How 'The Simpsons' Taught Me Everything I Know About Politics

"Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos."

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The world of politics has been pretty bleak and scary in 2016, right? And as it’s gone on, I’ve done what I always do when things get bleak and scary—curl up in the ball, pretend the world doesn’t exist, and watch classic episodes of The Simpsons. And while doing that, I really noticed how much the show has taught me about politics. Like any older millennial, golden-era Simpsons taught me more than pretty much all my formal education put together. My family first got Sky in early 1997, just as the show had debuted on terrestrial BBC, so aged 11 I was given access to eight seasons of an animated counter-culture education in one go.

By 2000, up to 30 episodes a week were being screened across BBC and Sky. I was overwhelmed with these dense, super-savvy and subversive golden era episodes, packed full with allusions and references that I honestly learned so much from: pop culture, 20th century history, America, society, the media, music, literature and, of course, politics. And I don’t mean political views—I mean how Western politics actually works.


 

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