industry & research
campusreview.com.au
Imitating life
What classic Simpsons episodes reveal
about the modern state of US politics.
By Wade Zaglas
A
UNSW academic with a penchant for 1990s episodes of
The Simpsons has drawn some uncanny parallels between
President Trump-era politics through three episodes of the
cult comedy classic.
Senior Lecturer in International Relations Dr William Clapton’s
observations are particularly timely, given the looming US
presidential race between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden
this November.
SIDESHOW BOB ROBERTS HIGHLIGHTS US
ELECTORAL FRAUD AND MEDIA BIAS (SEASON SIX,
EPISODE FIVE, 1994)
For Clapton, the deranged Sideshow Bob’s fraudulent win in the
mayoral Springfield election finds inspiration in the Watergate
scandal of the 1970s, however Clapton contends it can just as easily
reflect Trump’s controversial ascendancy to the presidency in 2016.
Clapton highlights that Sideshow Bob enjoys the “the support
of notable right-wing radio jock Birch Barlow whose show
is modelled on the real-life US political commentator Rush
Limbaugh,” who Clapton calls a “strident Nixon supporter”.
With the aid of the emaciated and ridiculously rich Mr Smithers,
Lisa and Bart dig deeper into the election and discover “widespread
corruption and fraud, where electoral rolls are doctored and the
names of dead people are counted as voters,” Clapton says. He
contends that this sort of foul play and corruption draws parallels
with foreign interference in the last US election.
Clapton also notes the role of contemporary media in the
episode, arguing that it satirises the fourth estate’s ability to
manipulate a population that is a “relatively lazy, uniformed, and
apathetic electorate to get problematic candidates elected to office”.
“So you can see how that might, depending on your view,
overlap with the election of someone like Donald Trump,” he says,
“[and the role of] Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and Trump’s most
recently favoured network the very right wing One America News
Network,” Clapton concludes.
THE CARTRIDGE FAMILY QUESTIONS CONTROVERSIAL
GUN RIGHTS AND GUN CONTROL IN THE US
(SEASON 9, EPISODE 6, 1997)
This episode focuses on the gun-loving Cartridge family and deals
with the interminable American debate on gun control, which he
argues has only become worse since the episode aired in the late 90s.
Clapton’s article refers to weak loopholes in the US that still allow
dangerous people to access guns. He also makes the point that,
according to Giffords Law Centre, roughly one million Americans
have died due to gunshot wounds over the last decade.
“So, The Cartridge Family is basically a story of how certain
people should not be allowed to have firearms,” Clapton says.
America’s controversial gun laws are enacted through Homer,
who is able to purchase a gun despite admitting to having a mental
illness, alcoholism and problems with the law. The idiocy of the
laws is underscored by what the owner of the gun store does next.
“Homer is upset when the store owner stamps his record as
‘potentially dangerous’ but tells him to ‘relax’, and that it just means
he is limited to three handguns,” Clapton says.
“Today, Trump often talks about the second amendment and
protecting gun rights as part of the package of desirable traits that
good candidates for the Republican Party should have.”
Trump’s election campaign in 2016 was bolstered by a
$13 million donation by the National Rifle Association (NRA),
an organisation closely aligned to the fictional Cartridge family in
the show.
MR LISA GOES TO WASHINGTON ON CORRUPTION IN
US POLITICS (SEASON 3, EPISODE 2, 1991)
The final Simpsons episode Clapton offers for analysis is
Lisa’s trip to Washington. As Clapton articulates, “government
corruption and greed, and the corrupting influence of money and
unscrupulous companies in US politics are just as true in the 1990s
as they are today”.
“During this episode, Lisa witnesses a timber industry lobbyist
offer a bribe to a corrupt congressman, Bob Arnold, in exchange
for allowing loggers into Springfield Forest,” Clapton says.
“The issue of lobbyists’ influence over government officials,
corruption and the poor behaviour and practices of private
companies are all issues that continue to shape and bedevil
American politics, indeed, global politics.”
Clapton argues these issues have only intensified since the
episode aired in the early 90s.
“Today, presidential elections are still only reserved for those
who are already rich, powerful and have the connections to
fundraise and attract hundreds of millions of dollars in donations,”
he says.
“Senators and congresspeople are similarly reliant on donations
and fundraising for election and re-election. And lobbying
itself remains fairly controversial in the US due to concerns
about corruption.”
The episode also brings up issues of patriotism and jingoism,
which are arguably at a fever pitch in the US at the moment. In a
candid reflection, the political expert says the episode prompts
us to think “carefully about what works in American politics and
what doesn’t”.
“All of this is especially relevant today in a system that arguably
has only weakened and decayed over the last 30 years,”
Clapton says. ■
16