"What makes you so awesome?": 4 better questions to ask The Simpsons' Matt Groening at his Thursday Humanities Fest appearance
Matt Groening has likely heard them all. The man created The Simpsons 21 years ago, and has since been bombarded by questions about the show from every which way—on the street, during interviews, and probably at every party he's ever attended. (There's no doubt that the Simpsons episode in which the creators of Itchy & Scratchy are asked inanely specific questions about playing ribs like a xylophone is based in real-life experience.) Fan fervor at his Humanities Festival talk Thursday at UIC, with author Lynda Barry, would be understandable: Groening seldom comes to Chicago, so this is a rare opportunity to get all the fanboy questions out of the way. Don't. After all, he's heard them all. Instead, take this opportunity to surprise the man who masterminded The Simpsons (as well as Futurama and the comic strip Life In Hell) with a well thought out, open-ended quandary sure to elicit a meaningful response. The A.V. Club has a few suggestions to get things rolling.
Question: How has the character of Homer evolved over the years?
While early episodes of the show tried to spread the scenic love around (remember Bart the hooligan and Lisa's depressing diary?), it was Homer Simpson who found himself in the center of the plot most often. He was a well-intentioned guy who, deep down, loved his family; he was just too much of a moron to realize the things he did were an odd way of showing it. And if he ate a few moon waffles along the way, all the funnier. Obviously Homer's still around, but his escapades as of late have become a little too stupid-for-stupidity's-sake to make for compelling television. In an episode last year, for example, he thought a doggy squeak toy newspaper was an actual newspaper. While Groening hasn't been involved in the day-to-day operations of The Simpsons for a while, surely he keeps up with his beloved project and has some thoughts on this slobbiest of patriarchs and his longevity.
Don't be afraid to: Ask it just like it's written. Presuming there's been a change probably isn't the worst thing in the world, because it will get Groening's mind in the right place to give a thoughtful answer. Worst case scenario: He can say he doesn't believe Homer's changed, and go from there.
Question: How much of your personal sense of humor shines through in the series?
Many of the long-running series' episodes weren't penned by Groening: In DVD commentaries, the cartoonist credits John Swartzwelder with writing many of the classic episodes that have defined The Simpsons and helped set the show's tone early on. As hardcore fans known, Swartzwelder is a notorious recluse and his refusal to appear on DVD commentaries positions him as unable to defend Groening's stance. While Swartzwelder-penned episodes like "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," "Homie The Clown," and "Homer Vs. The Eighteenth Amendment," exude a madcap silliness that preachy Groening-written episodes like "Colonel Homer" and "The Telltale Head" don't. In fact, they have a bleakness and dark comedy far more in line with Groening's strips for Life In Hell than the majority of The Simpsons.
Don't be afraid to: Bring up Conan O'Brien ("Homer Goes To College" and "Marge Vs. The Monorail"), whose brief tenure with the show spawned a handful of markedly different but winning episodes, or Ian Maxtone-Graham ("Alone Again, Natura-Diddily"), who famously remarked after becoming head writer that he had never seen an episode before in his life. Both writers helped define different eras in the show's lengthy history, and if anyone can speak to the essence of the show's humor, it's Groening.
Question: Of the former writers and showrunners, who do you think influenced the voice and tone of The Simpsons the most?
By law, Matt Groening's name must appear on all images and likenesses of The Simpsons, and though he created the characters two decades ago, many other people arguably played a bigger role making the show what it is. Television writers often toil in anonymity while other people cash the big checks (and in The Simpsons' case, one estimate is $3 billion), and the core group of writers that guided the show through its early seasons has become legendary—among comedy aficionados, at least. If John Q. Public knows anyone, it's Matt Groening, and he's probably mispronouncing Groening's name. (For the record, it rhymes with "raining.")
Don't be afraid to: Bring up John Ortved's new book, The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History. Although the book paints an unflattering picture of Groening, it lionizes writers and showrunners like Sam Simon, George Meyer, John Swartzwelder, and more as the show's true creative forces.
Question: When will you know enough is enough?
Let's face it: It's been 21 years, and there are only so many times The Simpsons can rehash plots it's already covered before fans start to question the show's continued relevance. Part of the success of early episodes can be attributed to surprise: No one really knew what to expect from The Simpsons, which lent an immediacy to all the jokes as people looked to the show as a trendsetter. Now The Simpsons is so much a part of the cultural lexicon, it's hard to see it as cutting-edge. It would be interesting to hear Groening's thoughts on what would need to happen for the show to finally cut and run—it's missed so many of those opportunities in the past, so when is it finally going to happen?
Don't be afraid to: Go there. The show's still entertaining, but ending a series run is no longer the mark of a failed franchise. All good things must come to an end.
