# Best art that became wildly popular

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-art-that-became-wildly-popular/503331>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 17, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-art-that-became-wildly-popular/503331 "2009-07-17T13:34:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-art-that-became-wildly-popular/503331/41 "2009-07-20T12:40:19Z")

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As I said –

> [@twickster](#):
>
> IMHO, great art should speak \*\*deeply and movingly \*\*to the human condition, and to the human being’s position in the universe. The three examples I tossed off – Beethoven’s Ninth, the Sistine Chapel, and “Starry Night” – all do that.

I personally find “The Simpsons” neither deep nor moving – obviously, several of you do.

Luckily, we all seem to be in agreement that _de gustibus non disputandum est._

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [July 20, 2009, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-art-that-became-wildly-popular/503331/42 "2009-07-20T14:00:27Z")

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The interesting thing about the Simpsons is that it was wildly popular before it was really great, as far as I can tell. I’d say it got great after three years or so, and “Do the Bartman” was around season 2.

> [@twickster](#):
>
> IMHO, great art should speak deeply and movingly to the human condition, and to the human being’s position in the universe. The three examples I tossed off – Beethoven’s Ninth, the Sistine Chapel, and “Starry Night” – all do that.

“To alcohol: the cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems” doesn’t speak deeply to the human condition? 😉

I’m a huge Marx Brothers fan. If I can watch their movies 60 to 70 years later and love them while missing some of their then-current jokes, I think the Simpsons can stand up for that long. I enjoy Shakespeare 400 years after his writings, and I don’t know very much about classical mythology or English history either.

Does Shakespeare speak movingly to the human condition? Definitely. But good comedy and moving-ness don’t often keep company, and I think comedy might be more tied to its historical moment than drama. Your definition doesn’t seem to leave much room for comedy to be great art, and I think great comedy can definitely be great art.

I’ve been moved by the Simpsons over the years because I care about the characters. (I think that sets the Simpsons apart from most of the comedies that have come and gone over the years.) Beyond that I think it speaks to the world we live in - one where everybody is an idiot sometimes, greed and bad taste tend to rule the day, everybody’s just trying to get by, and rarely does anybody learn a lesson from his mistakes.

> [@](#):
>
> It may be a popular TV show, but it’s popular within a fairly narrow demographic – I don’t think it has a huge viewership over the age of 40, and the cutoff may be more like 30.

I can’t give you any specifics, but the show has been on the air for 20 years, so realistically there’s no way the cutoff is 30.

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