The Simpsons genre Theory:

What is significant about the Simpsons, is that just as star wars revolutionized the movies in terms of bringing about sci-fi to mass audience, the Simpson’s brought an animated series into primetime television? Never before had a mass audience related to yellow creatures on the T.V screen, some with spiked hair and the mother with blue hair. What our study is concerned about is whether we can read the T.V. or is it’s understanding as simple as it looks and sounds without reading anything from it.
Before losing focus it is rather important to pin point that the Simpson’s genre is that of a television sitcom. It depicts an animated family in spring field (an imagined city). It is currently the longest running sitcom, having run more than 10 years straight. According to Nabil’s survey which he conducted recently on the series. He found out that the majority of the students at York whom he had surveyed liked and were regular watchers of the series. What is important about this, is that the Simpson’s is actually targeted for students from grade school around 12- up, and Nabil was asking university students this question, and it seems to me that there is no disparity between these groups of students when it comes to watching the Simpson’s, as they is disparity in many other things, such as life priorities. Although its target is aims at teenagers and above, it has attracted an audience of younger people.
According to Mike Sculy who is the director of the series, the Simpson’s takes its story lines, from “lots of places including stories we read in newspapers, and some actually drawn from the writer’s own experiences, particularly Bart and Lisa Simpson stories” (Scully interview on the Simpson’s).

This all implies that there is something attached to the series, a message that is passed along. In order to appreciate the message one must decipher the hidden messages in the text whether by words or images such as the symbolic hair, the stereotypical messages in the text. It is important for sitcoms to emphasize on stereotypes and the Simpson is no exception. An example to these stereotypes is the way Marge’s hair is exaggerated, in that it is long and blue, and another very important one is that Merge stays home looking after the kids and homer is the bread earner. In this scenario we look at the subversive tendencies that allow a character such as Bart Simpson to become a hero and almost an “icon” for what we may call the slacker generation. We can say that the Simpson mostly begins with the same pattern, given that the audience is consistently given the same opening. This means that what Bart writes on the board is a clue to what the audience should expect. It is interesting that the programmes begin with a rather ‘angelic’ song raising to the clouds and having the family on the sofa. this gives an impression that the family is stuck together in a harmonious manner and no mischief. This is obviously misleading. In an episode Bart Simpson is seen causing mischief, Lisa playing a musical instrument, Merge who is shown with a dress and big curly hair (placing emphasis on her femininity) shopping in the supermarket and Homer at work. This is a clear depiction of stereotypical valued being exposed. It is the stereotypical American nuclear. Family depicted here, where Homer is the bread earner and the Merge does the affairs of the home. Homer seems to be very immature and times Merge actually seems to be his mother, but yet he is the one who goes out to work. Bart is stereotypical mischievous boy and his spiked hair, gives the typical American Look.
In conclusion the Simpson’s does not digress from its genre of a sitcom it only does it in a rather unique manner. This is through the medium of animation and an imagined town and people, but the message is still the same as all other sitcoms. You have to read T.V to comprehend this and it also leads us to believe that you have to read through the images and text of the T.V. refuting the argument that one cannot read T.V.

Reference:
http:// www.foxworld.com/simpsons
www.jumptheshark.com/s/simpson.html
www.thesimpsons.com/index html
www.cs.washington.edu/homes/jeffro/pubs/hightower1998simpsons.pdf