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Don’t Have A Cow Man: The Simpsons Effect

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What is it about the Simpsons that inspire graphic art? The simple lines? The spiky hair? A sudden influx of yellow and blue paint? From the 1990s to now, the Simpsons have held a special place in our hearts. There’s something about their pervasive influence that’s comforting and nostalgic and ironic all at once. We’re going to take you on a brief run down of the magic that is the Simpsons influence on design, and we’re sure there’s a whole lot more out there.

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Firstly, there's the memeable. Homer Backs Into Things has become a significant meme for expressing embarrassment at a situation. It's taken from the '94 episode "Homer Loves Flanders". Homer asks the Flanders if they want to hang out with him, and when they decline he responds "Oh, ok" before disappearing into the bushes. This GIF is so popular, it was included in an exhibited at the Museum of Moving Images in Queens, New York.

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Simpson Wine Branding - Created by Constantin Bolimond and Dmitry Patsukevich

Then there's Bart, the radical dude who everyone can relate to. His catchphrases have been translated into many languages and his actions copied by children around the globe.

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In the 1990s, a Black Bart phenomenon took hold producing a lot of spin-off merch and a whole culture of reappropriation. The licensed t-shirts were cool enough, but Black Bart had a different cultural currency. Public Enemy's publicist Harry Allen, said in a1990 interview: “I think the Bart character is appealing because — I don’t want to say he’s kind of black. I don’t mean that. He’s just got some very unusual characteristics, from his haircut to his use of the word ‘homeboy’ infrequently, to even his general sassiness". Taking on personas like Bart Marley and wearing Air Jordans, the Black Bart craze showed that cartoon characters could have a very flexible cultural currency, almost like a wearable meme of their day. 

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In 2002 Bart Simpson was named in the Time 100 list of the most influential people (the only fictional character on the list). And it’s not just Bart, the whole Simpsons cast have far-reaching cultural significance. The show is jam-packed with references – a giddy mix of popular culture, religious tracts and political satire run through almost every episode.

And we’re seeing a revival of this Simpsonmania to this day. A couple of weeks ago Liverpool saw the No Homer’s Club bring together a number of artists to pay homage to the cult. The multidisciplinary show took popular reference points and ran amok with them, inspired by colour schemes and Milhouse.


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Then there’s the fanzines, from design studio Dr.Me's Art Simpson, to the Lisa inspired issue of feminist zine Girls Get Busy. The list is almost endless.

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Girls Get Busy

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Kristofferson San Pablo

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Shana Sadeghi-Ray

*Dr.Me 

And don't foget Olivier Lebrun’s Pocket Companion To Books From The Simpsons, a publication that draws on over 600 episodes of the show to find all the references to books that appear in the show. Printed on yellow paper, of course.

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There’s even a whole host of academic papers written about the popularity and influence of the Simpsons, looking at everything from its use of humour to the mathematical secrets of the show. Maybe it’s the longevity of the show – battling off Family Guy to still retain relevance. Perhaps it’s the close to the bone satire, the simplicity of the nuclear family, the catchiness of their catchphrases. Or could it be simply that it reminds a lot of current designers of their childhood, a whiff of nostalgia navigating the pen.  

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Long live The Simpsons!

Seen any other great simpsons projects? Share with us below! 
 

Top Image: Lars Högström

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