Springfield (The Simpsons)

Springfield is a fictional city in the United States that hosts the animated series The Simpsons . It does not correspond to any of the actual cities of the same name - the hints made do not allow any unequivocal conclusion and partly contradict each other. According to creator Matt Groening, Springfield, Oregon was the template for the Simpsons' Springfield. The individual characters are based on people from Groening's environment.

Geographical location

Matt Groening chose the name Springfield for the city because it was one of the most common city names in the United States in 1989. There are one or more cities with this name in 35 states. Springfield is supposed to reflect the typical average of a small American town and can be located “anywhere” in the USA. This is made clear by different, mostly contradicting information about the exact location of the city. Sometimes it is on the coast, sometimes near the desert or on the edge of the mountains.

Groening was inspired by the television series Father Knows Best , which is also set in an unspecified Springfield, when choosing a name and the idea of ​​keeping the question of the exact location open . In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine in 2012, he said that as a child he believed it was the town of Springfield , near his hometown Portland . Only later did he find out that the series city was fictional and the name was one of the most common in the USA. He then opted for the same concept in order to give every single viewer the feeling that the location of the series is close by.

Exact information about the location is generally avoided in the series, although it is often alluded to. However, this now serves as a running gag within the series . As a result, Abraham and Zelda , for example, mentioned that Springfield over 1000 kilometers from Branson ( Missouri is located). As a result, kill the alligator and then ... the family crosses out all states except North Dakota and Arizona on an America map , as they are no longer allowed to enter them. Since the Simpsons don't live in North Dakota (Lisa calls out, “North Dakota we're coming!”), Springfield should be outside of the United States. This is an example of the inconsistency that partially prevails with respect to the geographic location of Springfield. In the episode Behind the Laughing, it is claimed that the Simpsons come from Kentucky, which , according to the movie , is impossible because Springfield borders Kentucky here.

In the Simpsons movie , this inconsistency is particularly clear: Ned Flanders shows Bart the four states that border Springfield: Ohio , Nevada , Maine and Kentucky . In reality, however, these four states are scattered across the United States. Only Ohio and Kentucky border each other. Both are together in the northeastern United States. Maine is in the extreme northeast, Nevada in the west.

To host the premiere of the film, several US cities called Springfield took part in a competition that the film studio 20th Century Fox had announced. The winner was Springfield in Vermont .

history

Springfield was founded in 1796 by the immigrant Hans Sprungfeld (who changed his name to Jebediah Springfield in 1795 ) along with other immigrants. The reason was a misinterpretation of the Bible , because of which J. Springfield felt compelled to look for the new Sodom . After he refused to allow marriages between cousins in his city , part of the community , under the leadership of Shelbyville Manhattan , split off to found the new city of Shelbyville nearby . Because of this founding history, the inhabitants of both cities rival to this day.

The city of Springfield reached its peak in the middle of the 20th century. At that time, the city was home to the world's first amphibious car factory . Later the city sagged significantly. In a cover story for Time magazine , Springfield was named America's Worst City , but in one episode it was able to work its way up to 299th place (ahead of East St. Louis ) in a list of the 300 most livable cities in the USA .

The current longtime Mayor of Springfield is Joseph ("Joe") Quimby ( D ).

computer game

In 1997 Fox Interactive published the computer game Virtual Springfield , developed by Digital Evolution , in which you can explore the city more closely, but only a few places can be visited. In 2003 the computer game The Simpsons Hit & Run appeared , in which one can explore large parts of the city in 3D. The arrangement of the buildings partly contradicts that of the series, which is due to the fact that the authors often adapt the city to the plot a little.

Web links

• Interactive version of the map of Springfield (2004)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Smithsonian Magazine: Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield
2. ↑ WCRZ.com: Matt Groening Reveals Origin of Springfield on 'The Simpsons'
3. ↑ TheWrap: 'The Simpsons' Bombshell - Matt Groening Reveals Springfield Origin
4. ↑ BBC: Simpsons creator Matt Groening spills Springfield secret
5. ↑ National Public Radio: D'Oh! Springfield In 'Simpsons' Was Based On Town In Creators Home State All Along
6. ↑ RP Online: This is the real Springfield
7. ↑ Hughes, Sam: Real Springfields
8. ^ Rosenberg, Matt: The Most Common Place Name in America
9. ^ Claudia De La Roca: Matt Groening Reveals the Location of the Real Springfield . In: Smithsonian Magazine . May 2012 ( article online [accessed April 19, 2012]).
10. ↑ True Springfield: "The Simpsons" Creator Lights New Smoke Candle. In: Spiegel Online . April 13, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012 . 
11. ↑ Sky News: Which Springfield Will Host Simpson Premiere? , Sky News . July 10, 2007. 
12. ↑ USA Today: Jubilant Vermont town hits a Homer , USA Today . July 13, 2007. 
13. ↑ S07E16 "The Secret Confession"
14. ↑ S04E08 "Laura, the new neighbor"
15. ↑ S10E22 "The city of primitive bores"