NostrumGrocer [none/use name]

  • 1 Post
  • 35 Comments
Joined 4 years ago
Cake day: November 10th, 2020
  • NostrumGrocer [none/use name]tourbanism•Was the monorail episode of the Simpsons anti public transit?
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    3 years ago

    Okay, I see. But I think you’re misinterpreting a couple of those.

    For the “ bit about driving an electric car making The Gays think you’re A Gay too”. The joke is the ride they’re on is sponsored by gasoline companies, who are trying to make electric cars look as bad as possible. So the bit is actually satirizing pro-fossil fuel propaganda. Link to video. I remember seeing that at the time it came out, though, and not picking up on the joke and thought they were just calling electric cars gay too, but I just wasn’t picking up on the subtleties of the joke.

    Then as for restoring Lisa’s faith in America, that’s from Mr.Lisa Goes to Washington. I love that episode. It accurately depicts how corrupt American politics is, and Lisa’s speech of Washington being a ceasepool is far and away the post accurate criticism of the system I’ve seen on network television. The part you’re describing is this super exaggerated, idealized way the corruption is resolved in the episode. Almost like a depiction of how the writers wished the system worked. The awareness of the complete unrealism of it, though, is revealed by lines like the guy at the contest calling his Senator who doesn’t have time for the call but drops everything and immediately focuses on the issue when the guy calling (super over dramatically) says “But sir! A little girl has lost faith in democracy!!!”. Then there’s the part where then president George H W Bush says something like, “we’ll I don’t know if my bosses are gonna be happy about this”, to which someone asks “you have bosses?”, to which Bush responds “You betcha,all 300 million of them!”

    It’s an incredibly outlandish series of events and the joke (as I see it) is how unlike reality it is. It’s playing out our school grade conceptions of how the political system works and in turn illustrates how ridiculous they are.

    And about it being American exceptionalism, I don’t know about that. It’s more like a depiction of the system working squeaky cleanly without corruption. I think that can hardly be described as reactionary. It’s almost sad in how it’s pining for a system that works.

    I would say the first 10 seasons are filled with good takes (I mean, Homer leads strikes/unions like 2 or 3 times at the power plant lol). But I have no doubt that later episodes are stupid and reactionary. I’m not familiar with the other examples you listed, but they sound dumb as hell.

  • NostrumGrocer [none/use name]tonews•*Permanently Deleted*
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    4 years ago

    Uhh...is it bad that I’m on my way to spend money on clothing right now? ....at the mall?

    I have a pretty bare bones wardrobe (1 pair of shoes, 1 belt, 1 shorts, 3 pants, no dress shoes, etc.). Been wanting to get, like, an actual selection of clothing for a while now and with $1400 dropped in my lap it seems like an opportune time.

  • NostrumGrocer [none/use name]tomain•If America Dissolves
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    4 years ago

    Growing up in America, during your incubating youth and coming of age, you are at all times immersed in your unspoken (and sometimes spoken) inherent superiority to other countries. Then, when your political values rise from your subconscious, they’re already completely saturated in Amero-centrism, and as you age it becomes nigh impossible to undo the foundation that has been set. Even boomers that are super critical of the government would ride or die for “American Values”.

    It just so happens that I saw videos of horrific US police brutality and footage of war crimes abroad online at early enough of an age to shatter the indoctrination process while it was still fairly primordial.

  • NostrumGrocer [none/use name]toaskchapo•*Permanently Deleted*
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    4 years ago

    We will go back to normal and just have 500,000+ additional deaths per year due to covid for a few years. It’s already happening. Covid is honesty not a society collapsing event. It’s just ticking our death toll higher than we’re used to in the West and people are losing their shit because of it.

  • NostrumGrocer [none/use name]tomain•*Permanently Deleted*
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    4 years ago

    I feel like the Simpsons also conveyed the desperation the working class is feeing today, though, in the good seasons that is. It’s just intensified as time has time has gone on. They are constantly skrimping and saving. When homer’s company stock increases, Marge is excited that they will finally have a savings account (though Homer goofs and cashes it out when it’s $20 and buy’s an expensive beer). When their dog needs an emergency surgery, they have to cut things out of their life and modify their standard of living for a little while because of their lack of money. In the first episode, when they have to pay for an impromptu tattoo removal for Bart that consumes their Xmas present money, and Homer doesn’t get a holiday bonus, they are unable to purchase any Christmas gifts and Homer is forced to shop at the 66 cent and below store.

    I guess what the tweet is getting at is still true, that the Simpsons embodied a typical suburban existence that is becoming less and less possible. But even in that embodiment, the Simpsons were barely hanging on to middle class status in the show, and little bumps along the way threatened to throw them off of it at any moment.

    Edit: or maybe they weren’t saying that things weren’t hard for the Simpsons, but rather that their standard of living is now impossible for someone of Homer and Marge’s background