Homer Simpson

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Homer Simpson is also a character in the book and film The Day of the Locust.

Template:Simpsons character Homer Jay Simpson is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television in the Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night". He is one of five members of the titular family and has become the most popular and influential character in the series. His catchphrase, the annoyed grunt "D'oh!", has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Homer embodies several American working class stereotypes: he is crude, overweight, incompetent, clumsy, thoughtless and a borderline alcoholic. Despite the suburban blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences. He has occasionally displayed flashes of great intellect and fitness whenever the situation calls for it, and an integrity reflecting his own values, including a fierce devotion to and protectiveness of his family. Dan Castellaneta describes him as "a dog trapped in a man's body. He's incredibly loyal – not entirely clean – but you gotta love him."[1] He has been described by the UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time.[2]

Role in The Simpsons

Biography

Although The Simpsons has a floating timeline in which the characters do not age, and the show is set in the current year, certain dates have been given. Homer was born on May 12, 1956[3] and was raised on a farm by his parents, Mona and Abraham Simpson. In the mid-1960s, while Homer was between nine and twelve years of age, Mona went into hiding following a run-in with the law.[4] Homer attended Springfield High School and fell in love with Marge Bouvier in 1974.[5][6] Marge became pregnant with Bart in 1981, while Homer was working at a miniature golf course and the two were wed in a small wedding chapel across the state line,[7] After that, Homer secured a job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant.[7] Marge became pregnant with Lisa in 1983 and, soon after, the new couple bought their first house. Sometime in the late 1980s, Homer took a job as a pin monkey in a bowling alley but, unfortunately for Homer, Marge became pregnant with Maggie shortly after he started his new job and, not being able to support his family, he went back to the nuclear plant.[8]

Homer's age was initially 34 but, as the writers aged, they found that he seemed a bit older too, so they changed his age to 38. Homer also states he is 36 in a season four episode.[9] His age has generally been stated as being between 34 and 40.

Personality

Homer's personality is one of frequent stupidity, laziness, and explosive anger. He often shows a low intelligence level, being described by director David Silverman as "creatively brilliant in his stupidity."[10] Homer shows immense laziness towards work, is overweight and "is devoted to his stomach."[10] He suffers from a short attention span, following only his dominant impulse, which complements his short-lived passion for various hobbies and enterprises, but then "changes his mind when things go badly."[10] Homer is prone to emotional outbursts; he is very envious of his neighbors, the Flanders family, and is easily enraged by Bart and strangles him frequently. He shows no compunction about this, and does not attempt to hide his actions from people outside the family, even showing disregard for his son's well being in other ways, such as leaving Bart alone at a port.[11] These actions can be attributed to Homer not realizing he has responsibilities.[10]

While Homer's thoughtless antics often upset his family, he has also revealed himself to be a surprisingly caring father and husband: in "Lisa the Beauty Queen", he sold his cherished ride on the Duff blimp and used the money to enter Lisa in a beauty pageant so she could feel better about herself; in "Rosebud", he gave up his chance at wealth to allow Maggie to keep a cherished teddy bear; in "Radio Bart", he spearheaded an attempt to dig Bart out after he had fallen down a well, even though Homer generally hates doing physical labor; and in "A Milhouse Divided", he arranged a surprise second wedding with Marge to make up for their lousy first ceremony, even going so far as hiring one of The Doobie Brothers as part of the wedding band, and getting a divorce from Marge, which essentially made their second wedding a "real" one.

Homer has a low IQ of 55 due to his hereditary "Simpson Gene,"[12] his alcohol problem, exposure to radioactive waste, repetitive cranial trauma,[13] and a crayon lodged in the frontal lobe of his brain.[14] Homer's intelligence was said to jump fifty points when he had the crayon removed, bringing him to an IQ of 105, slightly above that of an average person, however he had the crayon reinserted, lowering his IQ back to its original 55. The amount of Homer's brain which still functions is also questionable. At one point in the series, Homer apparently lost 5% of his brain after a coma and lost 20% when a pipe fell on his head at the nuclear power plant. Homer often debates his own mind; moments like these are expressed in voiceover. Homer's brain has a dubious record of advice, either helping Homer make the right decisions or failing completely. It has even become completely frustrated and, through sound effects, walked out on him in the episode "Brother from the Same Planet".

Character

Creation

Matt Groening first conceived Homer and the rest of 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[15] hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family. Homer was named after Groening's father Homer Groening[16][15] but very little else, such as Homer's behaviour and appearance, was based on him.[17]

Homer then made his debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on April 19, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".[18] Homer's middle initial "J," which was revealed to stand for "Jay",[19] was a "tribute" to Bullwinkle J. Moose from Rocky and Bullwinkle, a show Matt Groening loved as a child.[20] The whole family was designed so that they would be recognizable in silhouette.[21] The features of Homer's character design are generally not used in other characters, for example, in the later seasons, no characters besides Homer and Lenny have a similar beard line.[22]

Character development

It has been noted that there is a huge change in Homer's behaviour in the later seasons. In the early seasons, he was portrayed as a sweet sincere character, but he later became ruder and meaner. The show's fans have dubbed the later incarnations of the character "Jerkass Homer".[23] When editing The Simpsons Movie, several scenes were toned down and changed to make Homer more sympathetic.[24]

In 2005, The Simpsons was adapted for Arabic television. Homer was renamed Omar Shamshoon and several staples of his character were changed: he drank "juice" instead of beer, didn't eat bacon, didn't visit Moe's Tavern[25] and ate kahk instead of doughnuts.[26] The series did not fare very well and only 34 of the 52 adapted episodes aired.[25]

Voice

Homer's voice is performed by Dan Castellaneta, who also does the voices of several other characters, including Homer's father. Castellaneta had been part of the regular cast of The Tracey Ullman Show and had done some voice over work in Chicago alongside his wife Deb Lacusta. Voices were needed for the shorts, so the producers decided to ask Castellaneta and fellow cast member Julie Kavner to voice Homer and Marge and rather than hire more actors.[1][27] Homer's voice sounds different in the shorts and earlier episodes of the half-hour show. His voice began as a loose impression of Walter Matthau, but Castellaneta could not "get enough power behind that voice"[1] and could not sustain his Matthau impression for the 9-10 hour long recording sessions and had to find something easier.[28] Castellaneta "dropped the voice down"[27] and developed it into a more robust and humorous voice during the second and third season of the half-hour show, allowing Homer to cover a fuller range of emotions.[29] To perform Homer's voice, Castellaneta lowers his chin to his chest.[1]

Up until 1998, Castellaneta was paid $30,000 per episode and, following a pay dispute, he was paid $125,000 per episode until 2004. In 2004, there was another pay dispute and the voice actors demanded that they be paid $360,000 an episode.[30] The issue was resolved a month later, although the terms of the deal were not announced.[31]

Reception

Homer was placed second on TV Guide's 2002 Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters, behind Bugs Bunny;[32] fifth on Bravo's 100 Greatest TV Characters, one of only four cartoon characters on that list,[33] and British TV viewers voted him as the greatest TV character of all time.[34] In 2007, Entertainment Weekly placed Homer ninth on their list of the "50 Greatest TV icons".[35] Homer has been described by the UK newspaper The Sunday Times as the greatest comedic creation of modern time who wrote "Every age needs its great, consoling failure, its lovable, pretension-free mediocrity. And we have ours in Homer Simpson" and "Homer is good because, above all, he is capable of great love. When the chips are down, he always does the right thing by his children - he is never unfaithful in spite of several opportunities."[36] Homer was also the runaway winner in a British poll that determined which fictional character people would like to see become the President of the United States.[37]

Dan Castellaneta has won several awards for voicing Homer, including three Primetime Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance" in 1992 for "Lisa's Pony"; 1993 for "Mr. Plow" and 2004 for "Today I am A Clown" although in this case it was for voicing "various characters" and not solely for Homer.[38] In 2004, Castellaneta and Julie Kavner (the voice of Marge) won a Young Artist Award for "Most Popular Mom & Dad in a TV Series".[39] In 2005, Homer and Marge were nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Parental Units".[40] Various episodes that heavily featured Homer have won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, including "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" in 1991, "Lisa's Wedding" in 1995, "Homer's Phobia" in 1997, "Trash of the Titans" in 1998, "HOMЯ" in 2001 and "Three Gays of the Condo" in 2003.[38]

Cultural influence

File:Homer Simpson in Cerne Abbans.JPG
An image of Homer was painted next to the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England.

The Simpsons has been recommended for use in the teaching of sociology to modern-day college students.[41] The book The Simpsons and Philosophy, the D'oh! of Homer includes a chapter analyzing Homer's character from the perspective of Aristotelian virtue ethics.[42]

In 2007, an image of Homer was painted next to the hill figure, the Cerne Abbas giant in Dorset, England as part of a promotion for The Simpsons Movie. This caused outrage amongst local neopagans who performed "rain magic" to try and get it washed away.[43]

In 2003, Matt Groening revealed that his father, who Homer was named after, was Canadian, and said that this made Homer himself a Canadian.[44] He was later made an honorary citizen of Winnipeg, Canada, because Homer Groening was believed to be from the Manitoba capital, although some say he was actually born in Saskatchewan.[45]

In 2004, Homer starred in a Mastercard Priceless commercial that aired in 2004 during Super Bowl XXXVIII.[46]

Homer Simpson syndrome

A five-year study of more than 2,000 middle-aged people in France found a possible link between weight and brain function, dubbed the "Homer Simpson syndrome".[47] Results from a word memory test showed that people with a BMI of 20 (considered to be a healthy level) remembered an average of nine out of 16 words. Meanwhile, people with a BMI of 30 (inside the obese range) remembered an average of just seven out of 16 words.[47]

D'oh!

Main article: D'oh!

Homer's ubiquitous catch phrase "D'oh!" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2002,[48] without the apostrophe. The spoken word D'oh is a trademark of 20th Century Fox.[49] It is typically represented in the show's script as "(annoyed grunt)", and is so spelled out in the official titles of several episodes.[50] Some episodes feature varitions of the word such as "Bart of Darkness", when Homer says "D'oheth"[51] or The Simpsons Movie when Homer shouts "d'oooome!"[52]

When Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer, was first asked to voice the exclamation, he rendered it as a drawn out "d'ooooooh", inspired by Jimmy Finlayson, the mustachioed Scottish actor who appeared in 33 Laurel and Hardy films. Finlayson coined the term as a minced oath to stand in for the word "Damn!"[53] The show's creator Matt Groening felt that it would better suit the timing of animation if it were spoken faster so Castellaneta shortened it to a quick "D'oh!" The word was first used in the Ullman short "Punching Bag", and its first usage in the series was in "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".[51]

Merchandising

Homer's inclusion in many Simpsons publications, toys, and other merchandise is evidence of his enduring popularity. He has played central roles in the Simpsons Comics series.[54] A book written about Homer's personality and attributes has been published and is commercially available.[55] Numerous other including dolls, posters, figurines, bobblehead dolls, mugs, alarm clocks and clothing such as slippers, T-shirts, Baseball caps and Boxer shorts are widely available for purchase.[56]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Luaine Lee (2003-02-27). "D'oh, you're the voices". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "There's nobody like him... except you, me, everyone". The Sunday Times. 2007-07-08. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ The Simpsons "Duffless" February 18, 1993
  4. ^ The Simpsons. "Mother Simpson". 19 November 1995.
  5. ^ The Simpsons. "The Way We Was". 31 January 1991.
  6. ^ The Simpsons. "Homer Goes to College". 14 October 1993.
  7. ^ a b The Simpsons. "I Married Marge". 26 December, 1991.
  8. ^ The Simpsons. "And Maggie Makes Three." 22 January 1995.
  9. ^ The Simpsons. "Lisa the Beauty Queen." October 15 1992.
  10. ^ a b c d Groening, Matt; Scully, Mike; Jean, Al; Brooks, James L.; Silverman, David (2007). The Simpsons Movie: A Look Behind the Scenes (DVD). The Sun. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  11. ^ The Simpsons. "The Great Money Caper". 11 December, 2000.
  12. ^ The Simpsons."Lisa the Simpson". 8 March 1998.
  13. ^ The Simpsons. "So It's Come to This: A Simpsons Clip Show". 1 April, 1993.
  14. ^ The Simpsons. "HOMR". 7 January, 2001.
  15. ^ a b BBC (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  16. ^ Sadownick, Doug (1991-02-26). "Matt Groening". Advocate, Issue 571. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Joseph Rose (2007-08-03). "The real people behind Homer Simpson and family". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 14. ISBN 0-00-638898-1
  19. ^ The Simpsons "D'oh-in in the Wind" November 15, 1998
  20. ^ "J is for Jay". BBC. Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  21. ^ Groening, Matt; Al Jean, Mike Reiss (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "There's No Disgrace Like Home" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  22. ^ Groening, Matt; James L. Brooks, David Silverman (2001). The Simpsons season 1 DVD commentary for the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  23. ^ Alicia Ritchey (2006-03-28). "Matt Groening, did you brain your damage?". The Lantern. Retrieved 2008-03-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Brooks, James L.; Groening, Matt; Jean, Al; Scully, Mike; Silverman, David; Castellaneta, Dan; Smith, Yeardley (2007). Audio commentary (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  25. ^ a b Richard Poplak (2007-07-25). "Homer's odyssey - Why The Simpsons flopped in the Middle East". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "D'oh! Arabized Simpsons not getting many laughs". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2008-01-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Text "El-Rashidi, Yasmine" ignored (help)
  27. ^ a b Lynn Elber (2008-08-18). "D'oh!: The Voice of Homer Is Deceivingly Deadpan". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ 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)
  29. ^ Brownfield, Paul (1999-07-06). "He's Homer, but This Odyssey Is His Own". Los Angeles Times. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ Dan Glaister (2004-04-03). "Simpsons actors demand bigger share". The Age. Retrieved 2008-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "'Simpsons' Cast Goes Back To Work". CBS News. 2004-05-01. Retrieved 2008-08-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ "TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time". CNN. 2002-07-30. Retrieved 2007-08-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Characters". Bravo. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  34. ^ 100 Greatest TV characters
  35. ^ "The 50 Greatest TV Icons". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  36. ^ "There's nobody like him... except you, me, everyone". The Sunday Times. 2007-07-08. Retrieved 2007-07-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  37. ^ "Presidential poll win for Homer". BBC News. 2004-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  38. ^ a b "Primetime Emmy Awards Advanced Search". Emmys.org. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  39. ^ "25th Annual Winners and Nominees". Youngartistawards.org. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  40. ^ "Teen Choice Awards: 2005". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  41. ^ Scanlan, Stephen J.; Feinberg, Seth L. (April 2000). "The Cartoon Society: Using "The Simpsons" to Teach and Learn Sociology". Teaching Sociology. 28 (2): 127–139. doi:10.2307/1319260. Retrieved 2007-08-16. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) "The Simpsons, can be particularly effective for illustrating sociological themes and encouraging critical thinking among today's undergraduates"
  42. ^ Halwani, Raja. "Homer and Aristotle". In Irwin, William; Conrad, Mark T.; Skoble, Aeon (ed.). The "Simpsons" and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. USA: Open Court Publishing Co. ISBN 0812694333. Homer Simpson does not fare well when evaluated morally...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  43. ^ "Wish for rain to wash away Homer". BBC News. 2007-07-16. Retrieved 2007-07-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ "Simpson, eh? Homer voted greatest American" (Interview). WorldNetDaily. 2003-06-15. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Homer Simpson to become an honourary Winnipegger". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2003-05-30. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  46. ^ Kathleen Sampey (2004-01-30). "Homer Simpson Is 'Priceless' for MasterCard". Adweek. Retrieved 2008-01-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  47. ^ a b "Obese people lose IQ through 'Homer Simpson effect'". Thisislondon. 2006-10-15. Retrieved 2007-08-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ "It's in the dictionary, d'oh!". BBC News, Entertainment. BBC. 2001-06-14. Archived from the original on 2002-12-03. Retrieved 2007-08-16.
  49. ^ "Latest Status Info". TARR. Retrieved 2007-08-25.
  50. ^ Episode titles with the original spelling include "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious", "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)", "I, (Annoyed Grunt)-Bot", and "G.I. (Annoyed Grunt)". Episodes with d'oh in their titles include: "D'oh-in' in the Wind", "Days of Wine and D'oh'ses", "C.E. D'oh", "We're on the Road to D'ohwhere", and "He Loves to Fly and He D'oh's".
  51. ^ a b Simon, Jeremy (1994-02-11). "Wisdom from The Simpsons' 'D'ohh' boy". The Daily Northwestern. {{cite news}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  52. ^ The Simpsons Movie (Film). 20th Century Fox. 2007-07-27. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  53. ^ "What's the story with . . . Homer's D'oh!", The Herald, Glasgow, p. 15, July 21, 2007, retrieved 2007-07-22 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  54. ^ "Simpson crazy".
  55. ^ Groening, Matt (2004), The Homer Book, HarperCollins Entertainment, ISBN 0007191685
  56. ^ "Homer Simpson stuff". The Simpsons Shop. Retrieved 2008-01-18.

References

Further reading

  • Irwin, William; Mark T. Conrad; Aeon Skoble (eds.) (1999). The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 0-8126-9433-3.
  • Pinsky, Mark I. The Gospel According to The Simpsons: The Spiritual Life of the World's Most Animated Family. ISBN 0-664-22419-9.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Homer Simpson.
Look up d'oh in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Template:Simpsons characters Doh! I want my beer now! BART!!!!! Marge my pants ripped again! DOHNUTS.......YUM!!!!!!!!!!!

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