Sociology of The Simpsons :: Sociology Essays

Sociology of the Simpsons The definition of what consitutes a family has definatly changed over time. Usually, what constitutes making up a family is relative to a specific culture, but as always, there are exceptions to the rule. ever so since the golden age of television had sprung upon American culture, it has tried to mimic the ideal American family through its programming. Even as early as the 1950s, television producers make programming that would represent what exactly the ideal American family was. Take for example the show Leave It to Beaver. There was a father figure, his job, or obligation rather, was to financially support the family, era being an exemplary father to his children. The mother on the other hand, was solely responsible for being a typical housewife, while not neglecting the rearing of her children. The children did not have any real responsibility, but they respected their parents and attempted to stay out of trouble. Television shows for the most par t in this early era of programming followed among these guidelines. However, it is not in a drama that American family life is best represented in the 1990s. Instead, it is in the animated series, The Simpsons.The Simpsons follows lawsuit with the other dramas that reflected the decade in which they aired. According to the U.S. consensus for March 1998, the majority of households in America are unify couples (U.S. Consensus pp. 1, 3,4,6). The Simpsons meet this. Also according to the consensus, the average married couple has approximately 2.6 children per household (U.S. Consensus, Household Characteristics p.1). Since there cannot be six-tenths of a child, I will round up to three children, in which the Simpson family has Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Also, the average American is a blue-collar worker. The father figure, Homer, meets this factor with his job at the nuclear power plant within his hometown of Springfield. So according to the statistics, the Simpson family could be con sidered an average American family. Homer Simpson is the father figure of the household, whose responsibilities include financially supporting the household, since he is the households primary source of income. He has his flaws like any person would, but someway he and his family tend to work it out. Some of his mishaps are very similar to those that most of us have had to face.