Simpsons

The Simpson's are one of the many T.V shows that captures what it is like to live in the average American family, although it has many twists that cause it to be very different from the usual family sitcoms. The first major differences is simply that the Simpsons is animated. The fact that a family sitcom is animated is one of the major draws to the Simpsons because it draws in those who are fans of cartoons. Then there is the family sitcom aspect which typically draws in people of all ages, because it is easily related too by both parents and children. I think this factor plays into the shows attraction because I'm sure there are parents out there who have a rambunctious son like Bart, or a straight A student like Lisa. I'm sure that parents can relate to some of the stresses that Marge and Homer face in their family life, their places of work, and in their married life. Then there are the reasons that make the Simpsons a little more racy then the average family sitcom. Reasons such as vulgarity, obscene noises/gestures, sex references, social references (poking fun at famous situations/people), violence, and many other reasons that make the Simpsons almost irresistible. These reasons are definitely the reason that the Simpsons generally draws in the younger crowd, but the humor that resides in each episode, regardless of it was a tastefully made joke or not, can be sure to get a chuckle out of someone. One reason that I watch the Simpsons is because I enjoy a lot of the social references they make, these references almost always go with the storyline, although they are sometimes very random. They also make the joke even funnier when you can understand the references. The following is a link of some of the social references that can be found in episodes (http://www.snpp.com/guides/movie_refs.html).

I think that the article entitled "Cartoon Realities" by Mittell is ridiculous. I understand studying a T.V show to see what type of audience it attracts and what not but to go into such analytical depth like he did was really a waste of my time. I didn't enjoy the reading at all, and I really felt that it took a little bit of my love for the show away because of the context he discussed. Mittell took reasons why people like a show and made it into a paper that is so analytical that it makes me not want to even watch the show anymore.