The Simpsons, Satire, and American Culture
How is The Simpsons a satirical artwork engaged with important social, political, and cultural issues? In time for the twenty-fifth anniversary, Henry offers the first comprehensive understanding of the show as a satire and explores the ways in which The
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The Simpsons, Satire, and American Culture Matthew A. Henry
THE SIMPSONS, SATIRE, AND AMERICAN CULTURE
Copyright © Matthew A. Henry, 2012. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2012 All rights reserved. First published in 2012 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-43976-8 ISBN 978-1-137-02779-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9781137027795 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Henry, Matthew A., 1965– The Simpsons, satire, and American culture / Matthew A. Henry. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978–1–137–02778–8 (alk. paper) 1. Simpsons (Television program) I. Title. PN1992.77.S58H46 2012 791.45⬘72—dc23
2012011553
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First edition: October 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Kathy, who set me on the path
Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction: The Simpsons, Satire, and American Culture
ix 1
1 “Entertain and Subvert”: Fox Television, Satirical Comedy, and The Simpsons
19
2 “You’re an American Now”: Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality on The Simpsons
45
3 “Don’t Ask Me, I’m Just a Girl”: Feminism, Female Identity, and The Simpsons
79
4 “The Whole World’s Gone Gay!”: Gay Identity, Queer Culture, and The Simpsons
109
5 “Upper-Lower-Middle-Class Types”: Socioeconomic Class on The Simpsons
135
6 “Gabbin’ about God”: Religiosity and Secularity on The Simpsons
167
Conclusion: American Culture, Satire, and The Simpsons
201
Notes
209
Bibliography
251
Index
285
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Acknowledgments
T
his book has been a work in progress for many years. Its origins are in a paper I wrote (20 years ago!) for a graduate seminar on postmodern culture while a student at SUNY Brockport. At that point, The Simpsons was still a new phenomenon, and virtually no critical work had been done on the show. I am deeply grateful to Mark Anderson for encouraging me to explore uncharted territory. The end product, an essay entitled “The Triumph of Popular Culture: Situation Comedy, Postmodernism, and The Simpsons,” received great interest when I presented it at the Popular Culture Association conference, and it was quickly accepted for publication in Studies in Popular Culture. I would not have had the courage to present this piece at a conference—much less circulate it for publication—if it wer
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