Becuase Everything Else Sucks

The Simpsons on Army Recruitment

By Manila Ryce
Published Monday, November 13th, 2006, 9:24 pm
Filed under: Videos: Political, War, Society/Culture, Videos, US Politics


In their most recent episode, The Simpsons poked fun at the US Army so much that it completely overshadowed any botched joke John Kerry has ever made. Here I’ve posted a scene from the beginning of the episode that satirizes the shady practices of army recruiters. The episode later went on to criticize the caliber of recruits the army has been accepting.

There were other great highlights from the episode which are not in the clip above. One had to do with Marge begging Homer not to join. Homer says, “I have to Marge. Who else is gonna keep oil under $100 a barrel?” The other sad but true line came when Homer was playing war games with the army and got cornered in Moe’s basement. The idea of surrendering is brought up and Homer says, “I’m not gonna surrender. You’ve seen what the US Army does to prisoners. How would you like to be stacked naked in a pile with a hillbilly girl pointing at you and laughing?”

Could this kind of political satire revive The Simpsons from the fringes of irrelevance to share the comedic stage with Colbert and Stewart? Time will tell, but the past two episodes have definitely been on the upswing.

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13 Responses to “The Simpsons on Army Recruitment”

  1. Could the Simpsons be back? It’s about time… What time are they on again?

    SirJouge
    11/13/06 at 10:16 pm

  2. Outstanding. Originally “The Simpsons” was highly edgy and political. Homer was an exploited prole everyman. Then he became a silly buffoon. This was heartening to see–and on Fox! And maybe another indication that the tide is definitely turned.

    Paul Dorn
    11/14/06 at 12:35 pm

  3. Don’t bet on it! Hipster irony has taken the place of
    discussion, all across the cathode landscape.
    So-called “counter-culture pundits” are smirking shills
    for the network masters they serve.. Stewart and Colbert come to mind.
    Their style could as well have been written by the same crowd that churns out
    all SNL/letterman/ben stiller/40-year-old virgin/borat- that wink-at-the-audience
    “sorta edgy, sorta against bush, sorta sorta” schtick id designed to keep everyone, the admin of this site included,
    asleep. IMAGINE, THINKING “THE TIDE IS TURNING” by watching an ironic smorgasbord created by nervous-laughter hipster comics. awwwwesome, dude! it’s so.. like, anti bush! right on!

    frank smith
    11/15/06 at 5:42 pm

  4. “designed to keep everyone, the admin of this site included, asleep”

    I’d advise you to know a little something about me before you jump to the conclusion that I’m “asleep” when it comes to the bigger picture you claim to be the sole possessor of. Ironically, your statement is the same kind of tripe you claim to be against. Kind of edgy, but not offering any real insight. If you’re going to criticize someone for being a sheep, at least prove that you’re not. If being an anti-Bush pundit is merely the cool thing to do then I imagine you must be even cooler by being anti-anti-Bush pundit. Congrats. Just because you don’t like a certain person, for whatever reason, it doesn’t mean they can’t speak truth. Analyze what these people are saying and figure things out on your own. In my opinion, although Colbert and Stewart work for corporations, their message is one which criticizes the very system which employs them. They are exploiting a system which exploits. As Michael Moore has said, the rich man will sell you the noose to hang himself if he thinks he can make a couple bucks off of it

    Administrator
    11/15/06 at 6:05 pm

  5. Though still funny, The Simpson’s, have been playing it safe for a decade. This episode Shocked and Awed me. Had this been on South Park, I hardly would have noticed. But, being on Fox…

    You have to wonder… the end may be in sight for the end of the series.

    palefox
    11/15/06 at 11:06 pm

  6. I am pleased to report that this excellent parody on the continuing scathing attempts to recruitment Americans for the sand box of Iraq will soon be posted in the latest site updates of my site: These are the lies that led us to wage wars resulting in war crimes, crimes against peace and crimes against humanity in violation of the Nuremberg Rules.

    http://johnmccarthy90066.tripod.com/id359.html

    Bests,
    John

    john mccarthy
    11/18/06 at 12:04 pm

  7. Writers and producers tend to put out a better product when ratings are low. This is an attempt to stir controversy to gain ratings share.

    Doug
    11/19/06 at 12:28 pm

  8. Hi,

    This is great!

    Is there a way to copy the Simpsons Video to my hard drive? I do counter recruiting at a local high school and I think the students would really like it.

    Patrick

    Patricdk
    11/26/06 at 3:32 pm

  9. limewire
    …

    http://www.freewebs.com/wellweb/limewire limewire
    …

    limewire
    10/17/07 at 12:36 pm

  10. OK lets get this straight, the military is bad? or at least chocked full o hillbillies? WOW a show that says the war is bad,I mean where else can I hear that besides Rosie on the view, CNN, MSNBC,George clooney,Bono, Jane fonda, TIME magazine……….wait it seems most celebs and every media outlet there is! Yeah this is supporting our troops…our toothless hillbilly retarted troops WAY TO GO Simpsons writers!

    ironhead
    11/26/07 at 2:08 pm

  11. dj lights
    …

    http://park.geocities.jp/bestweblights/dj-lights dj lights
    …

    dj lights
    02/11/08 at 2:09 pm

  12. […] MSNBC also said that “video games are increasingly viewed by top brass as a way to get teenagers interested in enlisting.  Games such as “America’s Army,” developed and published by the Army, and “Guard Force,” which the Army National Guard developed with Alexandria, Va.-based Rival Interactive, can be downloaded or picked up at recruitment offices.”  In the United States, enlistment is voluntary, and it’s no great secret that the Armed Forces have resorted to all sorts of “tricks” (such as offering citizenship to foreigners, or offering education subsidies of thousands of dollars to future combatants) in order to try to raise the level of young people who will volunteeer to go and invade other countries.  Even the Simpsons has parodied this. […]

    Full spectrum recruiting disorder « Machetera
    09/4/08 at 11:09 am

  13. I’ve been reading about the issue with the simpsons and ‘bart’ promoting scientology. Was checking to see if anyone else had any comments on the ‘issue’. I don’t much like it myself, but also do not care to judge.

    I love TV
    02/15/09 at 11:35 am

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