Postmodernism in "the Simpsons"

“The Simpsons” is a very popular tv show. What was surprising about it, at first, though, was that it was a cartoon made for adults. This hadn’t been done before in tv: cartoons were made for children and adults watch live-action shows. And, on top of that, this show was a success.

The reason “The Simpsons” was a success was because it frequently commented on pop culture, American values, and the modern way of life. It poked fun at these things to show Americans their lifestyles in another light. This was a sign of the postmodernist thought coming into American culture.

Postmodernism has been described by Fredric Jameson, one of the founding writers on the theory:

“What has happened is that aesthetic production today has become integrated into commodity production generally: the frantic economic urgency of producing fresh waves of ever more novel-seeming goods (from clothing to aeroplanes), at ever greater rates of turnover, now assigns an increasingly essential structural function and position to aesthetic innovation and experimentation.”

It is the movement where artists and thinkers are trying to come up with fresh new ideas. Capitalism thrives on it: a new idea will be successful because of its novelty, so the more new ideas that are thought up, the more success there will be. Therefore, more and more artists are trying to come up with the next new thing, which is becoming increasingly hard to do. Many are turning back to old ideas and creating a new twist to them in order to create a new thing. This is where “the Simpsons” comes in.

“The Simpsons” enjoys taking the old, making fun of it, and creating a new idea in the audience’s mind. Sometimes this idea is as simple as questioning the old thing: for instance, why is (was) this thing held in such high regard? What’s so special about it? One of its pictures is that of The Mona Lisa, redrawn in “Simpsons”-style art with the “Simpsons” town – Springfield – behind her. As Jameson said, “What we must now affirm is that it is precisely this whole extraordinarily demoralising and depressing original new global space which is the “moment of truth” of postmodernism.”

Jameson saw problems with the postmodernism movement. He recognized that the mode of thinking behind it as devaluing everything that was created. No longer are works celebrated for their effort, for their cunning, or for their quality. Now works are only cherished as far as their novelty. Old works are only good for how they can influence new ones, especially if they can be made fun of. But there is something to be said for new, postmodern works of art, such as “the Simpsons.” By drawing our eyes to what’s different about the new “Mona Lisa,” the piece points out how society has changed so that the viewer can decide if they are happy with the changes. The work motivates people to mold society in a way that they want it to be instead of sitting back and watching it go. The new piece could also point out the good parts of the old piece, letting audience members realize what is important about the past piece and value it more. There may not be as much about postmodernism that’s bad as Jameson seems to think.