The iconic yet dysfunctional family have recently hit the big 3-0, but have they had their time in the lime-light? The internet doesn't seem to think so...
“Goodnight son,” the father told his boy, tucking him into bed. “Sweet dreams,” the mother wished her daughter, turning off her bedroom light. “Rock-a-bye baby” the mother sung to her youngest, who was violently sucking her dummy. Moments later, as the parents get into bed, their scared kids run to the door asking to join them and the mother begrudgingly accepts. The light turns off and the darkness suddenly engulfs their lemon-yellow faces.
Celebrating 30 years since first gracing our screens on The Tracey Ullman Show, in a clip titled ‘Good Night’ in 1987, the Simpsons family have become a part of our own. It’s hard to find somebody who hasn’t adopted their lingo or stared wide-eyed at the TV wondering who shot Mr Burns. But it’s even harder to find somebody who hasn’t stumbled across a slapstick Springfield reference online. The internet just might be the ubiquitous force that’s preventing this neon-coated world from turning pale.
Since the beginning, The Simpsons’ charming yet cheeky portrayal of modern, albeit slightly dysfunctional family life, has bagged themselves a cult following on and offline, even Homer Simpson has 2 million Twitter followers. But if you delve further into the web, or Homer’s Compu-Global-Hyper-Mega-Net, whichever takes your fancy, you’ll find a virtual community of accounts dedicated to the show’s fashion, the show’s food and even the show’s literature.
Instagram account @SimpsonsLibrary does precisely what it says on the tin. Nearing 18,000 followers in just under a year, owner Carmen Lopez collects every magazine, book and manual that’s drawn and displayed on TV. “I’ve always found fun in The Simpsons book covers, one sleepless night I started collecting some to pass the time and, voilà.” Lopez continued to converse about her reasoning behind the online universe the cartoon has unexpectedly created. “There’s a huge community of Simpsons lovers, all of us have a different perspective about the show and we are so lucky to share and enjoy [it] without watching TV, thanks to the internet.”
Worshipping the show through the latest issue of their local newspaper the Springfield Shopper, or Bart’s comic book Angry Dad, has given America’s longest-running animated series a fresh angle. These internet exhibitions have enabled viewers to appreciate details that are often overlooked when confronted with the jaundice-yellow family, who has become so darn-diddly-recognisable neighborunio!
Adopting their famous colour so they would stand out to channel surfers was creator Matt Groening’s motive. “When it came to pick the colour for the cartoon, I didn’t want the conventional cartoon colours. An animator came up with the Simpsons’ yellow and as soon as she showed it to me, I said ‘This is the answer!’” he told the BBC. “Because when you’re flicking through the channels, and see a flash of yellow, you’ll know you’re watching The Simpsons.” But this isn’t the show’s only applauded design feature.
In early seasons when drawings were still rough around the edges, object perspectives were slightly askew and benefits of electronic colouring were unknown, The Simpsons used traditional cel animation, a hand-drawn process, now sadly lost to our digital society. But one account pushing the retro Simpson aesthetic to the forefront of our lives is fellow Instagram account, @Senic_Simpsons. Doubling as an art gallery, it flaunts the show’s most attractive backdrops to its 300,000 followers. “I first started it based on a few scenes that I really liked, I just found them really interesting and beautiful. Half the fun of this is curating something people have seen before and creating something new.” the anonymous creator explained. The only catch is that it solely focuses on seasons 1-10, “that’s because the episodes are still hand coloured, so the palettes and visuals were better, when it started to be computer animated, it became a little less pretty.”
Acknowledging the stylistic appeal attached to the cartoon, but warping it into a lilac-tinted psychedelic journey, complete with static VHS special effects is Simpsonwave. It’s safe to say this isn’t a legacy to Bart Simpson’s 90s number one hit, ‘Do the Bartman’, but, in fact, a whole new subgenre of music found in the nooks of YouTube under the ‘Trippy as F*ck’ category. The niche sub-genre formed from Vaporwave, which in itself is a micro-genre of electronic music, combines chill jazz melodies with whimsical visuals from the show.
Since being created by physics undergrad Lucien Hughes in 2016, the popularity of Simpsonwave is growing, with one video titled ‘SUNDAY SCHOOL’ now reaching 12 million views. Talking to The Tab, Hughes spoke about his inspiration behind the project. “After Christmas 2015 I got ill and spent an extra month off uni so I had a lot of free time on my hands” he exclaimed. “I’ve just been making these mostly for my own enjoyment, but I think a lot of people enjoy them because the combination of The Simpsons (a program everyone grew up watching) and very laid-back nostalgia-driven music which reminds them of their childhood.”
Whether it’s rejoicing in artistic snapshots of the series or satisfying your ears with its new nostalgic genre, it’s clear The Simpsons has found a second home online. Soon to add another record to its list, obtaining the title of America’s longest-running scripted primetime TV show, the cartoon has unlocked the padlock to longevity. But it’s the internet who’s proudly wearing the key on a chain, around its neck.
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