simpsons as a pomo text

The simpsons can be suggested as a postmodern comedy.
There are many reasons for this, which make it undeniably postmodern.

Firstly it follows a non linear narrative, creating confusions over time and space. Every episode is a new start, and ends with a narrative resolution. This is a very postmodern trait, and is quite typical of these sorts of comedy programs, for example Family Guy. They make the audience aware of this when one of the characters claims "ohh don't worry, it'll all be alright by the next episode". This is just one of the example of when the 4th wall is broken in the Simpsons.

In addition to this, a conscious decision has been made not to localise The Simpsons to any distinct region besides America, nor to any one period of time besides the postmodern era… What’s more, the Simpson children never age or progress in school. In 17 years Maggie has not learned to walk or talk, and still uses her dummy. The family are timeless as well as placeless. The Simpsons are nowhere, living at no time, and representing no specific family – but paradoxically they are every family everywhere at any point in the postmodern era.

The decline of the meta-narrative is a frequent theme throughout the entirety of the Simpsons, and they are constantly poking fun at religion, government, and other influential characters. Examples of this are, when Homer gives his soul to the devil for a doughnut, when he is killed by some brocolli and goes to the gates of heaven, and is told he cannot enter until he does a good deed. When he does St peter misses it because he was reading the newspaper. Another example is when homer tries to vote for Obama, but the vote goes to Mcain, suggesting that the votes were rigged. The video is available through the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBaX9GPSaQ
The video also shows a specially made "Fat Booth" highlighting the rising problem of obesity in the united states, making light of pressing social issues.

The show’s refusal to adhere to the norms of accepted sitcom subject matter is one of its foremost postmodern traits. It is an attitude that corresponds well to postmodernism’s aim to celebrate cultural differences and bring them to the surface. The Simpsons is a testament to the postmodern decentering of contemporary mass consciousness, by embracing diversity of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and socio-economic status.