Examples Of Satire In The Simpsons

Molly Ivins once said: “Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful.” The main objective of satire is to utilise a variety of techniques in order to challenge or reinforce societal behaviours and ideologies, often with the intention of encouraging change in the audience. In the hit American Fox series The Simpsons, horatian-style satire is clearly employed in order to comment on, criticise, and analyse western ideologies, specifically those found in America. The Simpsons was first released in 1989, and has since spiralled into a satirical pop culture phenomenon. Throughout its almost twenty year run, The Simpsons has been able to criticise, evaluate, and comment on a number of trends, attitudes, and ideologies within

The episode highlights this when the residents of Springfield are expected to vote on Proposition 24, which would determine whether illegal immigrants should be forcibly deported from the town. The vote was a nod to the 1994 Californian Proposition 187, which would have denied services such as education and health care to illegal immigrants. The episode exhibits the use of anti-climax when the results to this poll are announced – many Springfield residents, inspired by Homer’s speech of acceptance, vow to vote no to the proposition, and repeatedly chant “No on 24!” Despite this, the vote is then said to have passed with a landslide 95% yes vote. The sentiment built for immigrant characters throughout the episode, and subsequent anti-climax when the proposition passes, invite audiences to question their viewpoints on those from foreign countries, and consider adopting a more liberal stance in future votes. Another satirical device used during the episode is situational irony. The technique can be seen when Principal Skinner goes directly against his own word by telling Groundskeeper Willie, an immigrant, to stand down rather than defend an international school student - saying that children would prefer to “pick on someone their own size”. This was in spite of the fact that the

Throughout the episode, unwarranted sexual harassment claims lead to a media and protestor stakeout outside the Simpson household. These claims occur after Homer reaches to remove a piece of candy from the back of a woman’s trousers, and she accuses him of having inappropriate intentions. The incident shows the use of dramatic irony within the episode, as audiences are fully aware of Homer’s innocence and original intentions. The dramatic irony seen here encourages audiences to question the media, and formulate their own opinions, rather than blindly trusting everything produced or released by news and media outlets. The theme of distrust is continued in one of the episode’s displays of situational irony. During the stakeout of the Simpson home, many of Homer’s friends arrive, forcing their way through the crowd to stand in front of them and speak. While Homer, and the audience, are led to believe that his friends will come to his defence, they instead proceed to sell stories of Homer’s past misconduct to those in the crowd. This use of situational irony is a reflection of people’s real-life experiences with the media. It enables audiences to analyse and question the morality of not only those who run media outlets, but also those who provide information to them. The malcontent