Homer the Great

WARNING: If you are not a Simpsons fan, do NOT read this.

“Why can’t we watch The Simpsons, Dad?” “Because it’s a bad influence. The kids are very disrespectful.” “But we wouldn’t be. Can’t we watch it just this once?” “No, The Simpsons will not be watched in this house.”

Famous last words if I ever heard any. This is just a snippet of the conversations my brother and I had with our parents regarding that ever-controversial cartoon. We begged and pleaded to watch it just a couple times, but were repeatedly denied. So, we, being children not easily dissuaded, went to our neighbor’s house (my brothers good friend) and watched. I admit this with hesitancy seeing as we were being disobedient. We justified this by saying, “Dad said The Simpsons would never be watched in OUR house, not our neighbor’s.” It took several years before we were found out. My brother was in high school, I in Junior High. Rye was able to sweet-talk our parents into just sitting and watching one episode with us. If they didn’t like it, we would never watch it again. Needless to say, we are watching it to this day, laughing at the sarcasm and hilarious irony.

Understanding irony is definitely a key to appreciating The Simpsons. What good parent would say, “Well, kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is…never try.” A parent who taught their child to never try would be hogtied to a chair and have Parenting for Dummies thrown at their head. If any person is watching with the intent of seeing a normal family doing average things, they are choosing the wrong show. It is about a dysfunctional family and the way they screw up their own lives and everyone around them. Watching television can be very depressing, due to the immorality, language, broken families, etc. I admit The Simpsons does have a lot of these qualities that I don’t appreciate. There are in truth many episodes that I refuse to watch (I don’t watch much TV as it is). But I do admire the fact that the creators of The Simpsons have kept Homer and Marge together. Here is a couple that has more problems than most people and yet they choose to put forth the effort to make their marriage work. That’s almost unheard of nowadays on and off TV.

My brother will agree when I say that our favorite character is Homer. Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer) said it perfect. Homer is like "a dog trapped in a man's body. He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him." At family functions, my brother and I quote lines from The Simpsons and other shows back and forth. It’s as if we have our own language. I’ve shared this language with my close friends who don’t judge me for having such ecclectic taste. If you are ever around my friends, my brother, and I you may hear a few select quotes. “Yar, I’m unattractive.” “You couldn't fool your own mother on the foolingest day of the year with an electrified fooling machine!” “That guy impressed me and I am not easily impressed. Wow. A blue car!” “With $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love!” “Oh, so they have internet on computers now!” “What's a wedding? Webster's dictionary describes it as the act of removing weeds from one's garden.” “I want the answers now or eventually!” And there are many more where those came from. In fact, here are two more of my favorites…just for kicks. "What? Are you going to sick the dogs on me? Or the bees? Or the dogs with bees in their mouth, so when they bark they shoot bees at you?" “Oh doctor, I was in a magical land of fire and brimstone. And there were little men in red running around, sticking pitchforks in my butt!"

If you are entirely turned off by this blog…you shouldn’t have read it. As for my family and me, we have created cherished memories in the warm glowing warming glow of The Simpsons. Their stories make us feel a little more normal than we otherwise might. However, I still have one question I’d like to ask. “Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?”