The Simpsons as a Sitcom Essay -- Television Animation Cartoons Papers

The Simpsons as a Sitcom "The Simpsons" is an example of an American sitcom. A sitcom is situation comedy, which is when the same setting and same characters appear in every episode. Examples of sitcoms are programs such as "The Crosby Show" and more recent sitcoms such as "Friends". Sitcoms surfaced in the 1950's in America showing the "ideal" family. Slowly sitcoms started to show the reality of life and dealt with social issues such as divorce and unemployment. Sitcoms have become very popular because people could relate to the program and sitcoms show problems, which happen in every day life in a light-hearted way. These are some of the reasons why "The Simpsons" is very successful and popular. In this essay I am going to use the example of "The Simpsons" and evaluate to see how it follows the conventions of the sitcom genre. The opening sequence of "The Simpsons" introduces us to the main characters and we can see the stereotypes, which are used in the programme. In the opening sequence we see Homer at work. This is what a stereotypical father's role is. We are also shown how Homer goes against the stereotype because he takes some radioactive waste with him showing that he is careless. Marge is shown doing the shopping and looking after the baby Maggie. Marge fits the stereotypical role of a mother in the sense that she is a housewife and takes care of the house. In the programme Marge sometimes goes against the stereotype because she seems to be the authority figure of the family and this is what the man of the house is supposed to do. Bart is shown in detention in the title sequence. Bart does not fit the stereotypical ... ...f the air because people would take offence to it. "The Simpsons" is a very successful programme and has been running for a very long time. Many people have different views on "The Simpsons" some think that it is rude and stupid others think that it is funny and realistic. I think that "The Simpsons" shows the reality of life in a light-hearted way. I think this is why it is a successful programme and also the humour kind of hides the rudeness and that is why people don't take offence to it. In some ways "The Simpson" is a sitcom because it has a family in it and has the same characters and the same setting in every episode. In some ways it isn't a sitcom because it goes against stereotypes and does not set a good example to others. Despite this I still think it is a very good programme and should be called a sitcom.