A UNSW academic with a penchant for 1990s episodes of The Simpsons has drawn some uncanny parallels between President Trump-era politics through three episodes of the cult comedy classic.
Senior Lecturer in International Relations Dr William Clapton's observations are particularly timely, given the looming US presidential race between Trump and Democrat Joe Biden this November.
Sideshow Bob Roberts highlights US electoral fraud and media bias (Season six, episode five, 1994)
For Clapton, the deranged Sideshow Bob’s fraudulent win in the mayoral Springfield election finds inspiration in the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, however Clapton contends it can just as easily reflect Trump’s controversial ascendancy to the presidency in 2016.
Clapton highlights that Sideshow Bob enjoys the “the support of notable right-wing radio jock Birch Barlow whose show is modelled on the real-life US political commentator Rush Limbaugh,” who Clapton calls a “strident Nixon supporter”.
With the aid of the emaciated and ridiculously rich Mr Smithers, Lisa and Bart dig deeper into the election and discover “widespread corruption and fraud, where electoral rolls are doctored and the names of dead people are counted as voters,” Clapton says. The UNSW academic contends that this sort of foul play and corruption draws parallels with foreign interference in the last US election.
Clapton also notes the role of contemporary media in the episode, arguing that it satirises the fourth estate’s ability to manipulate a population that is a “relatively lazy, uniformed, and apathetic electorate to get problematic candidates elected to office”.
“So you can see how that might, depending on your view, overlap with the election of someone like Donald Trump, to the office of President of the United States,” he says, “[and the role of] Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and Trump’s most recently favoured network the very right wing One America News Network,” Clapton concludes.
The Cartridge family questions controversial gun rights and gun control in the US (Season 9, episode 6, 1997)
Another episode that satirises the current state of US politics is the episode focusing on the gun-loving Cartridge family. Clapton says the episode deals with the interminable American debate on gun control, which he argues has only become worse since the episode aired in the late 90s.
Clapton’s article refers to weak loopholes in the US that still allow dangerous people to access guns. He also makes the point that, according to Giffords Law Centre, roughly one million Americans have died due to gunshot wounds over the last decade.
“So, The Cartridge Family is basically a story of how certain people should not be allowed to have firearms,” Clapton says.
America’s controversial gun laws are enacted through Homer, who is able to purchase a gun despite admitting to having a mental illness, alcoholism and problems with the law. The idiocy of the laws is underscored by what the owner of the gun store does next.
“Homer is upset when the store owner stamps his record as ‘potentially dangerous’ but tells him to ‘relax’, and that it just means he is limited to three handguns,” Clapton says.
“Today, Trump often talks about the second amendment and protecting gun rights as part of the package of desirable traits that good candidates for the Republican Party should have.”
Trump’s election campaign in 2016 was bolstered by a $13 million donation by the National Rifle Association (NRA), an organisation closely aligned to the fictional Cartridge family in the show.
Mr Lisa Goes to Washington on corruption in US politics (Season 3, episode 2, 1991)
The final Simpsons episode Clapton offers for analysis is Lisa’s trip to Washington. As Clapton articulates, “government corruption and greed, and the corrupting influence of money and unscrupulous companies in US politics are just as true in the 1990s as they are today”.
“During this episode, Lisa witnesses a timber industry lobbyist offer a bribe to a corrupt congressman, Bob Arnold, in exchange for allowing loggers into Springfield Forest,” Clapton says.
“The issue of lobbyists’ influence over government officials, corruption and the poor behaviour and practices of private companies are all issues that continue to shape and bedevil American politics, indeed, global politics.”
Clapton argues these issues have only intensified since the episode aired in the early 90s.
“Today, presidential elections are still only reserved for those who are already rich, powerful and have the connections to fundraise and attract hundreds of millions of dollars in donations,” he says.
“Senators and congresspeople are similarly reliant on donations and fundraising for election and re-election. And lobbying itself remains fairly controversial in the US due to concerns about corruption.”
The episode also brings up issues of patriotism and jingoism, which are arguably at a fever pitch in the US at the moment. In a candid reflection, the political expert says the episode prompts us to think “carefully about what works in American politics and what doesn’t”.
“All of this is especially relevant today in a system that arguably has only weakened and decayed over the last 30 years,” Clapton says.
“A resurgence of what some would call blind nationalism and patriotism leading to what many would consider damaging outcomes, like the election of Trump, and so on.”
Clapton's full article can be accessed here.