Remember the “Gulp 'n Blow”- isn’t that where Marge was working while she was pregnant with Bart? That’s a pretty racy one…
In “My Sister, My Sitter,” when Lisa takes Bart to Dr. Nick’s practice and you see all the people waiting in line, including Mr. Smithers. “Mr. Smithers, do you think we could go in front of you?” Smithers responds, sort of leaned over and looking uncomfortable, “Umm, no, I’d prefer to take care of this immediately.” The old gerbil joke.
Plus they manage to make fun of FOX and Rupert Murdoch. (Hehe, I love the part in “Behind the Laughter” with Rupert struggling to write his name.) But I guess that’s fair game.
Oh, wait. Tuckerfan has inspired me. What about Carl? “Ooh pick me, I’m an urban Lenny!” That was funny and all, but people- you know…other people- might have seen it as inappropriate.
I’m still amazed that they get away with taking the piss out of the cops so much.
As Chief Wiggum said at the barbecue when he saw Homer’s ‘Piggs de Resistance’ “ha hah haah hah…look at its nose!”
Fair enough. I’ll give you that point. However, you have to admit that every ethnic group, religion, gender etc. gets its share of sterotype jokes, except blacks.
Examples of stereotypes - Having the Indian Apu running the convienence store. “Please do not offer my god a peanut. Get out of my store, thank you and come again!”
Chief Wiggum, the oafish, heavyweight cop who loves to eat. “His left tail light is smaller than the right one. Better pull him over!”
The born-again Flanders. “Okalie Dokalie”.
Stereotype examples abound!
Catholics, women, old people, politicians, newscasters, homosexuals, businessmen, bar patrons, teachers, eggheads, hillbillies, the scottish… the list goes on and on. They all get hammered via stereotypes. One of the reasons it’s so funny is because of the stereotypes. However, I don’t recall Dr. Hibbard, Carl, or any other black character being stereotyped and lampooned in the cartoon (other than perhaps “Bleeding Gums” Murphy, if you buy the stereotype of the black jazz saxaphonist being accurate… however I don’t remember any lampooning). For some reason, this seems to be the only group with a “hands-off” policy.
Am I wrong? I can’t think of any instances, but I’ll concede that my memory could be wrong.
Hmm, offhand I can’t think of any black stereotyping (Bleeding Gums Murphy is a judgement call) EXCEPT for a series of minor sight gags involving Dr. Hibbert’s hair. During flashback episodes showing events from the eighties and nineties, Hibbert’s hairstyle changes to reflect current fashion:
“I Married Marge” (1980): mile-high Afro
“Lisa’s First Word” (1984): braids & beads
“Lisa’s Sax” (1990): Mr. T hairstyle
“And Maggie Makes Three” (1993): high-top fade Max reminded me of a bowling team named “The Stereotypes”, made up of Cletus, Luigi (the pizza parlour owner), the Sea Captain and Willie.
Apu: Oh, they begged me to join their team, begged me.
There’s also the episode where Homer invents a new drink and calls it The Flaming Homer, only to have the recipe stolen by Moe and renamed The Flaming Moe. I missed this one several times until I saw matt_mcl (I think) refer to himself as a “flaming 'mo” and the penny dropped.
There was one episode where Homer is watching a black comic on TV, and the comic is comparing how a white person drives a car (uptight and serious) versus a black person (laid back and cool). Homer laughs and says “it’s so true, we’re so lame!” To me this was a clear jab at certain black comedians, who recycle countless variations on this joke in their routines. Only an oaf like Homer finds it funny anymore.
He was called “The Jolly Bengali” in the “Short Films About Springfield” episode, and he’s Hindu (as evidenced by i.a. a statue of Ganesha in the Kwik-E Mart), so I think it’s pretty established that he’s Indian…
I think the 'mo thing is pretty much NYC slang. In the episode with John, Homer says “I like my beer cold, my something something, and my homosexuals flaming.” The next scene takes place at Moe’s. For those who didn’t get it the first time.
