Sometimes it feels like The Simpsons has been on the air since the dawn of TV, and will continue to be on till the heat death of the universe. With such a staggering number of seasons and episodes, there are sure to be more than a few stinkers in there.
The show has always labeled itself as satire, but, with after so much time spent with the people of Springfield, the show began to feel less like satire and more like a whimsical dramedy. Here are 10 jokes from the show that might have been satire, might have been truth bombs disguised as jokes, but which certainly would not fly today.
Bart And Edna Almost Get It On
In one early episode, we got to see Bart and his class teacher Edna Krabappel get to know each other better. By that, we mean Bart posed as an older man and catfished Ms. Krabappel online. She fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and even went so far as to send Bart dirty pictures of herself.
The story arc ended on a pretty sweet note, with Bart admitting to his lies and Mrs. Krabappel forgiving him—but such a narrative would send all kinds of wrong signals to present audiences.
Homer Dreams Of Killing Abe
Grampa Abe Simpson has always been something of a chore to be around. But, in the beginning, he was projected to be much more than that. So negative was his and Homer’s relationship that once, Homer dreamt of choking Abe to death after a near-lethal car accident.
Later on, the relationship between the two improved, and both Abe and Homer’s characters mellowed out considerably, so much so that the thought of such a sequence in modern-day episodes seems unthinkable.
Apu’s Accent
Yeah, you knew we were gonna mention that. Everyone’s favorite Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is voiced by American actor Hank Azaria, who based Apu’s accent on a man from India that he once knew.
Azaria has talked about how he was specifically asked to make the accent as stereotypically comical as possible when first approached for the part. South Indian communities have long rallied to have the character’s accent removed from the show, and even Azaria has offered to stop voicing Apu and let an actor of actual Indian ascent take on the part.
The Depiction Of Lord Ganesha
We’re not done with Apu yet, and, by extension, the treatment of India and Indians by The Simpsons. In one episode, Homer hits upon a method of coercing Apu into getting back together with his wife Manjula. To that end, Homer dresses Bart up into an approximation of the Hindu elephant god Ganesha, complete with a cardboard mask and extra arms, confusing the diety with the Hindu Goddess Kali’s, who is actually the one with the extra arms.
Obviously, today such an inaccurate and offensive portrayal of the Hindu pantheon would seem like a deliberate insult instead of a satirical joke about the American perception of other religions.
Fat Homer
One time Homer got laid off from work and opted to start working from home, in the process rapidly putting on weight and dressing up in a nightgown, mimicking the look of the mother from What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
Not only is that movie too old and unfamiliar to work with today’s audiences, but the mocking of overweight people projected by the episode would be lambasted by the anti-fat-shaming crowd.
The Rape Prank Call
When Family Guy had a crossover with The Simpsons, audiences knew some of Seth MacFarlane’s trademark cutting humor was going to rub off on the relatively milder world of Springfield. And, boy, did it ever. The makers decided to illustrate the main difference between the two shows by contrasting Springfield’s main problem child Bart with Quahog’s main problem child Stewie.
After becoming enamored by the older Bart’s more experienced worldview, Stewie attempts to imitate his idol by making a prank call to Moe’s Tavern. The prank did not go well when Stewie shouted ‘Your sisters getting raped!’ and hung up the phone. Bart wasn’t impressed, and neither were audiences.
Bart As Hugh Hefner
This is not so much a case of a tasteless joke as it no longer being relevant. When Bart started to model his life after Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and turned his treehouse into a palace of pleasure, the audiences hooted with laughter at seeing the eight-year-old imitate a lifestyle he did not truly understand.
But nowadays, Playboy is no longer the hot commodity it once was, being replaced by endless and much more daring free websites. Bart’s attempts at becoming a playboy seem cute and innocent now instead of risque when compared to the kind of adult content kids are exposed to these days.
The Sweatshop Intro
In a questionable case of meta-humor, the show did a couch gag where it showed Simpsons episodes being painstakingly animated in foreign sweatshops by underpaid and overworked women and children in squalid surroundings. The sequence was roundly condemned for appearing to make fun of a very real and serious problem and remains to this day perhaps the most notorious couch gag to ever air.
Bart Driven To Suicide
Bart has always been a great one for pranks and general naughtiness, with no amount of scolding by his family and teachers managing to cure him of his reckless attitude. But this feat was once accomplished after Bart lost his team an important baseball match, and the whole town joined together to condemn him for it.
After facing relentless bullying and spiraling into depression, Bart finally attempts to take his own life. Such a dark storyline would not fly today in light of relentless campaigns to end bullying, particularly online bullying.
The World Trade Center Jokes
Before the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the show did a few jokes about the famed monument. There was even that famously controversial scene from a newspaper clipping on the show that appeared to predict the attacks. While that was nothing but fearmongering paranoia, or maybe the work of Homer, the fact remains that any jokes about the World Trade Center today would be deemed to be in very poor taste.
