William Irwin, et al [editor], �The Simpsons and Philosophy�
No, I�m not going to apologize for reading this, thank you very much. Despite how much I like The Simpsons, I�ve managed not to become obsessive about collecting things related to the show. This is a good thing, as there is WAY too much crap mass-produced with some vague connection to the program.
But I also remember my Pop Culture class, taught by a gay hunchbacked midget who was a fantastic instructor. Some of the most interesting essays in our textbook revolved around pop-culture analysis of television. (I recycled a paper on Mystery Science Theater 3000 for my paper, adding about three additional pages so I didn�t totally feel like I was cheating.)
Anyway, the insights that those authors offered for things like The Simpsons, The Young Ones, and Married, With Children stuck with me, and so this book, subtitled �The D�oh! of Homer� seemed like it would be a fun and interesting read.
I was half right on both accounts. Most of these pieces come from scholastic-types, and years of plugging away at a campus with an apathetic student clientele have soured any sense of humor in these people. I also think more than a few of them are annoyed with the thought that they have to use a cartoon to try and get people interested in philosophy.
But there are some writers who are obviously fans of the show, and it shows. Most, however, mention that it is difficult, to say the least, to make connections between animated fictional characters and ancient dead white guys. So they search for connections. Is Bart the embodiment of the Nietzsche-ian anti-hero? (Answer: No.) Does Lisa fit under Aristotle�s description of Virtue? (Answer: No, even if one ignores Aristotle�s assertion that women don�t count.) Can you apply Immanuel Kant�s central characteristics of morality to the show? No, you Kant.
Ultimately, what we have here is a 300+ page book detailing how The Simpsons and philosophy don�t mix. What I�m wondering is how so many of these authors can state this opinion with such vehemence. I mean, this is coming from a group of people who have a hard time proving that they exist themselves!
But there is some great stuff in here as well, heavily quoting some the best lines from the show going all the way to episodes from 2001, though the majority of the pieces revolve around the first six or seven years. They failed, however, to answer the one nagging question about The Simpsons: I want, nay, need to know if it�s true that there is a monkey reference in every single episode.
Tonight�s episode showed a scene from �Editor in Chimp,� so that�s one.
