Peace and Chicken” The Simpsons “do diversity” in the critical media literacy classroom W (original) (raw)

Through the Screen, into the School: Education, subversion, ourselves in The Simpsons

Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 2007

There is little question that popular television shows influence the shaping of social norms, identities, and the ways we navigate daily life. High profile shows are also a common magnet for critical attention. No primetime television show has provoked as wide a range of reactions as Fox's The Simpsons. From shock radio to public broadcasting pundits pour condemnations, accolades, and adulations for this unique cartoon sitcom. From the masses to the literary elite, the world's most famous animated family touch one and all, from the raw funny bone to the higher intellect. In a parallel vein, there is no lack of strong and varied opinion regarding education in the USA, and few venues do a more effective job at representing its core controversies than this weekly cartoon. Here I angle a mirror at the primetime television screen and suggest some ways this animated series reflects inner, outer, and systemic relationships with education. The beauty of The Simpsons in this regard is that the translucent motility of an ostensibly average nuclear family in the anywhere USA town of Springfield buffers the gaze just enough to allow us room to laugh, however uneasily.

A GRAMSCIAN AND ALTHUSSERIAN CRITIQUE OF THE SIMPSONS

A GRAMSCIAN AND ALTHUSSERIAN CRITIQUE OF THE SIMPSONS, 2020

As the all-time longest running television cartoon, The Simpsons bears a great deal of political implications. Among these implications, class conflict in general and Gramscian and Althusserian stand out in particular. Antonio Gramsci and Louis Althusser are two intellectuals who have provided significant contributions to Marxist literary theory. This article examines the renowned, American television show, The Simpsons from the viewpoint of Gramscian and Althusserian thought. Thus, the study analyzes the famous cartoon from the perspective of class conflict and criticizes it through the window of Gramscian civil society and hegemony while at the same time scrutinizing the work of popular culture by referring to Althusser's notion of ideological and state apparatuses. Having analyzed these notions in The Simpsons, the article concludes by demonstrating how seriously incorporated The Simpsons actually is with Gramscian and Althusserian references and how these are embedded in the sub-layers of the television production. Finally, it also reveals that the happiness behind the parody is purely artificial and leaves many questions unanswered. GRAMSCI VE ALTHUSSERCİ BAKIŞ AÇISIYLA SİMPSONLAR ELEŞTİRİSİ Özet Tüm zamanların en uzun süre yayımlanan televizyon çizgi yapımı olan The Simpsons, kendi bünyesinde pek çok politik imalar içermektedir. Bunların arasında genel anlamda sınıf çatışması ve özel olarak ise Gramsci ve Althusser'in kavramları ön plana çıkmaktadır. Antonio Gramsci ve Louis Althusser, Marksist eleştiri kuramına önemli katkılarda bulunmuş olan entelektüellerdir. Bu makale, dünyaca ünlü Amerikan çizgi filmi, The Simpsons'u Gramsci ve Althusserci bakış açısıyla incelemektedir. Buna göre, çalışma, The Simpsons adlı popüler kültür yapımını, sınıfsal açıdan incelemekte ve Gramsci'nin sivil toplum ile hegemonya kavramlarını, Althusser'in devlet aygıtları kavramları ile bağdaştırarak eleştirmektedir. Böylece makale, The Simpsons çizgi filminde mevcut olan Gramsci ve Althusser kavramlarını açığa çıkarmakta ve tüm politik imaları açıklığa kavuşturarak bu yapımın sınıfsal imalar ile ne denli yüklü olduğunu ve tüm bunların yapımın alt katmanlarında nasıl yerleştirilmiş olduklarını gözler önüne sermektedir. Son olarak, The Simpsons parodisinin arka planında yer alan mutluluğun tamamen yapay olduğu ve beraberinde gelen çeşitli soruları cevapsız bıraktığı kanısı da açığa çıkarılmaktadır.

The Simpsons: A Cultural History

2019

This book looks at The Simpsons' place in the pop culture firmament, from inspirations like Mad magazine to its critical role in the renaissance of animated television. The author recounts the birth of the show, discusses its remarkable merchandising success, and examines the show’s popularity as the longest running episodic program in TV history.

Intertextuality and Transmediality in The Simpsons

Intertextuality has enriched the Simpsons, creating relatable characters in whom viewers can invest themselves, and complex narratives that not only mock other texts, but are loaded with pre-established emotions and connotations that are translated to each episode. The Simpsons’ success over the past twenty-seven years can be measured by its phenomenal transmedial presence, existing in almost every media platform conceivable. In my essay, I would like to look at the purpose of intertextuality in the Simpsons, and briefly look at its role as a transmedial practice.

Converting Bart to Badr : Reviving Cultural Imperialism in The Simpsons

2013

This study concerns the Arabized version of The Simpsons in the context of the debate on Cultural Imperialism. Renamed Al Shamshoon, the satirical comedy was translated and given an Islamic flavor to attract its Arab audience. Despite efforts to localize the cartoon, Al Shamshoon flopped. Concurrently, despite coming under fire in the 90s, scholars such as Gray (2007), Harindranath (2003), and Tomlinson (2003) have called for reestablishing Cultural Imperialism. The legitimacy of Cultural Imperialism decreased due to developments of the Active Audience Theory, which challenged Cultural Imperialism’s argument that local audiences internalize western ideologies that the global media disseminate. Gray (2007), Harindranath (2003), and Tomlinson (2003) argue that this theory remains significant because it does not only critique the global media effects on local cultures, but also the political and economic disparities between developed and developing nations. This is because, developed n...

The Simpsons as a Parody of the American Way of Life

The Simpsons is a popular animated television show suitable for all audiences. The peculiarity of this programme apart from its longevity and the physical peculiarities of its characters is how parody is presented in each episode from beginning to end. Thus the aim of this series is to criticise the American way of life by making use of satire and sarcasm in every day situations. Taking The Simpsons as reference and using scenes of selected episodes to exemplify the arguments, firstly the importance of parody as a tool to criticise serious social situations will be analysed. Secondly, this paper will deal with how these cartoons reflect aspects of the American culture that also affect many other countries by examining current social topics such as class struggle, the role of women in society and religion. Finally, it will be demonstrated how these three topics reflect the true American society even though the method used is the parody through cartoons, which are not usually taken seriously. In addition, through this essay the relationship between these three topics will be examined as they share the research of integration in different social groups.

Emb(Rae)cing Awkward: Satire, Ambivalence, and Representation on YouTube

2018

There have been so many wonderful people who have helped me in this journey of thesis writing. I am bound to miss someone and forget another here and there. Every person in my life has contributed to my success in one way or another and I am thankful for the support you have shown. Dr. Dana Cloud, thank you for advising me not only in this thesis, but for the last two years. Your guidance has shaped me not only as an academic but also as an activist. Thank you for saying, "You can write this," and, "You'll get this to me by Tuesday, right?" Your guidance and critical eye made all the difference in this process. I am so thankful to have your support and confidence in my work and me when my own confidence was severely lacking. Thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! To my committee members, you are all so wonderful. Dr. Gwen Pough, thank you for your honesty and being able to ask the right questions. Thank you for believing in me, showing interest in my work, and having my back. Dr. Rachel Hall, thank you for your sharp critiques and boisterous laughter. Thank you for your sincere interest and care. Dr. Rand, thank you for your kindness, honesty, and rigor. Thank you for teaching me to be an academic, and for emulating the supportive academic I aspire to be. Dr. Charisse L'Pree, thank you for reminding me to write about what I love and showing me new ways of learning. Thank you for continuously asking, "How can you prove that?", thereby making me a stronger scholar. You all are such brilliant scholars and amazing humans and I am grateful to have learned something from each and every one of you. And to the administrative staff here in the Communication and Rhetorical Studies Department: Dr. Chuck Morris, thank you not only for teaching me to be a rhetorical critic, but also for bringing in an all-star team of academics to train me. Thank you for listening to your community and tirelessly working to foster a space where the students here can flourish. Sarah Francesconi, how do you keep track of all of our lives? I can hardly keep track of my own let alone an entire program's worth of people and their needs. Thank you for your moral and task related support. Joanne, you are fantastic. I so have appreciated your "real talk" honesty and how you care about v and for each and every one of us students here. If ever I have a problem, I am always so comforted knowing you will work to support and fight for me in any way you can. My friends and family have made a tremendous impact on my ability to be in graduate school let alone write my thesis. Dad, Mom, and Brad, thanks for raising me to be so gosh darn smart! Your time and dedication to my learning, and your support of my growth is awe-inspiring. Thank you for always supporting me and being my biggest cheerleaders. I could write a thesis-long expression of gratitude to each of you. Thank you for shaping me into the person I am. Kyle and Conor, you are the best brothers a gal could ask for. Thank you for being my role models, for supporting me, for cheering me on, for sending me funny videos and pictures of my nephews, and for having so much confidence in me (it's staggering really). I am so lucky to have such wonderful men in my life. You both have taught me what tenacity looks like and you both inspire me every day. Like Dad always said, "you take care of each other!" I am so happy to have the care of you Bennett boys. KT, thank you for always listening to me and caring what I have to say even if it is nonsense babble after a 3-day writing bender. You always know the right thing to say to put me back on track. Thank you for always, always, always taking my side, making me laugh, and showing me love. Nico, thank you for saying both "I could code something up" and "You have the strength. You're doing this despite the pressure." You somehow keep me grounded yet inspire me stretch my mind in profound ways. I cannot fully express how much your support, brutal honesty, and care has helped me through years so let me simply say: thank you for being my friend. Sarah, thank you for being so silly and focused at the same time. Your ~algorithmic ways~ productively questioned my work and helped me talk through the mess of thoughts I call my consciousness. Your time and care for my work and sanity are never going to go unnoticed and I am so happy to call you a friend. Logan, thank you for believing in me and helping me find my voice as a lost graduate student in my first year in grad school. You are the emblem of what it means to be there for your fellow scholar and support them through thick and thin #feministfriendships. vi I am grateful for my time here at Syracuse University and all the Women and Gender Studies and Communication and Rhetorical Studies communities have taught me. I am confident that what I have learned here will be a foundation for the rest of my career and as I begin my PhD at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado next year. I will not forget all the lessons I have learned here and am thankful for the lifelong community I have inherited in Sims Hall.