In Yeatman’s essay ‘What Makes a Short Film Good’ Stephen McGlashan states that a short film “can be anything but a feature film.” (Yeatman, 1998) Animated episodes such as The Simpsons (FOX 1989-2016) share common traits with short films and therefore can be analysed in a similar way, using short film theory and analysis it is possible to demonstrate how The Simpsons provides an accurate representation of contemporary American culture. Feltmate explains how “The Simpsons is quickly becoming a recognizable cultural source for examining shifting political, social, and religious trends in the United States.” (Feltmate, 2012) Since its pilot in 1989 The Simpsons has seen an abundance of change to American culture, it has adapted and changed to fit the times in an incredibly sophisticated way in comparison to other animations; episodes have covered the war on drugs, America’s gun laws and immigration.

Raskin developed a theory to assist in analysing short films and published it in his essay ‘Five Parameters of Story Design in the Short Fiction Film’, he stated that each of the five parameters which “makes film stories function optimally” is a “pair of properties that can be thought of as balancing or completing one another.” (Raskin, 2002) When both components are present and balanced “their interplay shapes and enriches the [filmic] event” (Raskin, 2002) These five parameters are “Cause and Effect”, “Consistency/Surprise”, “Image/Sound”, “Character/Object” and “Simplicity/Depth” (Raskin, 2002). To analyse an episode of The Simpsons as a short film in order to demonstrate its place in contemporary culture, it is important to analyse how it utilises those five parameters set out by Raskin.

The main focus for this analysis will be on the episode ‘Much Apu About Nothing’ (FOX 1996) in which The Simpsons explores American attitudes towards immigration and race. For the first parameter for analysis, Raskin described how “It is generally believed that the core of any story which is satisfying to its public, is a chain of cause-and-effect relationships” (Raskin, 2002) Cause and effect is a simple narrative principle, but without it in a short film, feature or television episode the plot becomes weak. In this episode there are several instances of cause and effect: a wild bear causes the residents of Springfield to pay higher taxes in order to patrol the bear, them not wanting to pay higher taxes causes a new bill passed to deport all immigrants, Homer’s character is a spokesman in favour of the bill which causes his family to help their friend Apu gain American citizenship, but all of the immigrants other than Apu still end up getting deported at the end of the episode. This is a form of cause and effect which reverts back to the original problem, and all of it being Homer’s fault for starting the rally that lead to the law being passed whilst also being separately triggered and causally linked to the wild bear; Gerald Prince wrote that “any story must have at least two events which not only occur at different times but are also causally related” (Raskin on Prince, 2002) While the episodes are made for obvious comedy effect, these actions of cause and effect help the writers harmlessly poke fun at American citizens; with the reason behind immigrants getting deported from Springfield being that the residents don’t want to pay as much in tax, and they would rather have a van patrolling the streets looking for one wild bear than having immigrants living in their town. Although being rather stereotypical, for a lot of the world sit-coms such as The Simpsons are their only way of knowing what American culture is like. For Americans, the negative effects of Homer’s actions serve to persuade them against prejudices towards immigrants.

In ‘The Cartridge Family’ (FOX, 1996) a soccer mob causes Homer to get a gun to protect his family, which leads to his wife leaving him, which then causes Homer to re-think his attitudes towards the gun and he chooses his family over it. Similarly, in this episode the writers chose this aspect of American culture to persuade Americans to do the same as Homer and decide against guns. In America the second amendment gives American citizens the right to bear arms, and it has been a topic of debate for many years. This episode, now airing ten years ago, still tackles this controversial aspect of American culture. As such a popular television programme enjoyed by both children and adults, it is important how they use their popularity and their position in culture to try and dissuade people from the negative parts of American life. The first parameter of cause and effect is present and balanced in the episode and in the series as a whole; when cause and effect is balanced the characters act on initiative and make their own choices, as opposed to acting as though programmed or “are reduced to the status of helpless puppets” (Raskin, 2002) when acted on by forces beyond their control which is not the case in The Simpsons.

The second parameter to analyse for The Simpsons and its place in popular American culture is “Consistency/Surprise”.  Raskin says that “Any major character in a short fiction film should have definition, a central core of attributes that remain constant.” (Raskin, 2002) Throughout the long running series of The Simpsons, all major characters have remained constant in their defining nature. For example, in ‘Homer’s Phobia’ (FOX, 1997) Homer befriends a homosexual man, only to abandon him as a friend when he realises his sexuality. The viewer does not find this side of the character familiar to them, so by the end of the episode the two are friends again and Homer apologises. This example shows how even though the character of Homer does something to surprise the viewer, he still remains consistent by the end of the episode. It also serves to demonstrate to American citizens the dangers of homophobia, and by showing Homer’s ideology change it would help change the viewer’s as he is a character many Americans relate to. In order for the balance of consistency and surprise to be effective, Raskin states that “Each successive action should be both unexpected and yet fully compatible with the character definition already established, so that although each new action takes us by surprise, it also strikes us as being "in character." (Raskin, 2002) The characters in The Simpsons never inexplicably act out of character, therefore the balance of consistency and surprise is perfect.

“Simplicity/Depth” is the last parameter that can be used to demonstrate The Simpsons’ place in culture. Rankin observes that "Student filmmakers sometimes assume that in order to have depth, a story must be complicated. Actually, simplicity enhances the possibility for depth.” (Raskin, 2002) Because episodes of The Simpsons relate to issues surrounding the modern day American, as well as issues from the 1980’s and 1990’s, the stories they try to tell are simple. Overall, The Simpsons is about the average American family which is therefore incredibly relatable to the average American audience, conforming to Raskin’s idea that “the viewer must at no point be in doubt as to what he or she is seeing on screen.” (Raskin, 2002) Whilst the stories are simple they are sophisticated when compared to other animations. This is evident when looking at Wells views in ‘Notes Towards a Theory of Animation’, in which he discusses narrative form in orthodox animations. Wells stated that the actions in early animations used to follow their musical score that were “often based on character conflict and chase sequences.” (Wells, 1998) He goes on to explain how a story in orthodox animation should be made by “specific continuity or establishing a situation, problematizing it, creating comic events and finding a resolution, mainly through the actions of the principle character.” (Wells, 1998) In early cartoons like Tom and Jerry these were simply through good vs. evil chase scenes designed for children; however even whilst being an orthodox cartoon, The Simpsons transcends this by having political standpoints, over-arching narratives and even pay homage to classic horror films in the regular ‘Treehouse of Horror’ episodes. Therefore, despite its story being relatable to the audience, The Simpsons still carries a great deal of depth for the modern audience and that of the 1980’s and 1990’s without the need to be experimental.

In turn it is also appropriate to analyse The Simpsons using Well’s theory on short animations. In ‘Notes Towards a Theory of Animation’ (Wells, 1998) he describes how an “orthodox” animation features “Configuration, specific continuity, narrative form, evolution of content, and unity of style.” (Wells, 1998) Despite the aesthetic choices in The Simpsons, for example people having yellow skin, it is undoubtedly an orthodox cartoon. Wells describes this in the section on Configuration, in which he says that orthodox animations must include “identifiable people or animals who correspond to what audiences understand as an orthodox human or animal despite what colourful or eccentric design concept was relating to it.” (Wells, 1998) Even though the characters in The Simpsons have yellow skin, they are understandably still human characters just with different stylistic choices made by the animators.  Wells ideas surrounding specific continuity centre around the concept that no matter what the story of the animation is about, “Whether a cartoon was based on a sequence of a specific and well known fairy tale or story, or was based on a sequence of improvised sight gags” there is still a logical continuity throughout the story even within a “madcap scenario.” (Wells, 1998) This can be used to analyse one of the slightly less orthodox and more experimental episodes of The Simpsons, an example is the episode ‘El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer.’ (FOX, 1997) The majority of this episode is animated to correspond to a psychedelic experience Homer is having after eating a hot chilli, colours and shapes are distorted and dimensions are played with to give the viewer the feeling that they too are experiencing the same thing as the character. Despite this episode being experimental in its style and improbably in nature, there is still a logical continuity and the story does not suffer. The story progresses due to this, combining Wells’ theories of orthodox and experimental cartoons whilst still remaining relatable to a contemporary audience.

Wells’ views on narrative form in ‘Notes Towards a Theory of Animation’ (Wells, 1998) is linked to his previous idea of specific continuity, orthodox cartoons have a clear narrative structure whereas this is not as vital in something more experimental.  The Simpson’s approach to narrative form ties in with Todorov’s Theory of Narratology (Todorov, 1969), mainstream film’s dominant narrative form. This theory begins with an equilibrium which is then disrupted by a character’s actions, it is recognised and there are attempts at repair, and it ends with a new equilibrium that differs to the original (Todorov, 1969). This is a classical narrative that functions through a ‘realist’ mode of representation using verisimilitude to conform to our culture and true life and human agency to demonstrate the events as a problem and solution to characters’ actions. The Simpsons conforms to Todorov’s equilibrium theory, and because it uses the same orthodox narrative structure as dominant Hollywood cinema it is understandable and relatable to the viewer without compromising the message it tries to send out. By resolving all the problems at the end of every episode, for example in ‘Homer’s Phobia’ (FOX, 1997) and ‘The Cartridge Family’ (FOX, 1996) The Simpsons aims to prove to America that they can change their attitudes towards controversial parts of American culture such as guns and still gain equilibrium just as the characters in the series do.

In summary, it is clear to see that by analysing The Simpsons using short film theories such as Raskin on short film form and Wells on experimental and orthodox animation, it is possible to examine the artistic choices made to reflect the series’ place in popular culture, and its representation of American controversies. The Simpsons presents itself as a representation of American culture to the rest of the world, and serves as a warning to American citizens of how not to act. As a series it is incredibly sophisticated when compared to other orthodox cartoons, most highly acclaimed contemporary cartoons are now leaning towards the experimental, but The Simpsons remains relatable to the average American family whilst carrying a tremendous amount of depth and detail in an attempt to teach its viewers something about life.

‘The Simpsons’ (FOX 1989-2016)

Feltmate, D. (2013). It's Funny Because It's True? The Simpsons, Satire, and the Significance of Religious Humour in Popular Culture. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 81, 222-248.

Raskin, R (2002). Five Parameters for Story Design in the Short Fiction Film.

Wells, P. (1998). Notes Towards a Theory of Animation. In: Understanding Animation. Abingdon: Routledge. 35-46.

Yeatman, B. (1998). What Makes a Short Film Good? In: Short Film and Cultural Practice.