Summary In the episode Homer Badman, Homer attends a popular candy convention with Marge hoping to smuggle out a sum of candy. Homer becomes fixated on a rare gummy as they wander through the convention and try to take it. Homer is caught and escapes by throwing a buzz cola grenade, but on their way home he loses the gummy. When he gets home he tries to find it but has to drive the babysitter, Ashley, home. When she is leaving the car, Homer sees the gummy on her bottom, leading to him grabbing it. She misinterprets what's happening and from here the situation escalates and all of Springfield is against Homer due to the media especially the news show, Rock Bottom. This show interviews him and edits the clip, making Homer seem like a horrible …show more content…
Homer Badman is just one of many examples of this. In this episode, they demonstrate how perception and media sensationalism impact public opinion and mob mentality. These are things that humans succumb to and we see in the modern day. The viewer witnesses the power of perception when Homer's error of grabbing Ashley's bottom is seen as an act of sexual harassment. Despite the fact that he had no malicious intent, the timing of the incident makes it appear predatory. This leads to media sensationalism, which occurs when news stations create stories in such a way that they trigger strong emotions from viewers. News stories, headlines, and even shows are exaggerated to make Homer appear as an awful person. “And now we return to ‘Fox Night at the Movies’: ‘Homer S.: Portrait of an Ass-Grabber". Homer Badman, 15. Companies profit from this narrative, creating a show for it. The media's passion to capitalise on dramatic stories for ratings distorts the facts and spreads horrible biases. In this scene, the person in the show acting as Homer runs over a cat and appears unconcerned. They also make it seem like he wants to grab Ashley’s bottom and does not care for any consequences. All of this emotion generates public outrage and a mob mentality is formed. This mob mentality plays a very important role in the episode. Many of the people from Springfield