Rhetorical Context of The Simpsons - Essay Example

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF “THE SIMPSONS” ANALYSIS OF THE RHETORICAL CONTEXT The Writer of “The Simpsons” The creator of “The Simpsons”, a well-known animated television series that is often noted for its satirical treatment of famous literary works, is Matt Groening (Mehta, 2002). Matthew Abram Groening was born on February 15, 1954 in Portland, Oregon He is an American cartoonist. The Simpsons “The Simpsons” is about the hijinx of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson. The Writer’s Role or Position When a writer brainstorms an idea for the show, it comes from his own feelings combined with the state of our society, usually making some sort of statement about his personal feelings on an issue people often take for granted. The writer’s role or position is to show on the television a creative, humorous show. The primary purpose of “The Simpsons” is to be entertaining. On a superficial level, the show merely uses popular current issues on the plot as an excuse to make jokes and amusing visual sequences. On a deeper level, however, “The Simpsons” uses these popular current issues for satirical purposes. The Intended Audiences The intended audiences are both the young and old. For the youth, however, they may not always be available to see. They are sometime confused if the events they see on the television are true. In a study by Dorr (1983), it was observed that young people were only able to discern if what they see are real by the 6th grade. Dorr said that the most dramatic advances in children's understanding of television occur before the age of eleven. Some researchers like Hodge and Tripp (1986) have noted that discernment between fantasy and reality may not always be observed in a young people's way of interpreting television (Morison & Gardner, 1978). Another researcher, Howard (1993) observed in her research that children judged some television programs as realistic simply because they liked them (or unrealistic because they did not), while for others the funnier the television program, the less realistic they were regarded as being (Howard, 1993, pp. 44, 49 -50). Exigence Which Prompted the Writer to Write Anyone who is familiar with current issues in the society and everyday living will appreciate the humor that is caused by the people behind the production of “The Simpsons”. The people behind the production of this television series implicitly make fun of issues analysis. The writer and the people behind the production is usually making some sort of statement about their stand on an issue. They use satire to provide social commentary. They sometimes twist the work of the master of intellectually twisted tales to make us laugh at our twisted culture (Mehta, 2002). Discipline or Discourse Community as a Part of “The Simpsons” There is no authoritative method by which meaning can be interpreted. Thus, meaning is open to contest as demonstrated in the analysis of “The Simpsons” as it relates to democracy (Frost, 2001). According to Frost (2001), meaning is a concept used in cultural theory to denote the message conveyed by a custom, text or other symbolic practice. Frost (2001) noticed also that this concept is related to agency and structure in political science. That is, in the literature, addressing it examines the degree to which it is either constitutive or reflective of individuals. It is of significance that meaning must be understood as both constitutive and reflective of individuals (van Dijk, 1985). Likewise, it is important to note that agency and structure exist in a mutually interdependent and dynamic relationship (Hay, 1995: pp. 197-199). In the past, Frost (2001) said that meaning in texts can be understood by juxtaposing such texts to a wider social discourse. "The Simpsons”, for instance, is juxtaposed to the discourse on modern democracy as populist, according to Frost (2001). Frost (2001) said that quite a number of elements in the episodes of “The Simpsons” give it contradictory meanings in a demonstration of the indeterminacy of meaning. Frost (2001) gave an insightful explanation on this. Based on the study by Frost (2001), “meaning is indeterminate because although there is a structure of meaning which makes texts comprehensible, each person has their own understanding of the meaning based on their location in the social order, their own experiences, and others. This comprehension is brought to bear in reading texts. He said that there is no authoritative accounts can be given of meaning since this requires a full knowledge of the ways in which all individuals give meaning to texts. Indeterminacy is what makes meaning contestable through political action because it places meaning more firmly in the hands of political agents. In democracies, people depend more on appeals to the common sense or the assumptions about social life of individuals who has the ability to inform the future's common sense. Hence, meaning is more relevant to political science as it can be expanded beyond the analysis of texts to the analysis of political arguments about how to better comprehend the world people live in” (Frost 2001). ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTUAL FEATURES Issue Being Addressed “The Simpsons” is consistently and intellectually ironic show on television (Martin, 2004). These can be observed on the episode on "The Cartridge Family". Some of the segments on this episodes are ironic and the ending leave the viewer at an unstable balance on the issue (Martin, 2004). In the episode "Homer Erectus: Homer Simpson as Everyman . . . and Every Woman", it was shown by the show how the body of Homer was cut into three parts such as the head, the gut, and the butt. This address the issue of postmodern parody and place Homer in consumer culture as both commodity and consumer and as both male and female. According to the Lynne Joyrich's Critical and Textual Hypermasculinity", this is a case where all the consumers are feminized. This places Homer as "both the white male head of the household and the feminized consumer" (Martin, 2004). In the episode "Looking for Amanda Hugginkiss: Gay Life on The Simpsons", it discusses one specific and politically charged issue, The homosexual portrayal, particularly through the character of Waylon Smithers. In that episode the sexual orientation of Lenny and Carl was not addressed (Martin, 2004). According to Aufderheide (2006), in general, major concepts of “The Simpsons are that media are constructed, and construct reality, that media have commercial implications, that media have ideological and political implications and that form and content are related in each medium, each of which has a unique aesthetic, codes and conventions. According to Bybee and Overbeck (2000), the media construct reality. Aufderheide (1992) expressed that media productions construct within each of the people’s brains an idea of what is real. Aufderheide (1992) noted that people carry within themselves a model of reality based on their own experiences and personal observations. By utilizing this model of reality, Aufderheide (1992) said, human beings believe that they are capable of making a distinction of truth from lies. A big part of the human being’s model of reality comes from the media they have seen and from other people whom they take as models (Aufderheide, 1992). Examples of these are the parents, teachers and others. It is not very easy to draw the line between fantasy and reality (Media Literacy: Resource Guide, 1989). According to Aufderheide (1992), another important thing is that that the media have commercial implications. Aufderheide (1992) said that media have incentives to minimize the extent of differentiation between them. Aufderheide (1992) said that incentive is an implication of the assumed role of advertising as information and as an ultimate nuisance to the audience. Another authors, Gal-Or and Dukes (2001), say that when stations minimally differentiate their programming offerings, producers’ choose lower levels of advertising. Aufderheide (1992), said that lower levels of product information are available to consumers, permitting producers to gain higher margins on product sales. (Bybee and Everdeck, 2000). Another point is that according to Aufderheide (1992), media have ideological and political implications and that form and content are related in each medium, each of which has a unique aesthetic, codes and conventions. Media literacy involves aesthetic appreciation and expression. Media literacy may be utilized to observe and demonstrate the unique aesthetic properties of a particular medium (Aufderheide, 1992). Position Taken By the Writer If we are to analyze the characters and the setting of the television show “The Simpsons”, it can be discern that the writer of this show have taken on a dense, rich sense of familiarity. Through the writer of this television show, audiences can determine the relationships and specific character traits that can predict developments and complications in any new plot. The critical nature of this television program has been at several occasions trivial and appeal very much to the senses. The Author's Major Claim or Thesis Demonstration of the Qualification of the Claim / Hedge of the Author “The Simpsons” is a highly entertaining television show that is internationally viewed and appreciated. Expressing emotion is the focus of the Collingwoodian philosophy. Understanding and conscious exploration of emotion is the meaning of expression here. Both the creator and the audience is doing this understanding and exploration. Collingwood sees art as a very collaborative effort – the creator responds to the audience and the whole process is dynamic. The Simpsons fits smoothly into this definition. Evidences / Reasons Supplied by the Author to Support the Claim An obvious counter to the argument is that Aristotle's theories are out of date and, hence, no longer accurately characterize art. Though Aristotle's ideas may be valid by today's standards, Collingwood's expression theory is certainly modern and it can also address the accusation that The Reasons or Evidences Some of the claims and evidences can be trusted. However, there are some distrust on some claims and evidence. For instance, example, when the Narrator says, “Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer,” we can see the “unseen censer” hitting Homer’s head, and we hear Homer’s classic line “D’oh!” Here, Simon transforms the poem by allowing us to see an “unseen” object in a scene that is typical of the physical humor that Homer is usually involved in. He again mocks Poe’s diction, this time by using Homer Simpson’s famous physical humor to make a scene in “The Raven” that is supposed to be emotional and poignant seem hilarious. This is one instance of the more general strategy of using the Simpsons characters to represent the characters in “The Raven.” THE REFUTATIONS OFFERED BY THE AUTHOR The refutation is against the objection that “The Simpsons” serves no purpose beyond its entertainment value. Different refutations of this contention are possible. According to Lenssen (2004), the refutation involves a variation of the Aristotelian ideas about tragedy. Aristotle’s concept of tragedy was a tool designed by the artist to accomplish its catharsis of emotion (Lenssen, 2004). . Aristotle utilizes the word mythos practically in the sense of ’plot’, and writing otherwise in a way that is unsuited to the tragedy of the fifth century. The audience is said to identify with the characters and action so that the characters are either better, worse, or about the same as the viewer. Aristotle's ideas about tragedy can be altered to apply equally well to comedy. The Poetics Effectivity of the Refutations / Persuasiveness “The Simpsons” involves in most of its plots pop culture references and media lampoons. The people behind this show make careful efforts in preventing that their audiences feel offended. Actual family dynamics can be also seen in this television show. For instance, with an oafish bum of a dad pawning off his parental duties on a dense, disconnected wife who lives for the household, or a couple of callous sisters-in-law who smoke and stank of overdue skank, and the recipe is ripe for refutation, not joking. All these family elements are put together in Matt Groening's concept of a true nuclear family. “The Simpsons” has been effective in being able to read into its viewer's or tagetted client’s psyche and at the same time offer comic entertainment (Gibron, 1991). PLACING THE TEXT IN A NEW CONTEXT Relation of the Text to Other Texts This text relate to other texts that I have been reading since the transformations of the works of art in the modern days, like “The Simpsons and other books I am reading lately have deep transformation. Majority of these modern comedies that I am reading are funny in various ways from those of decades past. In both texture and substance the comedy of “The Simpsons” is very different from the comedy of the past decades. According to Matheson (2001), modern comedies tend to be highly quotational. The author further stresses that a number of modern comedies essentially depend on the device of referring to or quoting other works of popular culture aside from the observed trend that these modern comedies are hyper-ironic. The writer Matheson (2001) commented that noted that the flavor of humor offered by today's comic shows is usually colder, the foundation of which is a shared sense of humanity. Matheson (2001) said that “The Simpsons” uses both quotationalism and hyper-ironism and relate these devices to currents in the contemporary history of ideas (Matheson, 2001). How Another Writer Might Use This Text? Another writer may utilize this text for the purpose of demonstrating how one person can live with the oddness of the contemporary family. Other writers may show who caused why that person become mad. In the television show, “The Simpsons”, they show how the family members of the Simpsons are sometimes out of their minds and cause incredible grief to other members of the family but still care for each other. Humans are sometimes misunderstood. “The Simpsons”’s episodes expresses the message that one is not alone. This message is sent across through humor. A good point is that the authorities do not always have your best interest in mind which is a good teaching for the young people. Works Cited Aufderheide, Patricia. 2006. General Principles in Media Literacy. California Newsreel. Bybee, Carl and Overbeck, Ashley. The Troubles With Teaching TS: "Who’s Teaching Who?". “Homer Simpson Explains Our Postmodern Identity Crisis, Whether We Like It or Not: Teaching with, for and against "The Simpsons". School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon, U.S.A. Dorr, Aimée (1983): No Shortcuts to Judging Reality. Jennings Bryant & Daniel R. Anderson (Eds.). Children’s Understanding of Television: Research on Attention and Comprehension. New York: Academic Press, pp. 199-220 Fiske, John. 1987. Television Culture. Frost, Michael. Honors Thesis in Government and International Relations, the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Sydney. Gal-Or, Esther and Dukes, Anthony. Minimum Differentiation in Commercial Media Markets Esther. April 18, 2001. Core UCL. Gerbner, George. George Gerbner Series. Media Education. Videos. Commercialism, Politics and Media. The Electronic Story Teller. Study Guide. Gibron, Bill. 1991. The Simpsons: The Complete Third Season. 1991. DVD Verdict Review, December 15, 2003. Fox. Groening. Summit 2000: Children, Youth and the Media Beyond the New Millennium. May 13- 17, 2000, Toronto, Canada. Radio Times. Hay, C. 1995. Structure and Agency. D. Marsh & G. Stoker (eds), Theory and Methods in Political Science. Houndmills: Macmillan Press, pp. 189-206. Hightower, Jeffrey. Position Paper The Simpsons – Is it Art? Hodge, Robert and Kress, Gunther. 1988. Social Semiotics. Isabel Pedersen. Hodge, Bob & David Tripp (1986): Children and Television: A Semiotic Approach. Cambridge: Polity Press (Chapter 4: "‘God Didn’t Make Yogi Bear": The Modality of Children’s Television’, pp. 100-131) Howard, Susan M. 1993. How Real is Television? Modality Judgements of Children’, Media Information Australia 70 [November]: 43- 52 Lenssen, . Philipp. Aristotle on the Art of Poetry: The Poetics. Authorama, April 2004. Martin, Cathlena. 2004. Leaving Springfield: The Simpsons and the Possibility of Oppositional Culture. Alberti, John (ed.). Wayne State University. ImageTexT, Vol. 1 no. 2 Matheson, Carl. 2001. The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony, and the Meaning of Life. “The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer” by Open Court Publishing. Media Literacy: Resource Guide, Ontario Ministry of Education, 1989. Mehta, Abhijit. The Twisting of the Twisted: The Simpsons’ Perspective on Poe’s “The Raven”, October 6, 2002. Morison, Patricia & Howard Gardner. 1978: ‘Dragons and Dinosaurs: The Child’s Capacity to Differentiate Fantasy from Reality’, Child Development 49(3): 642-8 van Dijk, T. 1985, Introduction: Discourse Analysis in Mass Communication Research. T. van Dijk (ed.), Discourse and Communication: New Approaches to the Analysis of Mass Media Discourse and Communication (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter), pp. 1-9. Wells, Paul. 2002. Tell Me About Your ID, When You Were a kid, Yah! “Animation and Children's.Television Culture." D.Buckingham (ed). Small Screens : Children's Television, Leicester Press. Read More