Media in The Simpsons

Media In The Simpsons

Media is a recurring theme of satire on The Simpsons. The show is known for its satire of American popular culture and especially television culture, but has since its inception covered all types of media such as animation, journalism, commercials, comic books, movies, internet, and music. The series centers on a family and their life in a typical American town. However, because of its animated nature, The Simpsons' scope is larger and the town of Springfield acts as a complete universe. The town features a vast array of media channels—from kids' television programming to local news, which enables the producers to make jokes about themselves and the entertainment industry.

Most of The Simpsons media satire focuses on television. This is mainly done through the three characters: Krusty the Clown, Sideshow Bob, and Troy McClure. Each of these characters have or had a career in the fictional television programs within The Simpsons. The Itchy & Scratchy Show is a show within a show, which is used as a satire of animation and in some cases The Simpsons itself. Topics range from censorship issues, plagiarism, unoriginal writing, to spoofs of traditional live-action clip shows and documentaries.

Another recurring theme is a satire over the state of journalism. The Simpsons has a fictional news team with Kent Brockman as the anchor, who hosts fictional shows such as Smartline and Eye on Springfield. Brockman is more interested in entertaining the viewers than informing them and through him, the writers can make a commentary on the glibness, amplification, and sensationalism of televised news. The Simpsons also deals with the tabloidization of the media, such as making people look to be guilty without a trial as well as a complete invasion of privacy by setting up camp outside people's homes.

When The Simpsons was developed for the half-hour show, James L. Brooks negotiated an unusual contract, in which the producers prevented the Fox network from interfering with the show. This contract made it possible to write several jokes about both the Fox network and Fox News. The fact that most networks use network notes to tinker with television shows is often parodied on The Simpsons. Creator Matt Groening has commented that this contract puts The Simpsons in a unique position and commentators have commented that it defies industry practices.