The Simpsons

The Simpsons is a well-known television series that attracts viewers of all ages. It is about a neighborhood of yellow characters who do peculiar and unrealistic things at times, yet also act like regular human beings other times. I think one of the amazing things about this sitcom is that it is completely ridiculous, yet it has been so popular for about twenty years. I think, however, it is because of this that it has become, and still is, so popular. I think the fact that it attracts people of all different ages is another reason why The Simpsons is popular. This is because the animated sitcom includes violence, disgusting acts, sexual references, and just plain old comedy, that is able to attract a young kid, yet also able to attract an older man or woman. The people who watch The Simpsons are also attracted to it because they can sometimes relate to the people. A lot of sitcoms on television are about perfect parents with perfect children, who live in a perfectly clean home. Although these sitcoms are enjoyable, most people in America do not live in a house like that. However, the main family in The Simpsons is a lazy dad who argues with his wife all the time, a child who is a rebel and is always starting problems and another child who is a perfect student. Although this could be seen as an extreme example of families in America, it is more closely related then many other sitcoms. This draws viewers to this animated sitcom. I think another reason that The Simpsons has such a large audience is because it is animated. Although the young people who enjoy The Simpsons might not know very well what is going on, they still enjoy watching yellow characters run around the screen doing violent and vulgar things. I think that older people are also attracted to the animation aspect of the sitcom. This is because no matter how old you are, you always enjoy stupid animation comedy. So, rather than turning on Nickelodeon and watching cartoons, they are able to watch animation with something they can relate to.

In Jason Mittell's piece, "Cartoon Realism", he analyzes The Simpsons and tries to show why The Simpsons is controversial, yet still successful. He says he does this by looking into what the critics say about the sitcom. The genre of any work is defined by the critic. This is because the way a critic talks about any TV show, book, movie, etc. influences the way we think about that piece. This creates the genre for that piece. So, by Mittell analyzing the way critics think, it allows him to have a better understanding of The Simpsons. Critics say, according to Mittell, that The Simpsons is primarily a sitcom and it uses the animation to highlight certain things. I do not agree with this. I think the animation of The Simpsons is what makes the sitcom so entertaining. If it was not an animation, they couldn't do half the things the occurred on the show and therefore would not be where it is today. The animation does not just highlight certain aspects, it creates the whole TV series.