Reception Theory

Oliver Corson

The Simpsons is a long running animated comedy what focuses on the family in the town of Springfield. The Family includes Father Homer, Mother Marge, Son Bart and Daughters Lisa and Maggie. So far they have made moments happen for 27 seasons spanning from 1989-2015 and the show is still going because how much it is loved by fans around the world. The target audience for The Simpsons can be for all ages because of the range of ages of characters in the show what people can relate to. The show jumps between borderline offensive humour, goof humour with childish gags so it really gives everyone what they want to see. An example of one target audience The Simpsons try to bring in are young males to older males typically ages from 18-40. The show is mainly told from Homer's point of view and since he is the main character and is a balding fat man around the age of 40 people can relate to this. People who enjoy Homer also can enjoy Bart because they grew up like Bart and are now currently living like Homer. People in the audience relate to the opinions of the show, they enjoy the fact that Homer can say things what they cant in real life. One method of Audience classification is the Income status model. For the Simpsons the show can realistically be watched by anyone and everyone but the show will mainly be watched by working class because it appeals to people who have finished work/school and want to relax after a busy day.

One way The Simpsons can be taken is a Preferred reading. The Preferred Reading is the understanding of what the writer's are trying to do. An example of this is that The Simpsons is a normal modern day family who add a bit of humour to their lives. They live their normal day to day lives Homer goes to work, Marge stays at home doing work around the house and taking care of Maggie while Bart and Lisa go to school. Homer is a perfect example of how his life can be taken because the way he lives his life people may disagree with it and say that he is a bad parent because he goes to Moe's bar often. But other people agree with the way he lives his life because he takes his kids to church even though he disagree's with it, he can sometimes show how much of a caring father he is when in one episode he has been saving for an air conditioner for a long time and in the same episode Lisa's saxophone breaks and instead of paying for an air conditioner he gets Lisa's saxophone repaired, Homer showed there that he is a good family man. Overall the audience understands the writers intent of The Simpsons that even though sometimes they can be the most dopiest people ever, they still care for one another and are just living their day to day lives together and that the programme challenges traditional values and represents a modern family for a modern audience.

Another way The Simpsons can be taken is a Oppositional Reading. The Oppositional Reading is the understanding of the preferred reading but ultimately rejecting it and looking at a text another way.

An example of this is that even though the show is made to appear as though it is directed at a family based audience of all ages and racial backgrounds. But the show reflects stereotypes what sometimes are not necessarily true, for example those of an Asian background simply portraying asian men to be shop keepers and asian wives to have large numbers of kids which is not reality. The show sometimes reinforces gender difference in a derogative manner, and a great example of this is Mother Marge, the show sometimes undermines the role of women through the low status of Marge in the family.

Lastly, one other way what The Simpsons can be taken is a Negotiated Reading. The Negotiated Reading is when the decoded message doesn't correspond with the encoded intentional message, the audience agrees with some but not all of the Preferred Reading. An example of this is that even though most of the times the show is positively received by all audience types, it can be argued that sometimes the story lines can be taken too far and they are not realistic. Sometimes they are taken to the point where audience members cant gain personal gratifications from reading the text. An example of this is the halloween special episode's even though they are very enjoyable to watch sometimes they can be taken in the wrong way and you cant gain any personal gratifications. 

Extension:
Gratification is the pleasurable emotional reaction of happiness in response to a fulfilment of a desire or the fulfilment of a goal. For The Simpsons, the uses and gratifications model by Bulmer and Katz can be used to show what type of audience watches the show. Firstly one type of audience that watches the show is the Entertainment/Escapism group. These people want a source of entertainment and a form of escape from everyday pressures. They can get this from watching The Simpsons because in the show they can do things what we cannot do in reality, the things they say and do with each other sometimes is not possible in reality, so for the audience it is a great way to feel like what they want to do is being showed for their entertainment and escapism.

Another type of audience group from the uses and gratification model what watches the show is the Personal identity group. These people compare their own life with characters and look at how they're problems and perspectives relate to them as well. The Simpsons is the perfect show for these people just because of the range of characters what the show has. It has a very high range of ages as well it can range from toddlers up to Grandparents. For example teenagers can relate to characters like Bart, who gets up to no good around the neighbourhood and in school, most teenagers are like that an early age. Another example of a character what people can relate to is Homer, Homer is a balding fat man around the age of 40 who has a wife and three kids and knows what it is like to be a family man but at the same time he doesn't help himself when he is in the bar getting drunk for the most stupidest of reasons plus not having the best of moments with people around town, people can relate to this because of how general the character is in relation to raising a family and growing older.