Bart Simpson
Bartholomew "Bart" Jojo Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Nancy Cartwright.[1] He is the oldest child and only son of Homer and Marge Simpson, and is the brother of Lisa and Maggie. According to The Bart Book he was born on April 1, 1981.
Character origins
Matt Groening first conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction.[2] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family, substituting "Bart" for his own name.[2] Bart then made his debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on 19 April, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".[3]
In an interview, Matt Groening claimed he chose the name "Bart" as an anagram of a 10 year old "spoiled brat". As the other members of the Simpson family are named after and loosely based on members of Groening's family, many believe that Bart is specifically based on Groening himself.[4] Groening has made conflicting statements about this, saying both that he never had much in common with Bart,[citation needed] and that Bart is partly based on himself. Groening's older brother Mark also provided some inspiration for Bart.[5][6]
Groening once claimed that Bart was partly inspired by the Diane Arbus photo "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City",[citation needed] but in the DVD commentary for "Homer's Night Out", has denied it. Groening has also said that he found the premise of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.[7]
Nancy Cartwright originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but soon thought that her voice would be better suited voicing Bart. Matt Groening let her try out for the part, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot.[8] Bart's catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was at college.[9]
Bart is the only Simpsons character to appear in every episode including the cartoon shorts.[10]
Personality
As a 10-year old boy, Bart is a self-proclaimed underachiever who begins each show in detention writing lines on the blackboard. He is easily distracted, even, strangely enough by algebraic equations. His penchant for shocking people (including Springfield's rich citizen Charles Montgomery Burns) began before he was born: Bart "mooned" Dr. Hibbert while he performed a sonogram on Marge, and moments after being born he set fire to Homer's tie.
He is considerably motivated in disrupting the routine at Springfield Elementary, and his pranks are often elaborately complex, while his actions and speech frequently show considerable mental agility, street-smarts, and understanding, so he cannot be called "stupid". Bart also shows amazing intelligence outside of his pranks. Outsmarting Sideshow Bob, figuring out how to save the snakes on Whacking Day, getting the lemon tree back in a Trojan Horse method, giving advanced knowledge about George Washington in the French and Indian war, and learning other languages are just a few examples. In "Separate Vocations" when Bart becomes hall monitor, his grades go up showing that he only struggles because he doesn't pay attention, not because he's dumb. This is reinforced in the episode "Brother's Little Helper", in which it is revealed that Bart suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder. He seems to have trouble understanding even the simplest concepts, such as the word "irony", what the equator is and that the logo on his globe ("Rand McNally") is not actually a country. The fact that he is the son of Homer Simpson and shares many of the same mannerisms and behaviors may account for his antics. Homer even described Bart as "a younger, more in-your-face version" of himself. It is often joked that Bart is a pawn of the devil due to his mischievous behavior, such as when Lisa calls him "the Devil's cabana boy", a role which Bart seems to relish in. In one Halloween episode, the Devil actually makes an appearance in of the form of Ned Flanders saying "Hey Bart." like they are old friends.
Although he gets into endless trouble and is mean, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity. He has, on a few occasions, helped the love life of his school Principal Seymour Skinner and his teacher Edna Krabappel despite the fact he often terrorizes them. Although he hates school, he has also aided in various efforts to keep it open during times where it is dangerously close to being closed or actually is. He often befriends outcasts like his best friend Milhouse Van Houten. One great example of his quasi sense of honor is in the episode This Little Wiggy where Bart stands up for Ralph Wiggum at the cost of peer popularity.
Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent relationship. Bart will often address Homer by his given name instead of "Dad". Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy" while his mother calls him her "special little guy". Marge is much more caring, understanding and nurturing than Homer. However, she often refers to Bart as "hand full" and is often embarrassed by his antics. Sometimes, whenever Homer finds out that Bart has said or done something stupid or bad, he yells out: "Why you little–!", and strangles him in anger. But despite that, Homer loves Bart, just like Marge. In The Simpsons Movie, Homer & Bart's relationship reaches breaking point following Homer's pollution of Lake Springfield, with Bart even going so far as to say "I wish you weren't my father! I wish I was Flanders's kid!".
Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie (due to her infant state). While Bart has often hurt her out of jealousy, and has even fought her physically, he loves Lisa as deeply as she loves him, and has always apologized for going too far. He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems, and frequently goes to her for advice. Both siblings formed a dynamic crime-solving duo during many of their encounters with Sideshow Bob, Bart's nemesis.
Bart's interests include Krusty the Klown, skateboarding, reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show, terrorizing Lisa, playing video games/computer games, helping Lisa solve various problems (e.g. reuniting Krusty with his estranged father), and pulling off various pranks (such as mooning unsuspecting people and prank calling Moe Szyslak at his tavern). In "Bart the General", Bart has hinted that his favorite movies are Jaws and the Star Wars trilogy. His best friend is Milhouse van Houten. Though he has not demonstrated the ability since the episode in which he learned, he speaks near-perfect French. He also learned Spanish in matter of hours in preparation for the family's trip to Brazil. Upon learning that Brazilians speak Portuguese and not Spanish, Homer orders his son to forget what he learned, prompting Bart to strike himself over the head until he forgot the language. Bart also speaks Japanese (which he also learned in a couple of hours in prison along with Homer, and is also shown speaking Japanese in 'A Star is Burns'), Cantonese, pig Latin, and Latin. His advanced linguistic skills may be inherited from Homer, who also speaks advanced languages, including penguin. In "Homer's Barbershop Quartet", Bart says that he has a serious problem in which he can't remember anything over 8 minutes ago. Although he repeatedly insists that it was serious, the rest of his family laughs. He soon forgets why they are laughing and laughs along.
In some episodes, Bart actually shows nearly homosexual tendencies, such as in I Love Lisa, where he's actually willing to kiss Ralph simply to see a Krusty the Klown anniversary. Also, in Homer's Phobia Homer gets angry after noticing Bart is beginning to act like a homosexual character, John. Later, in The Last Temptation of Krust, when washing Krusty the Klown's hair, Jay Leno complains about knots in his hair, afterward Bart replies "They're just impossible!" in a somewhat feminine voice. In Mom and Pop Art, in an attempt to get Homer angry, he says "Well, I'm flunking math, and the other day I was a little attracted to Milhouse.
In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist. Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority has been likened to that of America's founding fathers, rendering him an updated version of American icons Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, rolled into one."[11]
Cultural influence
In 1998, Time magazine selected Bart as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century (he came in number 46)—the only fictional character to make the list.[12] He had previously appeared on the cover the December 31 1990 edition.[13] Both Bart and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time".[14]
Bart's catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!," "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" were featured on t-shirts in the early days of the show's run.[15] The latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise, and the use of many of these catchphrases has declined in recent seasons. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" in which Bart gets famous on the Krusty show for saying the line "I didn't do it."[16] During the show's early years, Bart was rebellious and frequently escaped without punishment, which led some parents' groups and conservative spokespeople to believe he provided a poor role model for children. This prompted George H. W. Bush to rally, "We're going to keep trying to strengthen the American family. To make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."[17] This led to many The Simpsons t-shirts, most featuring Bart with phrases such as "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')", being banned from several public schools in the United States.[17]
Bart is the most depicted Simpsons character on various memorabilia such as T-shirts, car decals, and even graffiti art. Bart, and other Simpsons characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1990 to 2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!".[18] This association was parodied in an episode when he discovered a video tape with Lisa that he participated in a TV commercial when he was a baby; Bart says that he doesn't remember being in a commercial, then holds up a Butterfinger and eats it. Bart briefly appears in the entrance video used by wrestler Shawn Michaels in 1995. Bart has appeared in several other shows. He featured in the South Park episode "Cartoon Wars Part II"; he is not referred to by name, nor do any of the characters react to him as if he were a well known personality.[19] The character specifically mentions the events of The Telltale Head when Cartman asks him to name the most badass thing he has done.
See also
Notes
- ^ Richmond, pg. 178
- ^ a b BBC (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
- ^ Richmond, p. 14
- ^ http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-2.html
- ^ Groening, Matt (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "My Sister, My Sitter" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
{{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ Paul, Alan (1995-09-30). "Life in Hell". Flux Magazine.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Groening, Matt (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors" (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
{{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Bart's voice tells all". BBC News. 2000-11-10. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Larry Carroll (2007-07-26). "'Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers". MTV. Retrieved 2007-07-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.snpp.com/guides/tracey.ullman.html
- ^ Cantor, P: "The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family", page 738. Political Theory, Vol 27 No 6, Dec 1999.
- ^ "Bart Simpson". Time. 1998-06-08. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
- ^ "TIME Magazine Cover: Bart Simpson". Time. 1990-12-31.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessate=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "CNN - TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters". CNN. 2002-07-30. Retrieved 2007-03-14.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Turner p. 25
- ^ Turner p. 61
- ^ a b Griffiths, Nick (2000-04-15). "America's First Family". The Times Magazine. pp. 25, 27–28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Don't lay a finger on his Butterfinger - Nestle USA Inc. Nestle Chocolate and Confections' television advertisements - Brief Article". Prepared Foods at Find Articles. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (2006-04-13). "South Park Recap: Cartoon Wars: Part 2". IGN.com. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
References
- Richmond, Ray (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-00063-8898-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Turner, Chris. Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation. ISBN 0-679-31318-4.