The Simpsons

The Simpsons

     On December 17, 1989 the first Simpsons episode was aired and has since been the longest-running scripted American TV series. The Simpsons has received numerous awards, including a star on the walk of fame. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American life, culture, society and everything in between. 

The original debut drawings of the Simpson family

The show focuses on the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie who are a satirical depiction of working class American culture and life. The Simpsons has proved to be so influential, some of its popular catchphrases are even in the dictionary. The most notable example of this is Homer Simpsons popular phrase, "D'oh!" which is listed in the Oxford English Dictionary. Furthermore, famous quotes from the show are also entered in The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations. 

Before the Simpsons, many broadcasting networks would air cartoons that were solely for children, so many were short lived, so many television networks wouldn't not take a chance on cartoons. However The Simpsons got around this by lowering their production costs drastically and this led to a boom in the 90's of animated tv shows for adults. The Simpsons established an audience and a market during prime time that had previously not existed. The show has had its fair share of controversy, since the its very nature is satirical and nothing seems to be off limits. The Simpsons has had a huge impact on American culture, setting the stage for many other popular shows, bringing us some great catch phrases and managing to make fun of everything, while still remaining light hearted and funny. So if you're bored during this quarantine time, you might want to try a few episodes. Chances are you'll hear plenty of things we've been learning throughout the year, from satirical depictions of Presidents to quips about Vietnam and plenty of cartoonish American spirit to go around. 

Sources: 

https://decider.com/2016/06/13/10-ways-the-simpsons-changed-tv/

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20141216-how-the-simpsons-changed-tv