Rob Frank
Professor Jonathan Frink 
English 209 
31 February 2012 
Postmodernism
	Every time I watch an episode of The Simpsons, I pick up something new, and this is exactly why I consider the show to be an example of a postmodern masterpiece. The term itself, "postmodernism", refers to a very ambiguous theory that attempts to explain the world around us by proposing that meaning is formed by the perceiver and not the creator. Many different fields of study use the term, and this only adds to the difficulty in trying to pinpoint a concise definition of the word. According to the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), "Postmodernism is largely a reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific, or objective, efforts to explain reality. In essence, it stems from a recognition that reality is not simply mirrored in human understanding of it, but rather, is constructed as the mind tries to understand its own particular and personal reality." In other words, postmodern theory asserts that nothing has any inherent meaning. 
	This line of thought was a major shift away from "Modernism", in which the focus was on the creator as the maker of meaning. And while the word "Postmodernism" literally means, "after Modernism," this doesn't quite explain the differences between the two. However, this is where The Simpsons can help. From the modernist perspective, the writers of an episode are the ones who are trying to send a message, but from the postmodern perspective, each viewer will receive a different message, as each viewer's take will be colored by his or her own life experiences. The show goes out of its way to offer the audience a wide pastiche of different pop culture references, layered jokes, and even references to the show itself in order to allow each viewer to experience the show in a different way. In addition, every viewer also changes over time, and so the meaning is never stable. Personally, I started watching the show when I was Bart's age, and only now am I seeing some of the "adult" jokes for the first time. 
	These characteristics of The Simpsons, among others, overlap greatly with the fundamental features of postmodern art, which include "irony and parody," "a breakdown between high and low cultural forms," and "extreme self-reflexivity" (Felluga). However, the key to understanding postmodernism in any context may be to see its limitations, for it paints a picture of a universe that seems to be devoid of any inherent purpose. As Bart Simpson said (immediately before he was crushed by a door), "Cartoons don't have messages, Lisa. They're just a bunch of hilarious stuff, you know, like people getting hurt and stuff, stuff like that." 

Works Cited
Felluga, Dino. "General Introduction to Postmodernism." Introductory Guide to 
	Critical Theory. n.d. Purdue University. 28 Feb. 2013. 	<http://www.purdue.edu/guidetotheory/postmodernism/modules/introduction.html>.
Public Broadcasting Service. "Glossary Definition: Postmodernism." PBS.org. N.p., 
	n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/gengloss/postm-	body.html>.
Simpson, Bart. "Lisa the Vegetarian." The Simpsons. FOX Television. N.d. Television.