The Monkey Suit - Themes

Themes

"The Monkey Suit" is an episode that tackles the creation–evolution controversy, and according to Theresa Sanders in her book Approaching Eden: Adam and Eve in Popular Culture, "skewered antievolution legislation." The authors of the book Chronology of the Evolution-Creationism Controversy commented that the episode "caricatures creationism as an intellectual joke." Burns has cited the episode as "a nice example of The Simpsons really taking one clear side". However, as pointed out by Sanders, it "should be pointed out that though the Simpsons episode clearly sides with Darwin, evolutionists come in for criticism as well. When Ned and his sons go into the museum's Hall of Man, one of the exhibits they see in support of evolution is a collection of dinosaur bones with the title 'Indisputable Fossil Records.' The cartoon's inclusion of the sign can be interpreted as mocking the pretension that science knows all and may not be questioned." Sanders cited another scene as an example of this; at the trial, Drummond asks Professor Frink if "this theory of evolution necessarily mean that there is no God?", to which he replies, "No, of course not. It just says that God is an impotent nothing from nowhere with less power than the undersecretary of Agriculture." Sanders wrote that "His arrogance is clear, and equally clear is the show's satirical presentation of science's hubris."

Ted Gournelos analyzed "The Monkey Suit" in his 2009 book Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park, writing: "More than anything, the episode is used to critique the demonization of evolutionary theory by religious propaganda, by an instructional video used in the school (that shows a drunken Charles Darwin passionately kissing Satan) as well as by the prosecuting attorney. This allows for a somewhat leftist discussion of the issue, but ultimately is unable to address the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the United States ". Gournelos noted that the episode focuses on the old Scopes Monkey Trial and does not address contemporary creation–evolution debates, adding: "Interestingly, The Simpsons continues to place creationism at a higher popular plain than evolution, as the jury and trial audience are obviously biased towards the creationists (who, unlike in contemporary cases, are the prosecutors rather than the plaintiffs)." Gournelos concluded that the episode "pokes gentle fun at media rhetoric and the questioning of evolutionary theory, but is unable or unwilling to address the rise of intelligent design or contemporary court battles (in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and elsewhere) that might encourage debate in its audience."