By Manila Ryce
Published Monday, March 5th, 2007, 4:42 am
Filed under: Videos: Political, War, Entertainment, Videos, US Politics
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I do declare that the Simpsons have officially gone back to their roots of criticizing American culture. So much so, that with every new episode it’s pretty much a safe bet that there’ll be at least one Bush joke. Three of my recent favorites include their Halloween Special criticizing the liberator-logic of the administration, their episode blasting Army Recruiters (which we’ve heard has helped anti-recruitment booths draw attention away from recruitment booths at schools), and their January episode on global warming, over-fishing, and deforestation.
In this episode, President Bush (or Dubya) is the first to be the butt of a joke, as he is placed barely a step above Incest and Crystal Meth amongst Cleatus’ long line of children. It’s also rather fitting that the child named after the president should be the one to complain about doing work. In a later scene, Lisa shows the children how a presidential veto gets overridden. Given the current political climate, I’d say she was giving Congress a subtle hint on how to cut funds for the war. The third scene shows Bart talking to his psychiatrist about Fox News. He expresses the frustration the writers and creators of the show seem to have by being associated with the “crazy propaganda network”. Lastly is the absurdity of the Iraq War. Cleatus not only shows us that only a slack-jawed yokel still thinks there’s a connection between Iraq and 9/11, but he also exposes the fact that our troops don’t have the proper equipment for battle. What an episode.
By the way, this is the first time we’ve allowed the video to be downloaded. Let me know if you dig this feature and I’ll continue to make it an option in the future.
6 Responses to “The Simpsons Take on Dubya, Fox News, and the Iraq War”
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J.W. -
I am a big fan of your postings. I first ‘discovered’ it a few months ago and check in periodically and deeply appreciate how you address political-social injustices through your progressive lens, sharp writing and satirical videos. I hope your positive social energy is contagious and spreads to the oppressive and violent agents in this increasingly confusing and disenfranchised world.
The reason for my writing is to address your comments and postings of the Simpson’s and Family Guy the note of “Make Fun of a Redneck Day”. For a moment, let us set aside the elements of evolutionism vs. creationism and mocking Bush and analyze the videos from another perspective: North vs. South.
I grew up in a small Texas town but have been disconnected from my Southern roots. At 21, I began traveling and working internationally in grassroots contexts while learning languages and cultures and reflecting on my own identity. At 28, I just now realize how much my Northern friends (for simplicity’s sake - anywhere that is not the South….even California) robbed me of my identity. I gave up my manner of speech, values and other aspects of my character so that I could socially participate with the Northerners around me - professionally and personally. I realize that my friends’ subtle intolerance is largely results from the stereotyping of Southerners. I won’t elaborate on this detail now but my realization of this process spurred my interest in the matter.
As a joke, my wife and I youtube searched ‘The Smurfs’ and we found some ancient episode. I remembered some of the characters and their traits. ‘Handy’ had a tool belt and pencil behind his ear. Brainy is always with a book. Hefty always works out. Then there was one smurf that made dumb comments in some interpretation of a southern accent.
Modern TV almost always portrays Southerners as stupid and having low morality. Programming like ‘My Name is Earl’ continues to profit off the stereotyped Southerner. I read about how black Americans were allowed to appear on early TV only if they mocked themselves and, what whites often thought of as, the absurdities of their cultural. Comedians like Jeff Foxworthy or Larry the Cable Guy found a professional niche and don’t consider the greater social repercussion of their actions. (The letter-writing debate between Larry the Cable Guy and actor/comedian David Cross is a fascinating and quite funny.)
My concern is that socially conscience activists, like you, are generally unaware of the negative impact of something like ‘Make Fun of Redneck Day’ is to some of us that constitute the population so callously referred to as ‘Redneck’. Children named Incest and Chrystal Meth who complain of role call being too much work is funny but at the same time, it unfairly stereotypes a group of people regionally, linguistically, intellectually and otherwise.
To me, it boils down to a class issue in which a powerful class (Northerners with media and corporate control) exploit a powerless class (simple, rural Texans and Arkansasians). The latter has no means to fight back and instead digest the biases on Sunday evening TV to the point of being numb and unaware of the long-term effects of what they are viewing. Don’t get me wrong, I too laugh at David Koechner’s characters but, as socially and culturally responsible individuals, you and I can’t, in good conscience further this stereotype.
This could be an obvious and transparent matter to you but I just thought it was a fresh slant on an ongoing (though often unacknowledged) issue and wanted an opportunity to express myself. Keep on superstar blogger!
03/6/07 at 10:10 am
Paul,
Thanks for being a fan of the site. Your appreciation is appreciated. As you probably know, we try to bring a bit of humor to the dry subject matter we cover, and humor can sometimes be offensive to a certain group who feel they’re the butt of a joke. As my intent is to entertain and inform, not to repel and belittle, I do apologize if you were offended by the remark. While I am aware of the negative impact stereotyping has on society, I personally don’t think making fun of a “redneck” equates to making fun of all southerners. I have friends from the South who use the term to describe a certain type of southerner, not all southerners. Then again, perhaps it would be more acceptable if I were a southerner myself. I do see the issue you’ve described as a legitimate concern, and agree that most often; southerners are lumped into the “redneck” category. I will be more careful of my word choices and their context in the future, but as an equal opportunity critic, I can’t take any one group off of the table. Though everyone is fair game on a comedic level, I will work towards breaking down such stereotypes with my commentaries. It’s a fine line to walk, and we rely on perceptive observers like you to keep us in check. This subject of southern stereotyping is duly noted, and I hope further discussion on similar topics will be a regular occurrence on the site. Thanks for the input.
03/6/07 at 4:23 pm
Manila -
Well put. It’s refreshing to hear from somewhat with a sharp sense of humor and a sensitive soul. I think the world would be a much better place with an increase in these qualities.
No need to apologize but I do appreciate the gesture. I wasn’t really offended because I saw the primary points you were making and the social irony you were contextualizing.
My friend recently reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s claim that, ‘if you want to tell people the truth, you have to make them laugh, otherwise they’ll kill you.’
I look forward to your next post.
03/7/07 at 10:25 am
[…] To see The Simpson’s view on Fox News, click this link. […]
03/8/07 at 1:00 pm
[…] president could commit. Marge: There will never be a worse president. Never. Homer: Never. The Simpsons Take on Dubya, Fox News, and the Iraq War - The Largest Minority __________________ 93 Nissan Altima SE. Gone, but not forgotten My 2002 Nissan Altima 3.5 […]
10/2/08 at 10:20 pm
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03/13/10 at 12:05 am