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| Chris Turner: Planet Simpson | | (And How The Simpsons Has Defined Us!) | | 01 March 2007 | | If you thought The Simpsons was just a TV show, think again...
FairgroundTown first came across The Simpsons in the mid-90s, when it was being pitched to the UK market as children's entertainment. We knew immediately, however, that this was not just a Hanah-Barbera for the skateboard generation. We'd soon rented all the videos we could find in our local Blockbuster, and we've been a fan ever since. But even we never quite saw the show as "art"... until we landed on Planet Simpson.
Chris Turner's book is not a history of the show, still less an almanac. It is instead a detailed, academic examination (complete with extensive footnotes) of how The Simpsons both reflected, and to a certain extent defined, the cultural landscape of America at the turn of the 21st Century.
At approaching 500 pages, it is not a light read, but is nevertheless emenantely readable. The heart of the book takes key characters from the show one-by-one, and uses them to discuss the aspects of American society which they represent - Bart the nihilistic rebel, Homer the put-upon everyman, and Marge the struggling voice of sanity.
But Turner also argues that the show has been a cultrual two-way street - creating new cultural landmarks that have had an impact far beyond that of the biggest pop stars or the best-selling authors.
The point was driven home to us only the other week, when Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks accepted her Grammy with the words "Ha-ha!" For millions of Simpsons fans the whole world over, no further explanation was required! |
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The point is we are all connected... through love... through loneliness... through one lamentable lapse in judgment!
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