“The Simpsons” hasn’t declined due to bad writing; its outdated politics no longer make sense
SalonThis year's "Simpsons" annual Halloween "Treehouse of Horror" special kicked off with a scene from election day in the titular family's fictional American town of Springfield. Back in the 1980s, a schlub like Homer Simpson could perhaps get a job in a nuclear power plant without a college degree, serve as the sole breadwinner of a family of five, and even buy a home. The show's writers in 1989 would have all grown up in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s; hence, the Simpson family, and their cultural and political values, are drawn from that era. Hence, the family's economic situation is one of the show's constant underlying jokes; even in the pilot episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire," Homer takes a second job in order to pay for Christmas presents for the family.
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