Since the creation of the character of Homer Simpson in 1987 and of “The Simpsons” show in 1989 and up till now the topic of influence of the cartoon and its protagonist on the values, attitudes and behavior in the modern society has been fueling numerous discussions among fans, scholars, politicians, and, in general, among anyone interested. Homer Simpson’s character has been exposed to an in-depth analysis not only by those who study the art of storytelling, but also by students of political science, sociology, psychology and even economics. It is self-evident that Mr. Simpson had and still has a strong impact on the American society and his influence spreads on the other countries as well, a vivid example of this is Iran banning Homer’s toy as a part of the “Western intoxication” (NationalPost.com, 2012). Being a central character of a prime time sitcom that’s been running for over two decades and has won numerous highly recognized awards, Homer’s character has been changing and shaping up to the demands of the different times for already 26 years, and though some fans believe that he has lost his influence on the society after entering the 21st century, the fact that he’s been named the greatest character of the last 20 years just in 2010 means that his adventures are still attracting millions of viewers. But what about the last decade of the previous century: is Homer’s influence overstated and does his character have a positive or negative impact on the society?
Homer Simpson is a middle-aged husband and father to three kids, who’s working on the nuclear power plant and has his ups and downs in life. He is not just far from an ideal man, but is actually exaggeratedly simple and stupid. Why would the show producers decide to create such a protagonist? The Sunday Times newspaper got it right: “Every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson, the greatest comic creation of our time.”(The Sunday Times, 2007). Homer is a person anyone can relate to now and then. Unlike the superheroes or characters who exist in a different world or time (e.g. the Flintstones), Homer is living his average American life in an average American village that can bear any name and still be associated with all the other similar villages in the United States. Millions of people know someone who at times reminds them of Homer, and this strong connection with the character makes it easier for the viewers to adopt Homer’s biggest values (though sometimes distorted by his actions): his family and religion. Since the show has gained its popularity in the 1990s, many religious people have expressed their outrage over the supposedly wrong ideas the show has been stuffing in the minds of the viewers. The examples of such ideas have been found in the episodes, where Homer communicates with God. In one of the episodes Homer refused to go to church on Sunday and instead spent his day doing whatever he liked, explaining this by: “I'm not a bad guy! I work hard, and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to hell?” (IMDb.com). Several other episodes present Homer making deals with God by promising the latter to be a good person in future. Rather than being a mockery of the religious people, these scenes are the caricatures of those worshippers that treat God as a businessman, who makes bargains, and of those worshippers who see God as a solely punishing and revengeful creature. Such scenes are addressed to the churches and church ministers, who prefer to talk about the sins and the punishment, rather than highlighting small achievements of the parish in their everyday life. In his everyday family life Homer isn’t presented as a exclusively loving husband or father, but rather as a stupid, lazy, almost-alcoholic couch potato, who cannot handle his own life. We all can find a part of this person inside ourselves, and the series serves us as a kind of relief from the superficial idealism we all are surrounded by. Homer sometimes doesn’t care about his children or makes his wife’s life difficult, but at the end of the day what he cares about the most is the family’s well-being. In one of the episodes, for example, Homer works night and day just to buy Lisa a pony, in a different one he does whatever he can to give his family a real Christmas with presents. And though most of these episodes end with Homer’s silly words or actions, the audience still learns the lesson. Another impact Homer had on the society of the 1990s is reflected in the Oxford English Dictionary: “d’oh!” ("It's in the Dictionary, D'oh!").This catchphrase was used by Homer to express frustration, and its destiny serves as another proof of the character’s overall huge influence on the 1990s society. Being a central character, Homer holds the major responsibility for the show’s influence on the political views of the audience. The creators’ reactions to the political, social and economic changes have been presented through Homer’s actions and thoughts, and while constantly raising the hot topics throughout the show’s history, the creators managed to present their critical thinking not directly, but through the satirical approach, by making Homer live through the controversial situations. The audience thus had a chance to analyze the on-going social processes by indirect and somewhat unconscious assessment of the given situations and come up with new ideas and solutions. One of the secrets to the success of Homer Simpson was the sense of emotional and psychological freedom from the need to fall into the superficial success standards and the freedom to change your outlooks on religion, politics and society, while having fun with a clumsy everyman.
Estimating the polarity of Homer’s influence, it is important to realize that first and foremost the “The Simpsons” series was intended as a satirical cartoon for adults, and though the access of children to the series was inevitable, the responsibility for that, as well as for the formation of the children’s values and attitudes should lie more on parents and educational institutions, rather than on the cartoon creators. At the same time there’s no need to deny that children of the 1990s have been exposed to the cartoon’s sarcasm, without understanding its meaning. Thus, the main opponents of the series and its protagonists are either those, who directly or indirectly fell victims to the sarcastic humor, or educators and parents, whose children started taking on sometimes not very healthy behavior, attitudes or values of the characters. But can the series alone stand responsible for shaping up American values of 1990s society? The former President of the United States George H.W. Bush definitely thought so, when delivering his famous words during the cultural war with the Democrats, saying that American society should be more "like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons."(Dowd, and Rich, “Republicans in Houston: the Houston Thing”). At the same time while the creators of Homer Simpson didn’t take up the social responsibilities for creating a new almost flawless American hero to inspire masses and promise a bright future, they are responsible for the tasks they took up. One of such tasks is to show the flaws of the society through the eyes of an ordinary American family. And while there are major positive effects on the values and attitudes of the audience, there will also be secondary negative effects, usually inflicted on those, who take the cartoon either too seriously or without understanding its purpose and sense. The creators of the sitcom have a certain amount of social responsibility, given the popularity of the show, but they divide this responsibility with each member of the audience and with critics and analysts, who need to always remind to apply a critical approach not only to the social processes, covered in the show, but also to the show itself.
Works Cited
"Bart and Homer Join Barbie on the Iranian Ban list." NationalPost.com. National Post, 06 Feb. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
Dowd, Maureen, and Frank Rich. "REPUBLICANS IN HOUSTON: THE HOUSTON THING; Taking No Prisoners In a Cultural War." The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Aug. 1992. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
"It's in the Dictionary, D'oh!" BBC News. BBC, 14 June 2001. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
"Quotes." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0773647/quotes>.
"There’s Nobody like Him except You, Me, Everyone." The Sunday Times. Times Newspapers, 08 July 2007. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Vary, Adam B. "The 100 Greatest Characters of the Last 20 Years: Here's Our Full List!" EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.
