As I said –
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.
As I said –
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.
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.
“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.
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.