Blog Minx

Last night was the 400th episode of The Simpsons. Wow! I can remember when it first started as a skit on The Tracey Ullman Show in the late 1980s (yes, I’m ancient). The graphics have certainly improved since then.

I imagine that a lot of us have watched more than a handful of episodes over the last 15+ years. We must be picking up plenty of messages and lessons. So how does The Simpsons treat the topics of work and money?

Rich people are evil.
Mr Burns is the wealthiest person on the show. Meanwhile, he’s destroying the environment via his nuclear power plant, setting his hounds on visitors and spawning his fawning gay assistant, Smithers.

Having a job sucks, so best to slack off.
Homer loathes his job as a safety inspector at the plant. He can regularly be seen tucking into donuts, snoozing, or abandoning work entirely for another hair-brained adventure. Only suckers work hard, right?

People who work in jobs are generally crap at them.
Refer: Homer, Police Chief Wiggum.

But then, some people take their jobs far too seriously.
Refer: Principal Skinner, Comic Book Guy, Nelson the School Bully.

Don’t just have one job, try out different jobs.
So far Homer’s had hundreds of mostly short-lived jobs, including internet gossip sleuth and ice cream vendor. You can read the list of them here. He will often do extra work to make more money when there’s an unexpected expense. He may squander money, but providing is important to him as well. Marge has dabbled in a few jobs (policewoman, real estate agent), but mostly sticks with housewifery.

If you have a good job, don’t go near Homer. Although he will help you in the end.
Homer has a tendency to mess things up. Look at his half-brother Herb, who went from millionaire to homeless man thanks to Homer (although then back to millionaire, so it wasn’t all bad). Homer also tried to sabotage Ned Flanders’ new left-handed store, but when he saw Flanders was closing up due to lack of sales he started telling his left-handed friends about it.

Journalists are corrupt.
Well, duh! Kent Brockman abandons his anchor post the instant he wins the lottery. In the 400th episode he gets fired for swearing, complains bitterly about the conservative media corporations and their secrets, then heads straight back for a proffered 50% raise.

In fact, money and job themes feature in many episodes. The Simpsons family often face unexpected expenses, or Homer finds himself in a new line of work. I guess watching him snooze all day at the power plant wouldn’t make for interesting material.

What have I missed? What money lessons have you learned over the years from The Simpsons, if any? Or are you more of a Wall Street Journal follower for financial advice?

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