and host ââ¬Ëgay discosââ¬â¢ after working hours. The scene in the mill looks like a ââ¬Ëguerrilla attackââ¬â¢ where hundreds of gay men have descended on the unsuspecting Simpsons to make them feel like the minority in the ââ¬Ëqueered spaceââ¬â¢. ââ¬ËGuerrilla tacticsââ¬â¢ like ââ¬Ëqueeringââ¬â¢ are seen in America where glbt people gather in an unsuspecting venue. The venue would commonly be frequented by mainly heterosexuals, the dominant sexual identity. With a flood of glbt patrons the glbt have changed their position to a dominant one within that space. This encourages the audience to see what it must feel like to be in the minority, but also highlights that there are other sexual identities, that heterosexuality is not superior and that gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender people live in your street, work in your factories, they have worthwhile jobs contributing to society just like heterosexual people. Queeringââ¬â¢ extends to texts too as shown above and also in ââ¬ËThree Gays of the Condoââ¬â¢ (2003, EABF12) where Homer shared a room with Grady and Julio who were both openly gay. Glbt identities are also hidden, for example Judge Constance Harm is transgender in ââ¬ËThe Parent Rapââ¬â¢ (2001, CABF22) the judge refers to ââ¬Ëonce being a manââ¬â¢. There are also the characters such as Waylon Smithers and Dewey Largo who are still in the closet and all of these stories offer viewers a little ââ¬Ëqueer pleasureââ¬â¢. In ââ¬ËMy Fair Laddyââ¬â¢ Brunella Pommelhorst the gym teacher at Bartââ¬â¢s school tells her students she will return in the next semester as Mr Pommelhorst the new shop teacher (2006, HABF05). Margeââ¬â¢s sister Patty who ââ¬Ëcomes outââ¬â¢ to her in when Springfield became a same-sex-marriage tolerant town to bring in much needed revenue (after Bart brings it into disrepute). Agenda setting in the media is made accessible in The Simpsons and can be seen especially in ââ¬ËThereââ¬â¢s Something about Marryingââ¬â¢ (2005, 16E10). Mayor Quimby in a speech says he is ââ¬Å"happy to legalise gay moneyâ⬠¦ I mean ah gay marriageâ⬠. This may be in response to an article reported by Catherine Donaldson-Evans (2004) written for FOXNEWS. com that states ââ¬Å"Recognizing same-sex couples and families as an emerging market, large corporations have begun targeting the demographic in their adsâ⬠[â⬠¦] [the ads are] focused on the micro-lifestyles of the consumers, and same-sex families are a micro-lifestyle. â⬠This clearly shows the emergent culture of commodification of sexual identity. ââ¬ËThereââ¬â¢s Something About Marryingââ¬â¢ (2005 16E10) which is a clear intertextual reference to the film Thereââ¬â¢s something about Mary which itself may also be pointing out through the use of intertextuality the name given to Gay men i. e. ââ¬ËMarysââ¬â¢ or ââ¬Ëlittle-Marysââ¬â¢) was it seems written in response to the controversy in America over gay marriages which was ââ¬Å"a particularly hot topic in the US [at the moment] during election campaigningâ⬠(BBC 2004). In February 2004 ââ¬Å"President Bush announced his support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying he wants to stop activist judges from changing the definition of the ââ¬Å"most enduring human institutionâ⬠(Huus, 2004). This makes for a difficult position to be in as a queer viewer. Jacqueline Rose (1986) has noted, ââ¬Å"The relationship between viewer and scene is always one of fracture, partial identification, pleasure and distrustâ⬠(p227 cited in Raymond, 2003, p100). The Simpsons are not subversive or anti-family, in fact they are probably quite conservative Homer attempts to vote for Democrat Barack Obama in ââ¬ËTreehouse of Horror XIXââ¬â¢ (S20E04, 2008) however the machine would not allow him and instead registered his vote for John McCain a Republican ââ¬Å"in a humorous take on the allegations of voter fraud that [had] occurred in prior electionsâ⬠(Stelter, 2008). How to cite The Simpsons Are Sociologically Savvy: a Postmodernist Perspective, Essay examples
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