Book-It 'o15! Book #7
The Fifty Books Challenge, year six! ( 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014) This was a library request.
Title: Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation by Chris Tucker
Details: Copyright 2004, Da Capo Press
Synopsis (By Way of Front and Back Flaps):
"The first book to bring witty, opinionated, in-depth analysis to the longest running sitcom of all time and the most important pop-cultural phenomenon of our generation.
D'oh - it's The Simpsons. And here's the book with the behind-the-scenes story of how America's favorite nuclear family first arrived at a TV near you, how the series grew into a worldwide icon, and who brings it to life so brilliantly week after week, year after year.
But it's also about why The Simpsons matters. How on earth do Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and the rest of the make-believe, four fingered populace of Springfield make us think so much about family, religion, politics, the environment, TV, and more? You name it-- disaffected kids, greedy bosses, the colonization of your town by Starbucks, MacCyver-- Springfieldianities have dealt with it.
Since first airing in 1987 as a cartoon interlude on the short-lived Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons has deliciously skewered the foibles of American life, evolving into a cultural institution that reaches across the generations. As satire, it's sharp and funny. As a pop phenom, it's in a league of its own. And with Planet Simpson, it finally gets the sprawling, multidimensional critical look it so richly deserves.
In often scathingly funny chapters, the book pegs each major Simpsons character-- Homer Simpson, Everyman of the American Century... Marge, maternal voice of moral authority and anchor of Simpson family values... Bart, punk supremo... Lisa, voice of social conscience... Mr. Burns, unchecked capitalism personified. Not to mention the beloved bit players from Barney to Smithers to Krusty the Klown and the recurring comic and cosmic themes that give The Simpsons its edge and cultural resonance.
New to the chaotic world of Homer's family? Planet Simpson is a great way to get better acquainted. Think you know everything there is to know about Springfield and its most famous residents? Planet Simpson might make you think again."
Why I Wanted to Read It: The golden age of The Simpsons is possibly my favorite TV show, or at least in the top three. Why read a book that's over a decade old, when the landscape of television has changed so much, including the field in which The Simpsons paved (adult animated sitcoms)? I was intrigued by the concept of how the show has effected other people.
How I Liked It: One of my all-time favorite books (that I've discussed before) examines the history of the popular Barbie doll but at the same time, examines the cultural shifts and cultural anthropology before and during the doll's history. It's fascinating and highly entertaining.
It'd have been foolish to assume this book would be more of the same, but I held out hope that the premise could work. After all, the author lays it out in a highly engaging manner: after a potted history, chapters explore each character, along with themes that surround him/her and those tie into the show (Homer/consumerism, Marge/ethics and morality, Lisa/activism, Mr Burns/capitalism, et cetera).
The book starts off strong, giving a history that many (including die-hard fans) aren't that familiar with, cartoonist Matt Groening's rise to fame. It then becomes clear that this is as much a memoir for the author (a Gen Xer) as it is a study of the show, which isn't inherently flawed idea, but so much derailing from the narrative thread to share a personal aside really does... derail. Particularly since the author lapses so frequently into informality, like rapid-fire references (I love Simpsons references, and they can be done well, but it gets distracting and annoying in this format).
What was a promising and fascinating premise falters in execution so spectacularly that I was somewhat surprised to learn this book was as popular as it is. Perhaps the author has spawned/will spawn books far better than his own.
Notable: A particular example of sloppy writing and lazy thought process was the morality debate within the chapter on Marge Simpson.
The author seeks to paint moral outrage of both religious conservatives and the "politically correct" as exactly as unreasonable, unintelligent, and unimportant.
The author marvels at the "shrillness" (his word) of the "politically correct" to sift through media and analyze it, which is pretty rich coming from a guy who four hundred plus page book about a television show that he's (wait for it) sifting and examining from various levels, including a level that he clearly feels personally about, globalization. The derides and scorns the impact of any media, and yet in the same book can list all the references to Canada made on the show and discusses in another chapter how much it meant to him as a Canadian to see an American show criticizing American exceptionalism (in particular, a line from an early show in which a character reflecting on America's promise for an essay contest, wonders "Where else but America, or possibly Canada...").
A lesser but still sloppy pratfall comes when the author chastises The Simpsons for reinforcing an urban legend (the toilet water circulation in "Bart Versus Australia") and then actually says this while discussing advertising and branding.
“The extraordinary power of advertising is nothing new-- it was Coca-Cola's print advertising after all that gave the world the fat, jolly, red-and-white-suited version of Santa Claus-- but the years since Nike's 1987 declaration have played host to a staggering growth in the ubiquity of marketing messages.” (pg 170, 171)
Not even close, and checking one's sources on something like that seems super-important given that that he's attempting to attribute credit/blame for one of the most cherished images in the Western world.
Title: Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation by Chris Tucker
Details: Copyright 2004, Da Capo Press
Synopsis (By Way of Front and Back Flaps):
"The first book to bring witty, opinionated, in-depth analysis to the longest running sitcom of all time and the most important pop-cultural phenomenon of our generation.
D'oh - it's The Simpsons. And here's the book with the behind-the-scenes story of how America's favorite nuclear family first arrived at a TV near you, how the series grew into a worldwide icon, and who brings it to life so brilliantly week after week, year after year.
But it's also about why The Simpsons matters. How on earth do Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and the rest of the make-believe, four fingered populace of Springfield make us think so much about family, religion, politics, the environment, TV, and more? You name it-- disaffected kids, greedy bosses, the colonization of your town by Starbucks, MacCyver-- Springfieldianities have dealt with it.
Since first airing in 1987 as a cartoon interlude on the short-lived Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons has deliciously skewered the foibles of American life, evolving into a cultural institution that reaches across the generations. As satire, it's sharp and funny. As a pop phenom, it's in a league of its own. And with Planet Simpson, it finally gets the sprawling, multidimensional critical look it so richly deserves.
In often scathingly funny chapters, the book pegs each major Simpsons character-- Homer Simpson, Everyman of the American Century... Marge, maternal voice of moral authority and anchor of Simpson family values... Bart, punk supremo... Lisa, voice of social conscience... Mr. Burns, unchecked capitalism personified. Not to mention the beloved bit players from Barney to Smithers to Krusty the Klown and the recurring comic and cosmic themes that give The Simpsons its edge and cultural resonance.
New to the chaotic world of Homer's family? Planet Simpson is a great way to get better acquainted. Think you know everything there is to know about Springfield and its most famous residents? Planet Simpson might make you think again."
Why I Wanted to Read It: The golden age of The Simpsons is possibly my favorite TV show, or at least in the top three. Why read a book that's over a decade old, when the landscape of television has changed so much, including the field in which The Simpsons paved (adult animated sitcoms)? I was intrigued by the concept of how the show has effected other people.
How I Liked It: One of my all-time favorite books (that I've discussed before) examines the history of the popular Barbie doll but at the same time, examines the cultural shifts and cultural anthropology before and during the doll's history. It's fascinating and highly entertaining.
It'd have been foolish to assume this book would be more of the same, but I held out hope that the premise could work. After all, the author lays it out in a highly engaging manner: after a potted history, chapters explore each character, along with themes that surround him/her and those tie into the show (Homer/consumerism, Marge/ethics and morality, Lisa/activism, Mr Burns/capitalism, et cetera).
The book starts off strong, giving a history that many (including die-hard fans) aren't that familiar with, cartoonist Matt Groening's rise to fame. It then becomes clear that this is as much a memoir for the author (a Gen Xer) as it is a study of the show, which isn't inherently flawed idea, but so much derailing from the narrative thread to share a personal aside really does... derail. Particularly since the author lapses so frequently into informality, like rapid-fire references (I love Simpsons references, and they can be done well, but it gets distracting and annoying in this format).
What was a promising and fascinating premise falters in execution so spectacularly that I was somewhat surprised to learn this book was as popular as it is. Perhaps the author has spawned/will spawn books far better than his own.
Notable: A particular example of sloppy writing and lazy thought process was the morality debate within the chapter on Marge Simpson.
The author seeks to paint moral outrage of both religious conservatives and the "politically correct" as exactly as unreasonable, unintelligent, and unimportant.
The author marvels at the "shrillness" (his word) of the "politically correct" to sift through media and analyze it, which is pretty rich coming from a guy who four hundred plus page book about a television show that he's (wait for it) sifting and examining from various levels, including a level that he clearly feels personally about, globalization. The derides and scorns the impact of any media, and yet in the same book can list all the references to Canada made on the show and discusses in another chapter how much it meant to him as a Canadian to see an American show criticizing American exceptionalism (in particular, a line from an early show in which a character reflecting on America's promise for an essay contest, wonders "Where else but America, or possibly Canada...").
A lesser but still sloppy pratfall comes when the author chastises The Simpsons for reinforcing an urban legend (the toilet water circulation in "Bart Versus Australia") and then actually says this while discussing advertising and branding.
“The extraordinary power of advertising is nothing new-- it was Coca-Cola's print advertising after all that gave the world the fat, jolly, red-and-white-suited version of Santa Claus-- but the years since Nike's 1987 declaration have played host to a staggering growth in the ubiquity of marketing messages.” (pg 170, 171)
Not even close, and checking one's sources on something like that seems super-important given that that he's attempting to attribute credit/blame for one of the most cherished images in the Western world.