Sam Simon, a creator of the hit show The Simpsons, has died at the early age of 59. While it's unfortunate that he departed sooner than he should have, it's also unfortunate that a show of this nature has gained such purchase in the American psyche.
It is an attack on the very bourgeoisie who have lapped it up for an entire generation, often on the belief that watching it makes them intellectually superior or perhaps more in tune with social issues (after all, many of the scriptwriters attended Harvard, so basking in the glow of their smug worldview must be enriching). Issues are always addressed with a high level of crudity, sarcasm, and snark that now typifies many people's approach to everyday dialogue. As with so many other television shows and movies, there is also the unrelenting subversion of anything resembling moral or familial hierarchy: those appearing upright are found to be corrupt, whereas animals are smarter than humans, infants are smarter than children, children are smarter than adults, and everyone is smarter than father, who is a perpetually unshaven moron.
But The Simpsons was only a pioneer, much like Playboy. What has come to dominate entertainment in both spheres makes them look prudish by comparison.
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