The Simpsons’ Sense of Humour and Rebellion

In his book, Machine-Age Comedy, Michael North claims that comedy has traditionally been associated with spontaneity and that comic styles which arise from repetitive movements seem contradictory. He continues, claiming that Victorian comic theory emphasised the necessity of constraining comedy within a formal balance and taming it with a strong sense of realism. Yet, the comic appeal of early cartoons was partly due to their ability to make mundane objects seem dynamic, suggesting that nothing needs to remain fixed in place.
Although the American cartoon series has been around since the 1990s and has well surpassed the Victorian era, much of the humour depicted in The Simpsons manages to maintain the formal balance between comedy and realism, whilst applying dynamism to mundane objects. The animated series is known to feature absurd slapstick and other overt visual gags, yet the satirical series’ popularity also derives from its prominent social commentary which contradicts the characterisation of its titular primary-coloured protagonists.

The Simpsons’ humour is designed to not only undermine the social and political system of America but also the narrative system of mainstream comic cartoons. In each of the examples I have included, a gag is set up. Yet, the humourous disruption of action derives from the lack of action itself. In one clip, the audience is set up to expect an old Civil War cannon to explode upon impact. Another clip includes Homer chuckling in response to Bart claiming ‘you can’t have any fun in bed.’ This suggests to the audience that Homer’s dismissal of Bart’s statement derives from whatever he considers to be ‘fun in bed,’ which is presumably something sexual. Another clip features Homer tiredly driving the rest of the family as they look for a motel to reside in for the night, followed by a car crashing into a utility pole. The pairing of these clips suggests to the audience that Homer was responsible for the car crash. Yet, the cannon remains unresponsive, Homer is shown to consider eating a sandwich as having ‘fun in bed,’ and none of the Simpsons family were in the crashed car and instead gaze upon the roadside accident from the comfort of their motel room.
Such gag set-ups provide a meta-narrative by rebelling against mainstream narrative forms. In other comic shows, the gags featured in these clips would have led to an extreme reaction or helped segue into a story arc. However, the jokes which follow juxtapose with the audience’s expectations instead, using the absurdity of fictional animation to reflect the mundanity and uneventful nature of reality.