Moritz Fink - The Simpsons: A Cultural History

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Name: Fink, Moritz, author.

Title: The Simpsons : a cultural history / Moritz Fink.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. | Series: The cultural history of television | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018053490 (print) | LCCN 2018055063 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538116173 (electronic) | ISBN 9781538116166 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Simpsons (Television program)

Classification: LCC PN1992.77.S58 (ebook) | LCC PN1992.77.S58 F47 2019 (print) | DDC 791.45/72dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018053490

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

For Mom and Dad, who havent seen a single Simpsons episode in their lives; for Alex, whos been watching the yellow family with me since forever (most of the time voluntarily, sometimes against her will); and for little
Annie, who will view The Simpsons as some quaint TV fare from her parents youth.

Its always difficult to write about a cult TV show because so many people out there know so much more than you do about your subject. This is especially true for The Simpsons, whose longevity and impact as a cultural phenomenon makes it overwhelming for a single author to handle. Hence, I want to thank three diehard Simpsons fans who provided a litmus test for my manuscript and shared their knowledge about the series: Markus Hnemrder, Richard Rohrmoser, and Charlie Sweatpants. The group of test readers also included two other fellas who used to watch a lot of Simpsons in the 1990s and who offered valuable feedback: Bene Feiten and Ben Scholfield. Guys, you all did a great job! Any remaining mistakes are mine alone.

Thanks also to my editor at Rowman & Littlefield, Stephen Ryan, for having confidence in my authority, for guiding the project, and for shepherding me through the publication process. Special thanks to Robert Allen Johnson, whose cultural and linguistic sensibilities were, again, indispensable. Additional thanks to Jonathan Gray and Eugene Kim for allowing me to use their photos in this book, as well as D. J. Whitaker for providing his drawing. And Im indebted to Michael Alan Ingber and Jocelyn Wright for proofreading the manuscript.

Most importantly, I would like to thank my familyespecially my wife, Alex, whos just an invaluable match, muse, and mother.

Yellow Planet

Have you ever had a Simpsons moment? I certainly have. And since youre reading this book, chances are you have, too.

Most people familiar with the series have had this experiencereal-life situations that remind us of scenes from The Simpsons. For example, when a six-and-a-half-feet-tall beanpole folds out of a Volkswagen Beetle. Or when a little girl makes a group of adults look like fools by seeing through their humbug talk. Or when you open two boxes of Neapolitan vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream in a row and feel disappointed because the chocolate is gone in each while all the vanilla and strawberry are untouched.

If these situations trigger memories, youre likely a Simpsons fan or someone who used to be one (or your kin have a good taste in ice cream). In any case, I bet you know a lot about the subject of this book already. But keep on reading. There are quite a few things left to find out about our old love, I promise. Um... did you know that Homer had a Swedish ancestor? Really? Doh!

If all this sounds cryptic, you should still keep on reading. This book will provide a profound understanding of the magic and mystique surrounding The Simpsons. I know what Im talking about. The yellow cartoons have been haunting me for most of my life.

The Simpsons is a pop culture institution, much like the Rolling Stones are part of the history of popular music. All around the world you will meet people, like me, who can relate to the show. Just consider the following encounter I had, which is also linked to one of my favorite Simpsons moments:

It was the fall of 2007... (cue flashback/dream music intro). I was an undergrad in American studies at the University of Munich, and I had just embarked on my thesis project. The subject? The Simpsons, my favorite TV show as a teenager. I had moved to the outskirts of Munich a few months before and now found myself commuting to town. During one of many one-hour train rides to campusit was Oktoberfest seasonI happened to share a compartment with three young English-speaking travelers, two women and a man. It turned out they were Canadians and an Australian.

We had a funny conversation, but it was all small talk until one of them asked me about Bavarian politics. He addressed a complex topic at a quite turbulent time. The Bavarian president, Edmund Stoiber, had just resigned after fourteen years in office, and my fellow travelers had heard about the state elections the following year.

Its always hard to explain local politics to foreigners, but something that struck me as allegorical was the presidents unpopular pet project to build a super-expensive high-speed monorail between the main Munich train station and the citys airport, some twenty-five miles apart. To me, the presidents plans had always been reminiscent of The Simpsons season 4 episode in which the people of Springfield are fooled into buying a monorail from con man Lyle Lanley.

The problem was that in Germany, as in a number of European countries, The Simpsons come in a dubbed version, and I had watched this particular episode only in German. So I didnt know the English expression for the futuristic railway type in question. I encapsulated the episodes plot and described the very thing that associated The Simpsons with the bizarre reality of Bavarian politics. It was a rather awkward attempt, but my fellow travelers caught the comparison immediately. In unison they exclaimed, The monorail! Thats it! Four people from different parts of the world laughed about how unintentionally satirical real-world politics can be. We suddenly shared not only a compartment in a train but also a mentality shaped by the same pop culture language. We were figuratively speaking Simpsonese.