It's Funny Because It's True? The Simpsons, Satire, and the Significance of Religious Humor in Popular Culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8204474 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Feltmate (Auburn University at Montgomery, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 81 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 222-248 |
| Publication date | 2013-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Academy of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-7189 • E-ISSN: 1477-4585 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jaarel/lfs100 |
| OpenAlex | W2170370383 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 23 |
The Simpsons ’ depiction of the evangelical Ned Flanders has become a well-known stereotype in contemporary American popular culture which has been discussed in academic and popular circles. This article uses a critical analysis of Flanders to challenge journalist Mark Pinsky’s asser-tion that The Simpsons is “funny because it’s true ” (The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Bigger, and Possibly Even Better! Edition, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007, 226) and Conrad Hyers ’ theorizing of humor’s religiousness by demonstrating that Flanders is a satire who contributes to ongoing political debates in the United States. This is accomplished through a cultural analysis of Flanders in light of political debates since the 1960s in which evangelicals have had a significant role. It is argued that Flanders ’ actions are simultaneously mocked and praised in a way which denigrates evangelicals and their political participation while supporting the individual acts of piety and Christian morality which do not lead to behavioral prescriptions for others.
Aesthetics · Art · Assertion · Depiction · Elite · Epistemology · Gospel · Literature · Media studies · Morality · Piety · Political science · Politics · Popular culture · Sociology · Stereotype (UML) · Humor Studies and Applications · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Psychology
Hermeneutics of Ritual From Habitual to Sacral
The Humorous Reproduction of Religious Prejudice
Religious Satire and the Crucified Christ
The Year's Work in American Humor Studies, 2013
Humor and allusions on screen
Mormon Melodrama and the Syndication of Satire, from Brigham Young (1940) to South Park (2003)
From The Fresh Prince to The Politician
Learning from laughter
Thinking Religion Through Things
Unraveling the seriousness fallacy
A Mother's Value Lies in Her Sexuality
Sincere Performance in Pentecostal Megachurch Music
A rumor of angels
Mine eyes have seen the glory
Understanding fundamentalism and evangelicalism
Bible believers
Causes and Consequences of Public Attitudes Toward Abortion
Humor Appreciation as Function of Religious Dimensions
Religiousness, Religious Fundamentalism, and Quest as Predictors of Humor Creation
Funny as hell
Evangelicals and the Continental Divide
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1990s?”
Religion and Humor
Jesus Freak and the Junkyard Prophet
The social construction of reality
The Missing Link
Prayer in Public Schools
The Simpsons
Religion and sense of humor
A Textbook Example of the Christian Right
Commandos for Christ
God's Bullies
Political Esperanto
Attitudes toward Abortion among Religious Traditions in the United States
| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,86 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2024 (13) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |