The Simpsons - Tv Show

As of 2003, The Simpsons is the longest running prime time animated series with fourteen seasons and counting. Not only does The Simpsons have almost fifteen million fans in America, but the show is watched by almost sixty million people across the globe. The show has created a billion dollar industry through sales of toys, books, clothing, and videos. Nielsen Media Research (NMR) has consistently rated every season of The Simpsons within the top thirty among prime time television programs of all genres. NMR also noted that males between the ages of 18-49 are the show's primary target audience. The New York Times millennium edition predicted that the show would still be highly rated in 2025. Although a large portion of the general public have been avid spectators, it has taken several years of programming for many political, religious, and academic authorities to approve or even take notice of the series. Today many of the powers that be believe that there is a moral and even religious lesson to be learned within each episode.

During the show's first year, in 1990, it was ridiculed and condemned all over the country. In April 1990, Bart Simpson T-shirts were banned in Cambridge Elementary School in Orange County, California. Two months later Mayor Sharpe James of Newark, New Jersey demanded that retail stores and street vendors stop selling these crude shirts. James was quoted by the Associate Press stating, "just at a time when [the nation's leaders] are trying to get our young people to develop their abilities to the fullest, we get a t-shirt with a popular cartoon character saying he is proud to be an underachiever" (James). JC-Penny department stores nationwide stopped selling the shirts. Leaders of the country began to join this bandwagon during a time where they considered the morality and values of Western Civilization were beginning to deteriorate because of violent video games and sinister rock music from groups such as Marilyn Manson. President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara were disgusted by the series in 1992. Because of this original hatred by many of the rightwing officials and public voices many parents prohibited their children from watching as well as not taking an interest themselves.

The upheaval was also prominent in American churches. The minister of Willow Creek Community Church of Illinois created a sermon titled "What Jesus Would Say to Bart Simpson," expressing his distaste for the show. Through many of his own Baptist sermons, Dan Burnell aimed to steer children away from what he thought was an unholy message. For many church goers, the show was considered blasphemous and deemed no credible value.

As the years passed, many of the show's opponents eventually began to give the show a closer look. In turn, these popular icons and analysts started to praise and deem it some credibility. Barbara Bush realized that the show contains an ethical message for the viewers and sated that they "set and example for the rest of the country" (Bush). Todd Brewster of Life magazine stated in 1999 that, "The Simpsons verify our country's strength: If they can make it in today's America, who can't?" (Brewster). Popular cultural expert, Kurt Andersen, was quoted as stating that the show is "smarter, sharper, and more allusive than any other show on television" (Andersen). The series currently has notably high ratings in Britain and Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is an enthusiastic supporter. These praises gave the show more credibility and eventually it began to break more records and received even greater honors.

In response to its popularity, the show has been recognized and awarded for many achievements. As of 2003 the show has won 20 Emmys and the Peabody award for achievement in television. On its tenth anniversary, the entertainment industry acknowledged the show's brilliance with a star on Hollywood Boulevard. The Oxford English Dictionary has added one of Homer's famous expressions, "D'oh!" as an actual word. Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade has honored the show by including an oversized Bart balloon. The New York Times also mentioned, in their millennium edition, that Montgomery Burns is a better known illustration of capitalism than Ayn Rand. It is also interesting to note that in Roper Starch Worldwide survey, conducted in 1999, that around more Americans can recognize the Simpson family over Al Gore.

Religious praise by writers and academic scholars also arose during this time and many supporters revealed the show's positive message to many Christians. Professor, Gerry Bowler, of Canadian Nazarene College in Calgary states that "If this is a show where good usually triumphs, where the family virtues are always affirmed in the end, why are Christians put off by it?...if you're a mature Christian...you could watch it" (Bowler). William Romanowski, a professor at Calvin College said many episodes "leave God and religion open to multiple interpretations, perhaps so as not to potentially alienate audience members, but also as a reflection of American attitudes" (Romanowski). Bob von Sternberg provides evidence to Romanowski's statement when quoting the executive producer of the series, Mike Scully, who states that "[the writers] try to represent people's honest attitudes about religion" (Sternberg). David Dark, a writer for PRISM, a Christian magazine, claims that the show is "the most pro-family, God-preoccupied, home-based program on television. Statistically speaking, there is more prayer on The Simpsons than on any sitcom in broadcast history" (Dark). David Landry, scholar of Catholic college, University of St. Thomas, extends Dark's belief and stated in a newspaper article that "the most consistent and intelligent treatment of religion on TV is on The Simpsons" (Sternberg). A professor at the University of Virginia, Paul Cantor, provides a more down to Earth interpretation of the series in the journal of Political Theory and states the show "recognizes...the genuine role that religion plays in American life...it also suggests that one can go to church and not be either a religious fanatic or a saint" (Cantor). These profound views and praises have shed a new holy light on the show and sparked further investigation of the show's morality.

The year 2001 marks a milestone for The Simpsons and religion, when Mark I. Pinsky, a Jewish journalist, created his own rhetorical response to The Simpsons titled The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. This book presents a series of facts, episode analyses, and interviews intended to interpret the relationship between faith and The Simpsons. Pinsky states