For Hyers, there are three types of laughter which correspond to three levels of humor: Under this model, religious humor from within the world's traditions is treated as having a revelatory effect. It strips away the pompousness of human activity, revealing a transcendent truth. For Hyers, the laughter of paradise regained takes us beyond ridicule to something healing and wholesome.
Seeing humor as a means of grace and acceptance—as a way of connecting us to some transcendent reality beyond our socially constructed conflicts—is echoed in the works of other scholars see, e. It is not, however, particularly helpful in understanding the politics involved in interpreting others' religious beliefs and behaviors.
In other words, the jokes are not funny because they are true. They are funny because the culturally contextualized people composing them think that they represent a larger truth which is based on their assumptions about religion, religious institutions, and the value of religious life which is then filtered through their sense of humor.
The way Ned Flanders is presented demonstrates this distinction nicely. The laughter of paradise, which arises from enjoying frivolity in the world;. The laughter of paradise lost, which strikes back against injustice and reflects hope;.
The laughter of paradise regained, which comes from inclusiveness and a vision of the world that reflects reconciliation. Among Simpsons commentators, there are two major summaries of Ned Flanders and his role as a caricature of evangelical Christianity.
Pinsky : 46—69 portrays him positively, as a representative evangelical who tries to be a genuinely good person, only briefly acknowledging some of Ned's more politically conservative activities 50— Heit : 83—95 argues that Ned reflects Christianity's dark side see also Turner : ; Henry : —, — When faced with diametric disagreements like these, we often find that the situation is more nuanced than either analyst permits.
Here, we see a two-pronged attack on mainstream life in the United States. First, there is the attempt at moral reform through public action on issues such as homosexuality, abortion rights, prayer in public schools, and media content. Second, there is the promotion of an alternative symbolic universe rooted in conservative Christianity's biblical interpretation and morality.
The Simpsons ' satirical gaze focuses on these evangelical characteristics. Pinsky's discussions of Ned's Christian morality, on the other hand, suggest that he also represents the tradition's moral aspects that The Simpsons portrays as valuable.
This complicates Ned's character, moving him away from being a purely negative American evangelical caricature and making him into a plausible representative of evangelical values. Ned's evangelicalism has deep roots in American culture. Today's evangelicals stand upon a rich and colorful history that stretches back to the First Great Awakening. Evangelicalism had a strong public presence during the nineteenth century, but with increased questions about biblical inerrancy introduced through German higher biblical criticism, intellectual skeptics influenced by Darwinism, and the fundamentalist retraction from the mainline Protestant denominations after the Scopes trial in , conservative evangelicals withdrew from the American mainstream into their own isolated communities and abandoned the world to its sinful nature Marsden However, this did not last long, as less conservative evangelicals started actively engaging the culture at large in the early s, starting with the National Association of Evangelicals' NAE founding in St.
Louis in to combat the liberal Federal Council of Churches. After a lull in political engagement into the s, evangelicals were drawn back into the public square because of church and state issues regarding prayer in public schools and the landmark Roe v.
Wade decision legalizing abortion. Ronald Reagan's election in marked a new high point for conservative religion's political influence, a phenomenon repeated when George W.
Bush took the presidency in and with strong conservative Christian support. Stone ; C. Smith : 2—19, ; Hankins Ned most closely resembles historian Randall Balmer's broad description of evangelicals which includes Pentecostals, Fundamentalists, and other conservative Protestants , making for the widest range of possible jokes coming from the mouth of one character—an ironic choice on The Simpsons ' creators' part, since Balmer aptly demonstrates the movement's internal diversity.
Ned embodies those subcultural elements within evangelicalism which combine right wing politics with a sincere desire to live as Christians. Ned's dark side can be seen in his overprotective parenting and his role in Springfield's moral watchdog groups.
In an extended sequence on the DVD version of this episode, Ned refuses to explain Planned Parenthood to the boys because he is busy writing down doctors' names being listed on the screen. Parodying the Lutheran Church of America's popular Davey and Goliath cartoon from the s and s, The Simpsons takes Davey and Goliath 's association with Christian teachings of love, forgiveness, and tolerance and inverts it, suggesting that evangelicals share abortion clinic bombers' moral self-righteousness and willingness to use violence to achieve their ends.
These quotations reference and satirize politically engaged evangelicals see Jelen The above examples point out symbolic identity markers that different evangelical groups have projected into American consciousness. References to courts controlling women's bodies and attacks on Planned Parenthood recall the evangelical anti-abortion lobby of the late twentieth century, which saw sit-ins at abortion clinics and the harassment of women seeking abortions.
In some cases, doctors were murdered and properties burned. Anti-abortion has become a significant item in evangelicalism's symbolic boundaries and is a litmus test for political support see, e. Abortion decisions are not the only legal issues evangelicals have challenged. When Ned complains that the schools cannot force Bart to pray, he references 's Engel v. Vitale , 's Abington School District v. Schempp , and 's Lemon v. Kurtzman Supreme Court decisions banning school board—drafted prayers and prohibiting religion's promotion in public schools.
These are contentious decisions and evangelicals continually seek ways to circumvent them see, e. In this section's opening paragraph, I referenced Ned's quote about the America of yesteryear that only exists in the minds of Republicans. As school prayer and antiabortion are popularly associated with evangelical support for the Republican Party, it comes as little surprise that The Simpsons would use its evangelical character to satirize the Republican Party's base's religio-politics, because these issues are seen as antithetical to the secularism The Simpsons generally endorses.
The Flanders home and family are also caricatures of American evangelicals. This is made readily apparent in the bombardment scene when, asking questions from the Vulgate of Saint Jerome, Ned questions the children about their biblical knowledge: NED. Well, guess! Book of Revelations, fire-breathing lion's head, tail made out of snakes.
Who else could it be? The serpent of Rehoboam? When Maude says that these are the things the children should have learned in baptism class, Lisa acknowledges that they were never baptized. After Ned faints and recovers, he decides to take the children to the Springfield River and baptize them for the good of their immortal souls.
Once Homer and Marge discover this, they come and rescue the children. The Flanders are loving and caring, but far too entrenched in fundamentalist conceptions of family values for The Simpsons. Emphasizing Rod and Todd's sheltered lives suggests that the Flanders have built a barrier to the outside world, protecting themselves with evangelical trappings. Ned is not always a moral crusader. He can also be a model of compassion, generosity, and neighborliness.
Indeed, Ned is important in the way that he embodies the ideal type of a kind, caring Christian—even if that type becomes corrupted by his moralizing and Christian exclusiveness. Throughout the series, we see Ned practice neighborly love, even though Homer is one of the most obnoxious characters anyone could ever imagine living beside. From early in the second season, Ned seeks help from the local minister, Rev. Timothy Lovejoy, whenever he feels he has failed at this task of spreading the good news.
Homer's friendship, however, quickly becomes overbearing. Ned wants to be a good neighbor, but ends up lying to Homer to get some time with his family. Eventually, he tries to escape from Homer and Ned is stopped by the police after escaping his neighbor.
The church bus passes him and everybody judges Ned while praising Homer's good works. Dejected, embarrassed, and angry, Ned is eventually redeemed after Homer declares that Ned is the most caring person he knows. Homer tracks him down, begging him to come back because the new neighbor is not nearly as gracious with Homer's failings as Ned. Yet when two new tenants are about to move in, Ned has a change of heart. And you can't be a saint unless you live among the lepers.
Indeed, Ned's willingness to extend a helping hand makes him an easy foil for Homer's abuse, but evangelicalism's ethical vision of loving others and doing the right thing dwells beneath the humor Homer's torments generate. Ned legitimates Christianity's ethical side. While the institutional and culture warrior elements of Ned's character are decried, his faith is affirmed as ethical.
Pinsky, emphasizing the good in religion that The Simpsons supports, focuses on these aspects of Ned's personality. Ned's two major crises of faith reveal his spiritual depth. Uh, if you need additional solace by the way I've got a copy of something or other by Art Linkletter in my office.
I've always been nice to people, I don't drink or dance or swear. I've even kept kosher just to be on the safe side. I've done everything the Bible says, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff! What more could I do? I feel like I'm coming apart here! I want to yell out but I just can't dang-diddly-do-dang-do-damn-diddly-darn do it! Instead, religion's institutional concepts—the rules, dogmas, and rituals—have driven Ned toward a moral life.
This is a deep faith developed within religion, and while Turner is right that the caricatured fundamentalism Ned can represent is satirized, this does not mean that it cannot provide a meaningful spiritual experience despite its cultural baggage. Understanding Flanders' value for The Simpsons ' satire requires seeing past caricatures, realizing that The Simpsons ' creative team takes what it deems positive traits from different religions and then shows how those traits can fruitfully enrich a character's life.
Well, I've had it! When he arrives, he walks into a performance by the Christian rock band Covenant, and lead singer Rachel Jordan's lyrics convince him that putting his faith in God will carry him through this dark time. Unlike the last time, Ned's prayers are indirectly answered, with the church and Christianity facilitating his healing.
While The Simpsons has not spared Ned's politics, parenting, or preachiness, how Ned copes with pain demonstrates a recognition and acceptance of the ways evangelicals can find meaningful answers to difficult problems through their religious traditions.
The Simpsons is a popular culture product that is crafted from a variety of cultural narratives and which supports some cultural and political positions over others, contributing to its popularity. Framing Ned as a satirical caricature allows The Simpsons to engage in a narrative which parodies evangelicals and, in turn, produces stories about how they should be treated among the broad spectrum of American religious behaviors and traditions.
According to The Simpsons , evangelicals should be kept at arm's-length from politics. All their attempts to engage American society result in nothing but overreaction, censorship, and discrimination. Ned's politics, which are based in historical evangelical concerns, are presented as a threat to the nation and as an exaggerated and misguided interpretation of Christianity.
If this were all there were to Ned Flanders, he would not be a multifaceted character and could be easily dismissed. Instead, his Christian spirituality makes him a moral and loving individual who is presented as finding meaning in more than just meeting his material needs, making his Christianity relevant.
By presenting both positive and negative elements, The Simpsons makes Ned into more than a caricature—he is a moral example who captures cultural—political tensions.
According to Pinsky, Ned represents the truth because he is a moral exemplar, the kind of neighbor we would all like to have. This, however, ignores the dangerous elements of evangelicalism upon which Heit focuses. Truth, in this case, is very much a matter of interpretation. If you agree with Heit that the evangelical engagement which tries to censor popular culture, overturn Supreme Court decisions regarding the separation of church and state and legalizing abortion, and enforce a particular vision of Christian morality through the law is a bad thing, then this part of the satire rings true.
By making these actions appear stupid, frivolous, and counter-productive, The Simpsons is engaged in promoting one specific story about a religious group, its rights, and the responses others should have toward it. This is strengthened by the side of Ned that Pinsky emphasizes: the kind, neighborly Ned Flanders. If evangelicals only show their faces when they are living a personal morality which makes them better people, then The Simpsons promotes that as a good thing.
But this contributes to a political discourse in which evangelicals are seen as negative contributors to American public life and does little to pose an alternative to the already tense political—religious relationships which continue to divide American politics.
Make an overhead or copies of the Opening Sequence from The Simpsons , or copy the info to a sheet of chart paper. You might also write the list on the board while students watch the opening segment in Session One. Make copies of additional handouts, or make overheads that students can refer to as they work on these sessions. If possible, obtain headphones for students to use during Session Two.
Because students will be exploring a Website with many audio features, the classroom will quickly be filled with competing audio clips. Headphones will help you control the room and keep students focused. Additional suggestions are included. If you are not already familiar with the show, The Simpsons Official Website , The Simpsons Archive , and the Wikipedia entry on The Simpsons can provide you with background information and sample episodes.
Test the Interactive Character Profiles from The Simpsons Official Website on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed.
You can download the plug-in from the technical support page. Student Objectives. Students will identify the four techniques of satire in a satirical work. Explain that you are going to show a video clip and ask students to compare what they see in the clip with life in a typical family. Ask students to respond in their reader response notebooks or journals to the following question to gather their ideas before they see the clip: "Brainstorm a list of things that happened yesterday after school.
Provide a few examples from your own day e. While students work, circulate among the class, monitoring student work. If you notice students deeply involved in specifics, redirect them toward a simpler list of activities. Once students have written their lists, set up the clip by explaining that you will show the opening sequence from The Simpsons and ask them to pay attention to the things that happen to this family during the sequence. Show the opening segment of The Simpsons and pass out or post the following parts of the opening segment : Bart writing on the blackboard Bart on his skateboard Homer leaving and driving home from work Marge at the supermarket checkout Lisa playing the saxophone The family racing for the couch in front of the television Ask students to compare the events in the opening sequence to their own lists of after-school activities, inviting conjecture on why the cartoon begins with these events rather than others that might be chosen.
If students identify satire as a purpose, encourage that line of discovery. If students have not already suggested it, explain that The Simpsons is frequently described as a highly satirical program. Ask students to identify the subtle or secondary meaning of the show's title, The Simpsons.
Technically, the etymology for the name is "son of Sim," which is short for Simon. The possible pun, however, is the play on the word simple. Revisit the parts of the opening segment and consider what they may be satirizing. Before concluding the session, identify the students who are not familiar with the show and encourage them to view an episode of the show before the next session.
All students can be encouraged to watch the cartoon for homework; however, you may want to prepare a note for families, explaining that students are using the cartoon to explore satirical techniques in class. Explain that during this session of the class, students will explore information about characters from The Simpsons online and analyze the details for satirical techniques.
Pass out the Analyzing Characters from The Simpsons sheet, which includes instructions and a list of characters. Choose one character from the list to analyze as a class, in order to demonstrate the process.
Since you'll do this character as a class, ask students to remove that character from the list of choices. Character Analysis Examples are available for several characters. Locate the profile for the character you've chosen in the filing cabinet. Explore the information for the character, being sure to talk about everything that is included.
Each file includes a biography with background information, pictures of the character, and other related information. Pages for human characters also include quotations from the character. Find the "Click It!
As you work through the information for the character, ask students to look for and identify satirical details that reveal the comment or criticism of society that the cartoon is making through the character. Encourage students to think-aloud about the reasons for the kinds of information that are included. Ask leading questions such as "Why do you think they included this quotation for this character?
To simplify the process of exploring the profile and recording the information, ask a student volunteer to record information while you guide the exploration of the site. Reinforce the labeling of satirical techniques by extending students' observations. For instance, if a student notices that something is exaggerated, build on the observation by asking students to identify other examples of exaggeration that are used in the character's profile and personality.
Once you've explored the profile for the character, review the information that has been recorded and make any additions or corrections. In light of all the satirical information that you've gathered from the character's profile, ask students to identify the comment or criticism about society that the show is making through the character.
Answer any questions that students have about the sample character you've explored then pass out the blank character analysis chart that students will use to record their findings on the characters that they choose from the Analyzing Characters from The Simpsons sheet.
To introduced the ideas of Quatationalism and Hyper-irony as methods of creating jokes in comedies, Carl Matheson has shared with us the history of comedies since the origin of quotationalism, and what lead people's favor of such cruel and cold sense of humor like Hyper-irony. Moreover, the most important information that Carl try to convey is that those two methods of comedy promote The Simpsons both in contents and comic effect.
Firstly, the Carl have demonstrated that quotationalism is used in comedy for a long time but distinct from the form of allusion. The main purpose of The Simpsons is to show irony, and nobody tries to hide this. The Simpsons provide irony in order to provide commentary without giving itself any definitive labels such as progressive or radical, and to remain an overall accessible show.
Irony is what has allowed the Simpsons to have such layered humor, combining slapstick with satire, and it has been extremely successful because of. Instead she meets Romeo of the Montague family and she falls in love with him.
The reason her name is Billie Jo, is because her dad wanted a little boy, instead he got a long-legged girl with a wide mouth and cheekbones like bicycle handles, A red headed, freckled-faced, narrow hipped girl with a liking for apples and a talent for playing piano. He was rounding home plate, the small crowd was going wild. The Lombardi 's Pizza little league team had just won their first game; my mother was ecstatic, my father was underwhelmed per usual.
The actress is very grateful to have his only boy, Louis Bardo Bulldock, around her, who she said keeps her on track. In an accompanied interview, the year-old star talked about her motherhood, movie career and how little Louis changed her life. Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if your parents owned a burger place?
To start off with, Bob and Linda Belcher are the crazy parents that encourage the misbehaved and deranged kids. They force the kids to work at their family owned restaurant, which usually leads to them messing with customers and tarnishing the business name. The Simpsons is an American cartoon set, which was started in The story is about a very politically incorrect family.
Homer is the father of the family, and he likes to drinking beer.
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