Doh!!!
'Simpsons' Animates Gay Nuptials, and a Debate
By SHARON WAXMAN
Published: February 21, 2005
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 20 - In the ongoing culture wars over whether gays
should have the right to marry, an animated question reared its head on
Sunday prime-time television: as goes "The Simpsons," does the nation
go, too?
In an episode titled "There's Something About Marrying," a longtime
character on Fox's 15-year hit - it was Marge Simpson's sister Patty
Bouvier, a closely held secret until the 8 p.m. broadcast - came out of
the closet while Homer Simpson conducted dozens of same-sex weddings
after small-town Springfield legalized the unions in a bid to increase
tourism. As television's longest-running situation comedy, "The
Simpsons" is no stranger to hot-button social, religious and political
issues, mocking wardrobe malfunctions, Hollywood liberals and born-again
Christians, among other targets.
But when a show as mainstream and popular as this takes on one of the
most divisive issues in American society, it is certain to attract
attention. Bookmakers in the United States and England were taking bets
as to which character would be revealed as homosexual, and whether there
would be a kiss - a nod, perhaps, to the popular programming gimmick of
having lesbian characters lock lips during sweeps periods like the
current one.
But mostly, television experts, fans and advocates for gay marriage
ruminated over the larger significance of the moment.
"The issue was mainstream to some degree, but now that they've deigned
it worthy of the show it is interwoven into the fabric of popular
culture," said Ray Richmond, a television columnist for The Hollywood
Reporter and co-editor of the anthology "The Simpsons: A Complete Guide
to Our Favorite Family."
He added, " 'The Simpsons' bestows upon something a pop culture status
it never had before, simply by virtue of being ripe for a joke."
(BetUS.com posted odds on the kiss at 7 to 5, and laid odds on Patty as
the favorite to come out of the closet.)
Not unexpectedly, culture warriors were swift to weigh in, both for and
against the cartoon's treatment of the issue.
"It's saying to those who demonize homosexuality, or what they call the
homosexual agenda, anything from 'Lighten up' to 'Get out of town,' "
said Marty Kaplan, associate dean of the University of Southern
California's Annenberg School of Communication and host of a media show
on the talk radio network Air America. "It sounds as though they're
saying that what the religious right calls 'the homosexualist agenda,'
as if it were creeping Satanism, is: these people are your neighbors in
the Springfield that is America."
Indeed, in some ways the Simpsons' fictional hometown, Springfield, has
become a surrogate for mainstream, small-town America, with Homer its
bumbling working-class hero. The closest parallel may well be the
endearing though intolerant Archie Bunker, who became a symbol of
working-class America in the 1970's show "All in the Family."
L. Brent Bozell III, president of the Parents Television Council,
criticized "The Simpsons" for addressing the issue of gay marriage,
though he cautioned that he had not seen the episode. A parental
advisory preceded the broadcast.
"At a time when the public mood is overwhelmingly against gay marriage,
any show that promotes gay marriage is deliberately bucking the public
mood," he said.
"I'd rather them not do it at all," he added. "You've got a show watched
by millions of children. Do children need to have gay marriage thrust in
their faces as an issue? Why can't we just entertain them?"
The show's writers could not be reached for comment, and Fox declined to
comment.
Since debuting in 1989, "The Simpsons" has commonly skewered the most
sensitive topics of social, religious, political and cultural debate.
The culture, in turn, has returned the favor. "The Simpsons" has been
featured in at least one university philosophy course, in which Homer
was used as a tool to understand Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche, and in a
mathematical course to explore topics like calculus and Riemannian
geometry.
The show, now in its 16th season, still garners strong ratings, while
reruns of episodes from past years are broadcast continually on Fox. It
has become a billion-dollar franchise for the network, spawning
lucrative DVD packages, books and consumer merchandise.
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