"The Simpsons" spreading propaganda?

Ok, I'll be brief with my explanation of why I'm posting this. I'd rather you watch the episode, then listen to your opinions.

I was recently watching a repeat of "The Simpsons" when the theme of the episode seemed odd. Homer gets angry because of a high electric bill, so he disconnects their appliances. Then they attend an alternative energy expo (which is depicted in quite a negative way IMO). As a result they purchase a wind turbine to power their house. Since their not connected to the grid, everything goes wrong. A whale beaches itself (twice), the neighborhood looks like a "bomb" hit it, etc.


Episode




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Now, I don't tend to read this deeply in to much, but this struck me as being a bit odd. The message I perceived was, "It looks/sounds good now, but you'll suffer later. So stay on the grid." I find that it sends the message that you will suffer more hardship just to save a couple of creatures, since the majority of the episode was negative I believe. The US National Anthem was even cut off due to loss of power from the wind turbine.

Any thoughts?

The Simpsons.... is a propaganda show.
Didnt you know?
The only thing they didnt do was the neutron dance as Israel bombed Palestine civilians.
In fact I dont think the writers of the Simpsons have ever contemplated mentioninghe Palestine situation?
They have shown Aussies in a negative light more than once though I guess we are easy targets for their type.
When we watch the simpsons we are just watching the internal beliefs of a very few humans with their personal and wider agendas.
Of course they are spreading propaganda.

reply to post by Dr Conspire


I should have included the word "more" in the title! I have seen it many times before, though I thought this was just non-stop. The entire episode.

Thanks for the reply.

The simpsons is a "propaganda show" written by those who deem themselves moral teachers of TV land.
They have portrayed Aussies in a negative light on more than one occassion.
LIke South Park every religion and creed / race is fair game but I dont think the Israel Palestine situation exists in The simpson /south park world.
Strange that.....no not strange just predictable.
And it is pathetic beyond words that anyone makes them rich by continuing to watch the censored crap masquerading as cutting edge.
Only cartoon creations would utter the self serving bilge of these shows.
But then again its probably better than most of Spielbergs utter crap.

I apologise for double post "how do you make an edit permanent?
Sory to OP I didnt mean to come across as arrogant as I did, I know many love the show.

Originally posted by Dr Conspire
I apologise for double post "how do you make an edit permanent?
Sory to OP I didnt mean to come across as arrogant as I did, I know many love the show.

No offense taken at all.

Click edit on your last post. Edit whatever, then click on edit post.

[edit on 27-5-2010 by KEMIK]

reply to post by Dr Conspire


I am confused. If they are a propaganda show, then what are they really trying to say? Do you really feel they are knocking Australians? I have to ask because they portray the FOX network in a negative light all the time and are quite vicious towards FOX News. So if they are propaganda, then does that not mean their propaganda includes the idea that you should not watch the channel they are on?

Not really arguing, just asking because it does not seem like both can be true.

Of course they are spreading propaganda... all TV shows do, even the ones that are supposed to be objective (ie the news). Everyone has an agenda to get out there and writers have the means to reach the most people. You just have to be aware that this is going on and it really doesn't affect you as much... in fact you begin to enjoy the programs even more due to the fact of everyone taking shots at everyone else.

As for portraying the "Green Movement" in a negative manner I would be more upset with Gore than the writers for the Simpsons

reply to post by KEMIK


There was also recently a repeat where they went to Epcot center and went on a ride based on energy of the future. Green technology was portrayed in a very ugly light but the main joke was about how the ride was sponsored by oil companies. Seems to me like these things kind of even each other out, no?

I do remember Homer buying an electric car once but I do not remember if the car was crappy or not before he drove it off the pier.

reply to post by K J Gunderson

Well Rupert Murdoch is /was an Australian , it is disingenuous for them to do this , it gives them somort of Juvenile credibility.
But think about it.....and it is really like a silverspoon child dissing his parents knowing they wont kill off their precious.
Its a superfical pre authorised orwellian ruse.
I remember a couple of decades ago Australia wanted to have more home grown shows on the TV in oz.
Guess what Hollywood lobbied Washington and got Qantas(oz national air carrier) threatened with exlusion from US air space, unless they accepted more US(Hollywood content) hows that for freedom of speech and sovereignty?
Brainwashed Aussies watching shows produced by right wing/left wing Americans over and over bad ,good mediocre foriegn propaganda, we never saw any shows mentioning the Palestinian tragedy, but plenty about WW2 and the Holocaust.
We are all brainwashed by design.
Australia was by not even a bullet being fired programmed to follow the US mindset.
The simpsons what a lie.
Ok I know many love the show so Iam not attacking you all at all.
Peace yes , but know when peace is a lie.

Originally posted by Dr Conspire
reply to post by K J Gunderson

 

Well Rupert Murdoch is /was an Australian , it is disingenuous for them to do this , it gives them somort of Juvenile credibility.
But think about it.....and it is really like a silverspoon child dissing his parents knowing they wont kill off their precious.
Its a superfical pre authorised orwellian ruse.

But it does not change the point. The whole conspiracy that they are spreading propaganda is based on them mocking something. Now you justify how they mock something else? Why is it not more propaganda? Do you think propaganda works on that level? People sit there and take the time to discern which ones are socio-political orders and which ones are Oedipal expressions of angst?

I remember a couple of decades ago Australia wanted to have more home grown shows on the TV in oz.
Guess what Hollywood lobbied Washington and got Qantas(oz national air carrier) threatened with exlusion from US air space, unless they accepted more US(Hollywood content) hows that for freedom of speech and sovereignty?

Well that does suck, no argument here.

Brainwashed Aussies watching shows produced by right wing/left wing Americans over and over bad ,good mediocre foriegn propaganda, we never saw any shows mentioning the Palestinian tragedy, but plenty about WW2 and the Holocaust.

Hmmmm. If only there was a way to stop watching tv and go learn stuff on your own. I will think on that and see if I can come up with a way to help you out there.

We are all brainwashed by design.
Australia was by not even a bullet being fired programmed to follow the US mindset.
The simpsons what a lie.

I just have a hard time believing the Simpsons are so nefarious when they do a wonderful job of bashing both liberal and conservative issues. What is the underlying message there?

Besides, there is no design and no brainwashing. If you watch too much tv and let it influence you in such a way, that is really kind of who's fault? Just asking.

Ok I know many love the show so Iam not attacking you all at all.
Peace yes , but know when peace is a lie.

I did not feel you were and I hope you feel the same. I know I can come across that way when I am really just trying to understand better.

I just do not understand how something can be a propaganda mechanism when it sends such mixed messages. Know what I mean?

Absolutely the Simpsons show is leftist propaganda just like most all of telavivzion.

America is wide open. We even let our enemies come here and play the game with us. They always lose.

They'll have their Masada moment soon enough.

Its always about what they dont mention.
That is what Hitler , Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt knew and used.
Did they criticise in any small way or did they mention in any small way the 1948 invasion of Palestine?
No but Hitler featured several times.
It in a nutshell is written by Jewish writers , who cannot offend the orthodox of their race/creed, but anything else is fair /easy game.
The simpsons in Palestine "NEVER"
Why thats the answer ?believe it or not most people watching the Simpsons couldnt answer.
Iam neither anti Jewish/ nor anti Semitic, but Iam against unchecked unrecognised Zionism.
Alas most people dont know it is controlled by zionism(THe simpsons that is)? ie what they wont mention.

Originally posted by Dr Conspire
It in a nutshell is written by Jewish writers , who cannot offend the orthodox of their race/creed, but anything else is fair /easy game.

You mean like all the lame Jewish stereotypes portrayed in the show? Did you see the Golem episode?

reply to post by KEMIK


I don't suppose you have ever been to an alternative energy fair on a small town like that the simpsons supposedly live at, heck, I live in the DC area and I've been to fairs that frankly wanna make me vomit.

Why did I go? My college project required a wind turbine. Appart from being overpriced, the guys selling them had no idea what a Watt was. Instead they kept referring me to the phone number on the brochures to answer my questions. They tried to sell the word 'green', not technology. I told them my home receives hydroelectric power, and asked how that wasn't green? Their response: A blank stare. But then again, that's what salesman do.

I do agree they had the message 'don't interfere, if you do, you'll realize your mistake later' written all over the screen, however why shouldn't they? Do you own a wind turbine? Do you know what happens to them during high wind speeds? Do you know how much they cost?

Wind turbines and residential areas don't mix. They are meant for those that have the time to take care of them, the cash to buy them, and a big enough backyard so you can put it far enough so your neighboards don't complain about the noise.

But what about solar panels? Same problems less the noise. Ever heard of that woman who nearly lost her home for not understanding the problems 'going green' would bring? Here: www.guardian.co.uk...

Of course she could always buy bigger and more expensive batteries to keep her quality of life equal to the one she had before going off the grid, but buying more batteries is really helping the eviroment?

Also, Read your bill from time to time, most money you pay goes towards fixing technical problems in your area. Imagine the grid didn't exist and everyone had their own power source, do you think technical problems would magically go away? Nope, and I don't think everyone would have the time nor money to replace a solar cell everytime a squirrel decided it was a nice toy. We pay money to the grid because its convenient.

The whale part? Idk about the exploding whale, but I did keep thinking that the story line was totally unrelated until the greenpeace (?) guys helped Lisa realize that by saving the smaller whales she would be hurting the sharks -- yup 'don't interfere, if you do, you'll realize your mistake later and it will hurt'

[edit on 27-5-2010 by daniel_g]

I can see how some episodes would be considered propaganda but i didn't see it at all in this one

I saw the two ethanol producers wrestle because they both wanted each others customers (hows that propaganda?) I saw homer tell the solar mascot (a guy in the suit not the idea of solar panels) to get a real job (which makes sense and doesn't seem like propaganda) They made some jokes about the wind energy being expensive but they still bought it, and it worked great till homer decided that supplying the energy company with his extra energy (lowering his bill as well) was a bad idea (typical homer stupidity, its hilarious haha).

Only the first 6mins or so had anything to do with energy and none of it seemed like "propaganda" to me. It is a fact that if their is no wind, wind turbines dont turn, thats why one would need multiple sources to get completely off the grid, like a solar/wind/geothermal combo of sorts.

How was the storm propaganda? you do realize that windmills use wind, not create it, it had nothing to do with the storm coming

The whale beaching was sad, but its a fact of life, and no human "cause" was ever attributed to the whale beaching, it was blown in from strong winds.

I swear some people just see "propaganda" and "conspiracy's" where they are none.

The Simpson's is a Comedy, and comedy has to be relevant to today's issues or it loses its zazz (yeah i said zazz haha)

[edit on 5/27/2010 by Alaskan Man]

Originally posted by Dr Conspire

I remember a couple of decades ago Australia wanted to have more home grown shows on the TV in oz.
Guess what Hollywood lobbied Washington and got Qantas(oz national air carrier) threatened with exlusion from US air space, unless they accepted more US(Hollywood content) hows that for freedom of speech and sovereignty?

I remember that all too well.
The Americans also tried to force Australia to give up our pharmaceutical system which keeps down the price of medicine here.
And Little Johnny (Howard) was somehow able to make a binding agreement, in bed, over the phone, without consulting parliament and without the public ever having access to the details of the agreement ...

I'm not knocking the Libs, I'm knocking parliamentarians. Cruddy Ruddy is no better.

Having all oil sold for US dollars is what gave America the power to muscle through such unequal agreements worldwide, and it was to preserve that situation that America began fighting Iraq. And Bush was surprised at how little help we have them ...

Yes, the Simpsons is propaganda, and it's forced onto televisions worldwide.

They did the same old hit piece with Cannabis too. At the end, homers eyes are cured, but pot is made illegal again because the supporters of medicinal marijuana forget to vote. I think the Simpson's are old news anyway. Too bad jerks, the people are fed up with the lies and the drug war. Ironically, I have fry as my avatar.


[edit on 27-5-2010 by SmokeandShadow]

Originally posted by Kailassa

Originally posted by Dr Conspire

I remember a couple of decades ago Australia wanted to have more home grown shows on the TV in oz.
Guess what Hollywood lobbied Washington and got Qantas(oz national air carrier) threatened with exlusion from US air space, unless they accepted more US(Hollywood content) hows that for freedom of speech and sovereignty?

I remember that all too well.
The Americans also tried to force Australia to give up our pharmaceutical system which keeps down the price of medicine here.
And Little Johnny (Howard) was somehow able to make a binding agreement, in bed, over the phone, without consulting parliament and without the public ever having access to the details of the agreement ...

I'm not knocking the Libs, I'm knocking parliamentarians. Cruddy Ruddy is no better.

Having all oil sold for US dollars is what gave America the power to muscle through such unequal agreements worldwide, and it was to preserve that situation that America began fighting Iraq. And Bush was surprised at how little help we have them ...

Yes, the Simpsons is propaganda, and it's forced onto televisions worldwide.

Good points , but we still owe a great debt to the USA, they saved our asses in the last world war, and on th ewhole they are kindred spirits.....oops I deny brainwashing no not me.
Gllaxo Klein mmm I wonder what they produce?
Nahh

Originally posted by K J Gunderson

Originally posted by Dr Conspire
It in a nutshell is written by Jewish writers , who cannot offend the orthodox of their race/creed, but anything else is fair /easy game.

You mean like all the lame Jewish stereotypes portrayed in the show? Did you see the Golem episode?

Lame but never powerful eh ?Zionism is powerful and it may be just and good, but it should be at least recognised as real, and sadly it is not even mentioned anymore.
People hearing AntiZionism think Anti Jewish or Anti Semite, thats how effective Hollywood has been through its movies and TV screenings.
Its a shame because Zionism is probably mankinds only hope , yet it is in the shadows of shadows in the supposedly enlightened western world?