Top 10 Times The Simpsons ROASTED Politics

WatchMojo

There's nothing "The Simpsons" won't hilariously tackle! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the notable times Matt Groening’s classic cartoon family took aim at politics.

Transcript

00:00Ah, excellent! Eh, this is exactly the kind of trickery I'm paying you for.

00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the notable times

00:09Matt Groening's classic cartoon family, The Simpsons, took aim at politics.

00:13This is for the Commonwealth of Australia!

00:21First appearing in the episode, Sideshow Bob Roberts,

00:24this rotund conservative pundit was a parody of the late controversial radio host Rush Limbaugh.

00:29Barlow was the host of a local radio station in Springfield who worked

00:32tirelessly to make sure that Sideshow Bob became mayor of the town.

00:44Like with Limbaugh, Barlow's politics turn off a lot of people,

00:47but they manage to appeal to regular Joes like Homer for some mysterious reason.

00:59In portraying the character,

01:05Harry Shearer gets down Limbaugh's mannerisms and cadence and his over-the-top bombast.

01:22Occasionally, The Simpsons makes fun of politics in countries other than the United States,

01:26with Australia being a notable example.

01:29In Bart vs. Australia, the government of Australia was shown in a less than flattering light.

01:40A member of parliament was a pig farmer with a coarse blue-collar accent,

01:44and the prime minister was a hick drinking beer while floating in the middle of a pond.

01:47This insulting depiction was no doubt one of the many reasons why the people of Australia

01:58took issue with the episode when it first aired.

02:05If there's one person who shouldn't be in public service, it's Sideshow Bob.

02:10That's mainly because of his attempts to murder Bart Simpson, among others.

02:15This does not stop Springfield from voting Bob as mayor,

02:18and unsurprisingly, he abuses his power.

02:24Later, it's revealed that Bob rigged the election by having dead people vote for him,

02:28which prompts the maniacal mayor to go on a tirade

02:31about how people clamor to be ruled by right-wing tyrants.

02:39Kelsey Grammer, who voices Bob, is a real-life conservative,

02:42and it's fun to watch the actor satirize his own political views.

02:53When Springfield votes on a proposition that would get rid of illegal immigrants,

02:57Apu finds himself in trouble as he's been living in the U.S. without documentation.

03:01The whole episode focuses on Apu's plight as an undocumented immigrant,

03:05and the struggles and prejudice that immigrants face.

03:12Fortunately, Apu is able to pass the citizenship test

03:25and be naturalized before the proposition passes.

03:34Much has been said about how The Simpsons uses Apu as the butt of jokes,

03:38but this episode makes Apu a fuller character, giving him more depth.

03:43In the Treehouse of Horror segment Citizen Kang,

03:52Kang and Kodos kidnap Bill Clinton and Bob Dole,

03:55impersonating the two presidential candidates.

04:04Trying to pass off as human, the pair nevertheless exhibit odd behavior.

04:08But the highlight has to be Clinton's speech at the debate

04:11where the soaring rhetoric gets absurd.

04:19The speech manages to be as generic as a traditional politician stump speech,

04:23but also goofy because of its inhumanity.

04:26Bill Clinton is a great target for political satire,

04:29which The Simpsons frequently made fun of.

04:41After a video of Homer ranting goes viral,

04:49he becomes a talking head on a cable news network,

04:52and eventually gets his own show called Gut Check.

05:02Unsurprisingly, Homer's show focuses more on over-the-top delivery

05:06than it does substantive content.

05:08However, Homer's everyman schtick resonates enough with audiences

05:12that the Republican Party lets him pick their presidential candidate that year.

05:24His choice is none other than right-wing eccentric Ted Nugent

05:27in a hilarious guest spot.

05:29Gut Check is a spot-on parody of over-the-top political rhetoric

05:33that was popular at the time with political hosts like Glenn Beck.

05:39A casino manager gives Bart a peek into the future where Lisa becomes president,

05:51but her presidency is full of hardships.

05:54The country is heavily in debt,

05:56with creditor nations demanding their money,

05:59and Bart makes things harder when he moves into the White House.

06:09The episode has lots of jabs at US politics,

06:12but perhaps the most noteworthy gag was the unwittingly accurate prediction

06:17that Donald Trump would one day become president himself.

06:28Given the trillions of dollars of debt the US is in,

06:32this could be the country's future.

06:38This episode explores the Second Amendment and gun culture in America,

06:47making fun of how easy it was for someone like Homer to get a gun

06:50and his irresponsible gun ownership.

07:02Homer and Marge end up having a large disagreement

07:04over whether a gun makes you safer or exposes your family to more danger.

07:09The episode wasn't entirely anti-gun,

07:12but was able to poke fun at the subject.

07:23One of the funniest parts of the episode was Homer frantically waiting

07:26for his background check to clear

07:28while Tom Petty's The Waiting is overheard in the background.

07:35In this classic episode from Season 2,

07:38the billionaire power plant mogul makes his gubernatorial bid

07:41after the state government issues hefty fines for regulatory violations.

07:52C. Montgomery Burns does not have a natural personality for politics,

07:56so his campaign staff has to be creative to make him presentable.

08:04The whole episode points out how fake the performative arts of politics are,

08:17as Mr. Burns uses every opportunity to pivot to his campaign rhetoric.

08:22The ending where Marge ruins Mr. Burns' prospects

08:25was a nice heaping helping of karma.

08:35Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel

08:42and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.

08:45You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.

08:49If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.

08:58This moment stems from a previous dispute between George H.W. Bush and the Simpsons.

09:03President Bush called out the animated family in a political speech,

09:06and the show decided to return the favor by dedicating an episode to Poppy.

09:19In the episode, the Bushes move next door to the Simpsons,

09:22but unfortunately for Mr. Bush, Bart antagonizes him endlessly,

09:26starting a feud between the families.

09:33The episode makes fun of Bush's reputation for being reserved and uptight,

09:41essentially turning him into Mr. Wilson from Dennis the Menace.

09:44The fight between Bush and Homer at the end of the episode is nothing short of epic.

09:57What's your favorite political moment from The Simpsons? Let us know in the comments.

10:03Did you enjoy this video? Check out these other clips from WatchMojo,

10:11and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.

Category

Transcript

Recommended