Can The Simpsons be used as a cromulent educational device to teach the childrens how to do good English? Unpossible! We’ve got advertising to children, a shitty example of satire for high school students, and the moral quagmire that is “Lisa the Iconoclast”. Also there’s some excellent usage, an idiot who likes Zombie Simpsons, and the before time, the long long ago, gets described as both the “Golden Era” and the “Golden Years”. Enjoy.
Lisa’s Dilemma – Academic discourse about whether or not Lisa and Donald Sutherland did the right thing in not telling the people the truth about Sprungfeld. The comments have a long discussion about the value of myth versus truth. I’d just like to point out that Lisa almost got shot when the authorities thought she was going to spill the beans. There’s the real lesson.
Prose and Cons: advertising to children, sports marketing and fashion branding – In discussing whether or not advertising is harmful to kids we get this extended and excellent Simspons citation and usage:
The Simpsons were at their best in the early days of the cartoon franchise when their satirical barbs and humorous social commentary had an edge, sadly lacking in recent years. In a season two episode, which first aired back in 1990, a campaign led by Marge Simpson against animated cartoon violence ultimately led to a town revolt against the visiting statue of David because of its nudity. Leading the charge to ban the statue was Helen Lovejoy, wife of the local minister. A self-confessed gossip, Mrs Lovejoy went on to develop a recurring catch-phrase throughout following programs, proclaiming often with an air of moralistic indignation, “Will someone please think of the children?”
I usually just drop the prologue and go with “Think of the children!”, and I’m not sure she ever actually used the word “will”, but whatever. That’s cromulent as all hell.
Fall 2009 TV preview: Sunday – FAIL:
‘The Simpsons’ begins its 20th season this year and amazingly has yet to run out of good, and funny, ideas for Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and Maggie to experience.
I bet there’s a lot of overlap between people who have a hard time counting past 20 and people who think Zombie Simpsons is funny.
Homer makes for brighter political minds. – People form opinions based on fictional television? Well, yeah. My experience is that it just reinforces existing beliefs, but I could be wrong.
An ode to John Swartzwelder (part one) – There doesn’t seem to be a part two yet, but whatever.
Homersexual – Wanna see an animated GIF of Homer making out with himself? Sure you do.
Think you’re as ‘s-m-r-t’ as Homer? – Simpsons pub trivia in Austin, TX this Sunday. Patrick Beach, the author, gives us this welcome insight into John Dicker, the guy behind Geeks Who Drink who organizes the quiz:
Does Dicker consider himself a fan?
‘Of the golden years,’ he said, back in the George Meyer and Conan O’Brien writing heyday.
Zombie Simpsons has made me leery of these kinds of quizzes and such, maybe this one won’t be so bad. Of course, I don’t live in Austin so I can’t go anyway.
20 All-Time Vilest Villains in Pop Culture – Mr. Burns checks in at #6.
Which Grocery Line Is Fastest? – Discussing a math teacher in California who’s trying to figure out which line is the fastest, Catherine Rampell earns a gold star for excellent video usage by posting the clip of Apu and Marge at the Monstromart.
Is There More To What We See? – An enjoyably skeptical look at Marge Simpson’s belief in angels (via Cubik’s Rube).
Fun Flick Friday II! – A high school (honors!) English class watched that vile “Four Women and a Manicure” Zombie Simpsons episode and attempted to fill out a “Satire Analysis worksheet”. If I was still in high school I’d leave it blank and take the zero on general principle.
More series business – Person watches lots of teevee, then quotes Nimoy:
It’s great turn-off-your-brain TV fast-food, though, and I’m looking forward to more Leonard Nimoy in season 2. “It’s all lies. But they’re entertaining lies. And in the end, isn’t that the real truth?” (Damn you, YouTube, for not having a clip of that scene!)
The quote is correct, but why shorten it? Because I love it so, here’s the full thing:
“The following tale of alien encounters is true, and by true I mean false. It’s all lies. But they’re entertaining lies. And in the end, isn’t that the real truth? The answer . . . is no.”
Still, excellent usage.
True Tales of Conversational Vengeance – This is from Matt Selman’s blog. It’s kinda funny and very cruel. I enjoyed it. Pity he’s only been writing on the show during the dark times. (via)
Stuff That Rocks My World #2 – This is basically, as the title implies, a list of cool stuff. #5 is a low-rent YouTube clip of Homer and Bart at the steel mill. It is prefaced by this awesome sentence:
Been watching a few Golden Era Simpsons episodes recently.
Also, #6 is the YouTube video of “Do You Wanna Date My Avatar?“. If you have not watched that, you should watch that. I don’t even play World of Warcraft and I think it’s funny.
I don’t have a link to end with this week, I have a tweet. From Twitter user iKurt:
Christ the new episodes of #Simpsons are fucking awful. Only watching cause I’m extremely bored and there is nothing else on tele.
Fucking awful indeed.
Dead Homer Society 
5 responses to “Friday Link Dump – ‘Think of the Children!’ Edition”
I’d love for anyone to try to teach a high school class and keep the kids interested.
I’m offended that you judge my students and what’s going on in my classroom without stepping foot in it. You don’t know me and you don’t know how anything about the approach I use in my classroom.
When teaching “traditional” lessons, I get students who turn in blank papers. When I implement something that relates to them–something that piques their interests–I get participation, attention, and proof that they’re learning something. Using media to support the content that I teach IS effective. It gives me a jumping point from which I can teach students how to analyze something they see in the real world.
If you’d like to “think of the kids,” why don’t you think about your language?
No offense was intended, just a general hatred of all things Zombie Simpsons. Please don’t mistake my utter contempt for Zombie Simpsons as a critique of your teaching approach. I’m fully in favor of anything and everything you want to do in your classroom to get through to your students, so long as it’s not from Season 12+ of The Simpsons. All the best (and I mean that sincerely).
As for my language, well, what can I say? I enjoy all the meats of our cultural stew.
The sixth season episode “The PTA Disbands” would be better to show the students. As well as being a great and funny episode, it should also give them an idea of the crappy conditions teachers are forced to put up with in underfunded schools.
Thanks for sincere well-wishes. We teachers need all the support we can get.
I don’t suppose it’s worth pointing out that Helen first said that catchphrase of hers (which, really, she only said in two episodes) in “Much Apu About Nothing”. In “Itchy and Scratchy and Marge”, she just went on about how certain parts of the human body are “evil”.