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daisy_bey 's review for:
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
As someone who grew up watching the Simpsons almost every single day, I got very excited when I found this book! It contains a lot of interesting information about the creation of the show and the thought processes behind the early episodes.
Whenever I told people that The Simpsons are one of my favourite shows, they would usually say „Oh but that show is stupid“ and I would always say „It may seem like it but if you actually watch and listen and understand the joke, it is very funny and smart. There are many layers to it.“ That is one of the reasons why I love the show and this book does a good job in showing that there is much more hard work, thought and intent behind the seemingly stupid jokes, which I appreciated a lot.
The author also dives into the cultural influence the earlier episodes of The Simpsons had, especially in television history.
I also appreciated that problematic aspects of the show were brought up, such as the misogyny and lack of diversity behind the scenes in the earlier seasons. However, I feel like certain things were not pointed out enough. For example, the offensive stereotype that the character Apu embodies and the harm this caused were mentioned but the controversial ways the show has dealt with this, for example in season 29, EP 15, where Lisa, out of all the people, was made to say „It’s hard to say. Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?“ (while breaking the fourth wall and looking at a picture of Apu), were left out.
Something else that bothered me was that the creators of the show were praised a lot in this book. My problem with this part was that, while the author did mention important issues such as the lack of diversity and misogyny behind the scenes, I would have wished for it to be made more clearer that these people aren’t faultless and don’t necessary stand behind the stories and jokes they write. What I’m specifically getting at here is the fact that one of the main writers of the shows earlier seasons is a known right-wing supporter, who also supports the right to own guns and is anti-environmentalist. This person was highly praised and celebrated but while other issues were rightfully brought up, this was not mentioned once. Or the sheer irony that this person has written/co-written countless episodes that emphasised the importance of environmentalism and criticised and even made fun of the second amendment and those who follow the gun craze, were not brought up at all.
Something else that bothered me was that the creators of the show were praised a lot in this book. My problem with this part was that, while the author did mention important issues such as the lack of diversity and misogyny behind the scenes, I would have wished for it to be made more clearer that these people aren’t faultless and don’t necessary stand behind the stories and jokes they write. What I’m specifically getting at here is the fact that one of the main writers of the shows earlier seasons is a known right-wing supporter, who also supports the right to own guns and is anti-environmentalist. This person was highly praised and celebrated but while other issues were rightfully brought up, this was not mentioned once. Or the sheer irony that this person has written/co-written countless episodes that emphasised the importance of environmentalism and criticised and even made fun of the second amendment and those who follow the gun craze, were not brought up at all.
All in all this was an interesting and entertaining read. I would rate the book itself 3,5⭐️. The audiobook narration was really good and delightful to listen to, which is why my final rating is 3,75⭐️ in total.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audios for giving me access to this books audiobook ARC.