The Simpsons
monition : despoiler for The Simpsons season 34 , installment 20 .
WhileThe Simpsonsseason 34 , installment 19 never technically mention COVID-19 directly , the junket was the show ’s long - awaited attempt at satirizing the global pandemic . The Simpsonshas a funny relationship with reality . On the one hand , the long - running animated family sitcom is a cartoon comedy , meaning its goofy variant of reality bears almost no resemblance to the real world . Yet , on the other deal , The Simpsonsconstantly reference real - life political event , cultural phenomena , and public public figure . In addition , the show has featured more renown cameos from noted faces playing themselves than almost any other show in telly story . As such , it is tough to tell how muchThe Simpsonsis expected to reflect world .
Sometimes , The Simpsonsuses this obnubilate cultural position to the show ’s vantage . For representative , whenThe Simpsonsquietly dropped Hank Azaria ’s Apuafter accusations that the character reference was based on problematic stereotypes , the series did n’t mention this real - spirit controversy . Instead , The Simpsonssimply stopped portray the fibre without comment . However , in a series of eight inadequate exalt vignette released on YouTube in the run - up to the 2020 election , The Simpsonsoffered a detailed satiric takedown of Donald Trump ’s meter as president . Despite this incompatibility , The Simpsonsseason 34 take in one clear line in the sand when the show finally addressed the COVID-19 pandemic . Or rather , whenThe Simpsonsmade playfulness of everything except for COVID-19 .
The Simpsons Season 34 Parodied Lockdowns, School Closures, & Food Shortages
Without ever saying the words “ COVID-19,“The Simpsonsseason 34 , sequence 20 , “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars , ” managed to finally make an episode that mocked lockdowns , zoom schooltime pedagogy , intellectual nourishment shortages , and everything else viewers relate with the pandemic . When a swarm of caterpillar besieged Springfield , the whole town went into lockdown . What followed was a gauze-like irony of the pandemic wherein Homer ( and by and by Marge ) raided Ned ’s supply , Bart and his classmates spied on Skinner when he leave to reverse off his webcam , and Lisa succumb to doom scrolling . Thus , the reactions to the existent - life pandemic were parodied , but the illness was absent .
LikeThe Simpsonsseason 34 ’s couch joke installment , this jaunt occurred in a self - hold world that only tangentially call for characters outside the Simpson family . The Simpsons spent most of “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars ” lock inside . This think that the episode was able to address many aspects of life during the pandemic without straight off reference the pandemic itself . The Simpsonsepisode saw Bart call online take one of mankind ’s most useless inventions . Lisa almost give in to insanity due to her paranoia and isolation , and even Marge finally broke into Ned ’s home and loot his ample supplies . As such , it was just as well thatThe Simpsonsdidn’t also endeavor to address real - life story tragedies .
How The Simpsons Pulled Off Its Pandemic Satire
Since the episode did n’t focus on the real - life disease , “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars ” did n’t make light of the deaths that COVID-19 have . Even thedarkest jokes inThe Simpsonshave always stop over abruptly of mock a issue as serious as the pandemic , which made the cat plot twist a ingenious selection . Via the irritating but ultimately harmless caterpillar infestation , The Simpsonsseason 34 could bemock the reaction to lockdowns without making light of COVID-19 itself . Kirk Van Houten ’s loud insistency that the caterpillars get no terror ( only for him to be proven incorrect immediately ) letThe Simpsonsmock anti - lockdown protests without getting too dark .
Similarly , Lisa ’s attempts to dismiss caterpillar plague and her inability to halt ghost over the way out could palpate very conversant to viewing audience who spent much time online from 2020 to 2023 . However , the fact that Lisa was interest about lettuce dearth get by the caterpillars have Springfield ’s crops rather than death tolls made this jest much more light - hearted and palatable for watcher affected by the pandemic . The Simpsonsseason 34pulled off the delicate art of parodying a literal - life event that killed millions by creating an alternative , idiotic version of the incident and focalize the episode ’s story on this fictional event .
The Episode Brought Back A Classic Simpsons Problem
While the caustic remark in “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars ” was solid , the dim yard ofThe Simpsons’production shows at times like this . TheSouth ParkPandemic Special came out in September 2020 , while Bo Burnham ’s critically acclaimedInsidearrived in May 2021 . Highlighting the topic of the pandemic over three years after lockdowns began did feel a little too late , even when the longer production appendage of an sequence ofThe Simpsonswas taken into story . SinceThe Simpsonsinsists on reference real - life event , the show ’s inability to remain timely can prove a problem . The same issue arose sooner this year when a 2023episode parodied Taylor Swift ’s 2021 music video .
The Simpsons Season 34 Had To Cover COVID-19
WhileThe Simpsonswas late to the game , the pandemic was way too big for the show not to address it in some way or another . “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars ” now mean that the humankind ofThe Simpsonshas a canon COVID-19 base - in that the show can return to in the future . If later sequence of The Simpsonsreference the fourth dimension that characters spent in lockdown , viewers will fuck that this is a nod to the caterpillar plague and not the real - life pandemic . This is a all important distinction because , as noted above , The Simpsonsmaking glib-tongued joke about COVID-19 would be much dreary than mock public reactions .
It is surprising thatThe Simpsonsseason 33ignored the pandemic for as long as it did , but “ The Very Hungry Caterpillars ” proved that the show score illumination of the tragedy without mock its many victims . This was a frail balancing act on the part of the creator ofThe Simpsons , and it could excuse why it call for the show so long to broach the topic . Of course , the darker , more abrasiveSouth Park would alwaysoffer a more risqué take on the topic , butThe Simpsonsis a family - favorable television receiver institution . Thus , The Simpsonsfinally confirm that Springfield go through a sillier take on lockdown was somewhat consolatory .
