The Simpsons

I wanted to do a post on the television show The Simpsons. A lot of people complain that the show has deteriorated since the 1990s and that the show is not worth watching anymore. Now the guy who really introduced me to the series was what I once would have described as a conspiracy theorist. He said a lot of wild things about the way the Antichrist was right now in the process of lining things up for his takeover. He was one of the most committed Christians I'd ever met though and his devotion to God had a huge effect on my walk with Christ. He told me that The Simpsons was his favorite TV show because they were sending out secret messages through the show. Those were his exact words. Naturally, I was skeptical. But over the past few years of watching the show I can honestly say that I think he was right. My definition of "conspiracy theorist" has changed. Now these aren't the sort of secret messages that tell you the winning numbers for the lottery or arcane mysteries from Nostradamus' prophecies. As a matter of fact, it's rather sad that most people can't pick up on these secret messages because they're the kind that are right in front of our faces. They deal with the deterioration of American society; the downfall of our country; the crumbling of our civilization. For those of you who have been living under a rock the past 25ish years, the show centers around the eponymous family which consists of father and mother, Homer and Marge Simpson, and their 3 children, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Many messages become readily apparent when we realize that the show is not about The Simpsons as specific people but about US. We are the Simpsons. Homer Simpson is seen as a comical character but he was intended as a mirror. As a society, we are becoming fatter, stupider, and more lazy. Look at this article:
http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/02/05/study-americans-spend-up-to-80-percent-of-work-time-cyberloafing/

A lot of Americans are doing EXACTLY what they laugh about when Homer does it! We laugh at his propensity for eating but America has been known for its obesity for a long while now. We chuckle when Homer says or does something stupid but we are being systematically dumbed down ourselves. Doubt it? Look at most of the movies and tv shows we watch. These days, most of Hollywood seems to be recycling the same series of movies again and again with slight differences in plot and characters. Look at the books we read (those of us who still read, anyway). How many vampire novels have been released in the last 10 years? And how many of them have made any notable contributions to the literary arts? Have any of them tackled any difficult topics or brought a significant thought to bear on human existence? Any philosophy? Heck! Anything besides love, sexuality, or violence? We may not be exhibiting such overt idiocy as Homer does but give it time!

How much time do you spend watching TV? How much time do you spend reading? How much time do you spend "plugged in" to computers, cell phones, and video games? There is another series of "secret messages" coming through the show that deal with the accessing of information. Lisa is belittled for her love of books, learning, and study. Why? Because much of our society does just that. They tell us that losers and geeks are concerned with non-pop culture culture. Such people are viewed as out of touch with reality or incredibly conceited by much of the populace. Most students have learned two things from our educational system: to hate serious study and always expect knowledge to be spoon-fed to them. Creativity is highly discouraged in many classrooms. Conformity is the order of the day. If a teacher sees independent thoughts arising in a discussion they push the thinkers toward the desired goal for the class's conclusion. And conformity is not just pressed down on us in schools! In all strata of our society we are told how to see the world. Hollywood tells us that we are unattractive (or at least less attractive) if we don't have shapely bodies, symmetrical faces, and fashionable clothing. We are each given the same cookie cutters through which to see people. It is the matrix which is being pressed down on each of us. There's a little box for entertainment, for smart people, for science, for literature, for science, for comedians, and on and on. Back to the Simpsons, Lisa's independent thoughts are viewed as a threat by the school system. Homer, whenever he crosses paths with real intelligence, verbally assaults it with great glee and passion. Martin is constantly the brunt of bullying whenever he makes a particularly verbose exclamation. Ignorance and idiocy are rewarded and held up as a shining example for Springfieldians to follow.

Television and Internet are held up as the gods of information in Springfield. Something occurred to me a while ago. In one of the more recent episodes (Holidays of Future Passed) computers had advanced to the point of using a cable which ran from the laptop directly into your neck when you wanted to surf the Internet. While people are plugged into the system they go completely limp and appear to be sleeping. Well, what occurred to me was that when we are using electronics (or at least when I am using electronics) our tendency is to completely immerse ourselves in it. When I get on a computer the world just fades away. My mind becomes completely immersed in my electronic activities. I don't hear people around me, I don't notice things going on, and I even stop feeling hunger and thirst as acutely. Only thing missing is the physical cable stretching from my computer to my neck!

One more thing... Mediocrity. Cutting corners. Compromise. To put it more bluntly, half-assedness. In a kingdom of mediocrity, excellence is a dangerous commodity. "A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man," says Springfield's town motto. Would that it were a way of life and not just a motto. Mediocrity is glorified in our society. Most students no longer strive for academic excellence. Why try for an A+ when a C+ will do? More than that, we've even adapted the grading scale. An A+ no longer represents true academic excellence. Oftentimes it simply represents work that has been completed. In the workplace, mediocrity abounds as well. Why do the best job possible when an acceptable job earns just as much money and respect? As a matter of fact, excellence is often dismissed as foolishness or it's simply rewarded with more work and no appreciation. One big complaint that I know a lot of people have is the state of the economy. There aren't enough jobs. The jobs we have don't pay enough. Prices are too high. And on and on it goes. Folks, the problem isn't primarily any of these things. These are symptoms. The problem (or one of the main problems) is mediocrity. One of the pure and simple keys to a good, powerful, robust economy is a good, strong work ethic. Hard work. Nobility. No corner cutting or mediocrity or half-assedness. Maybe it's enough in this country but in the global market, excellence is still sought after. If it isn't found in the US they'll go elsewhere to get it.

In the season 8 episode Homer's Enemy, we are introduced to Frank Grimes, a man who has had literally nothing but struggle after struggle after struggle to accomplish ANYTHING his whole life. He has worked harder and suffered more than anyone else and has finally received a degree in nuclear physics. Mr. Burns, the owner of Springfield's nuclear power plant sees his special interest story on the news and decides to hire him. The next day, however, Burns has forgotten the news story and gives Grimes some menial, pencil pushing job that has small importance, significantly below Homer Simpson's pay grade. Grimes is astounded and enraged at the deeply incompetent behavior and lackadaisical attitude Homer has toward his job. Homer becomes desperate to win Grimes' approval and invites him to dinner with his family to bury the hatchet. When Grimes shows up he flies into a rage upon seeing the size of Homer's house, his beautiful wife, and his (seemingly) happy, well-off children-- NONE of which he has had to work hard for! From that point on, Grimes is bent on destroying Homer's unearned reputation at the nuclear power plant. In the end, Grimes decides that, in order to be successful, he will start to act exactly like Homer; neglecting his job, eating a lot, and being a jerk to everyone. I won't spoil the ending for you, though!

There is a higher motive, though, than reward or recognition for excellence. Especially for Christians. Don't take away from the episode I just described to you the idea that mediocrity and ignorance are worth it to get rewarded. The episode is supposed to slap the status quo in the face! It's supposed to say "Look at yourself! This is screwed up and you know it so fix it!!!" This is injustice! It should make you angry! The episode should motivate you to fix society, not just sit back and accept that mediocrity gets rewarded and excellence gets overlooked!

In George Orwell's book, 1984, Winston Smith, the protagonist, remarks that if there is hope for the society of Oceania it lies in the proletariat; that vast body of humans that makes up the general population. For 24 years now the Simpsons have been trying to wake up the proles; to wake us up to the injustices happening every day in our society, to the matrices which our civilization pushes down on us, and to the flaws that are crippling our society. So wake up. Please, please wake up. It's not too late to wake up.