Jerome Misquitta 103546701 Narrative Analysis - The Simpsons The Simpsons (Groenig) serves as an ever-evolving commentary on the contemporary issues that plague western society, particularly those pertaining to America and its socioeconomic and geopolitical standing, all while partially conforming to the standard episodic three-act structure adopted by sitcoms, which is accomplished through 'resetting' itself with each episode (Gray, 2006, p. 50). Whereas other traditional texts may conform to standard forms of storytelling, Das Bus relies on parody and intertextuality in order to construct meaning. The episode begins with the opening credits, followed by the Simpsons family being pictured in their living room watching a "biblical epic" of Noah and the Ark, serving as a form of foreshadowing of the eventual plot of the episode as well as the moral conveyed through both the Lord of the Flies (Golding) - by ignoring the authority set in place, humanity will become corrupted (Bufkin, 1965, p. 55). The significance of the "biblical epic", especially as an allusion to one of the prominent themes in Golding's work would present further context for inscribed audiences to derive meaning from, contrasting significantly from spectators that may not be familiar with both of the referenced texts. Proceeding this, the exposition of the episode is quickly established through the conferring of the "Model UN Club", revealing to the audience the field trip that the members of the club will be taking, partially setting up the dramatic premise and situation within the main plot of the episode. In doing so, the narrative is able to establish several protagonists within the main plot of the episode, which would be the members of the club - this is a subversion of the typical structure of television narratives where there may be only a handful 1
of protagonists. The sub-plot, which is established as Homer Simpson's creation of a "business enterprise" through his interaction with Ned Flanders, serves as the exposition as well as the dramatic premise and situation behind the sub-plot. Where other comedies might have their main and sub-plots interact or converge (Mittell, 2006, p. 34), Das Bus conforms to the more conventional main and sub-plots which fail to connect with each other. The dramatic premise and situation is properly established once the school bus carrying the members of the "Model UN Club" eventually becomes lost at sea, forcing the members to swim to their safety, setting up the parodical nature of the episode, which is developed further by Bart's use of the conch shell to disrupt the members from their discord - a clear reference to the events of Lord of the Flies. The characters are confronted with the obstacle of searching for food and forming shelters for themselves, as the episode proceeds to cut to the Simpson's home in Springfield, as Homer himself faces his first obstacles for his character, such as discerning what his company does as well as naming it. The episode cuts to stranded members facing more obstacles such as their lack of food and