I left a comment elsewhere the other day, in which I referred to both Catch-22 and The Simpsons, and then said something about not wanting to mix my cultural references.
It occurred to me not long afterwards that being concerned about mixed references when it comes to The Simpsons is one of the most absurd things in the world. The Simpsons is practically defined by its use of mixed cultural references -- it's that whole postmodern schtick, and one of my favourite things about the show. My pop culture literacy is pretty good (although my knowledge of contemporary music isn't great), and so it's pretty rare that The Simpsons will refer to something and I'll miss it. Similarly, my Simpsons literacy is pretty good, and so I'll normally spot a reference to the show at a hundred paces. And, somewhat pathetically, I almost know Catch-22 off by heart.
With all that in mind, I was really concerned by the fact that I was struggling to recall a reference to Catch-22 on The Simpsons. In all fairness, I don't know my Simpsons as well as some people I know, not having the benefit of a full set of DVDs to study from, but I'm confident that if there was a reference in there, I'd have seen it.
So, I racked my brains, and I came up with a single reference: the episode where Sideshow Bob tries to blow up Springfield with an out of date nuke. In that episode, Bob crouches in the garden outside some military hotshot's office listening to him yell, just like when Yossarian crouches outside Major Major's office trying to trap the man.
Okay, that's one. But I can think of four or five references to Frasier, and, while awesome, that show doesn't carry the cultural weight that Catch-22 does. And I don't think it's a case of the book being an easy target, because I can think of eight references to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and that's hardly a reference that'll go over anyone's head. I'd expect that, over the course of, what, eleven years of The Simpsons, there'd be at least three or four Catch-22 references.
I dug out a couple of interviews with Matt Groening that I read for uni a couple of years ago. Lo and behold, Groening cites Catch-22 as one of his biggest influences. So where are the references to it?
Next stop is the Simpson-phile's Simpsons-file, where my search for Catch-22 turned up the same interview with Matt Groening I'd read, and two episodes I hadn't thought of.
One is 22 Short Films About Springfield, in which the Catch-22 reference is apparently the number 22 in the title. Uhhh, right.
The second is the one where Sideshow Bob's brother tries to blow up Springfield, and the Catch-22 reference is obscure at best. If I had a copy of the book to hand, I'd check, but I can't place the quote offhand. I'm wondering if it's not actually a quote from the film, which I haven't seen all the way through. I'm given to understand that there's a big difference in dialogue between film and book.
Anyhow, I'm sort of pleased to know I'm not losing my mind, even if I am disappointed to find that there's no bastard child of Matt Groening and Joseph Heller running around out there.
As a vaguely related aside, I sort of want to get a Flying Hellfish tattoo. The episode itself is pretty average - it was just on - but I love the logo.
(These colours are a bit off, but it was the best image I could find in a hurry)
It occurred to me not long afterwards that being concerned about mixed references when it comes to The Simpsons is one of the most absurd things in the world. The Simpsons is practically defined by its use of mixed cultural references -- it's that whole postmodern schtick, and one of my favourite things about the show. My pop culture literacy is pretty good (although my knowledge of contemporary music isn't great), and so it's pretty rare that The Simpsons will refer to something and I'll miss it. Similarly, my Simpsons literacy is pretty good, and so I'll normally spot a reference to the show at a hundred paces. And, somewhat pathetically, I almost know Catch-22 off by heart.
With all that in mind, I was really concerned by the fact that I was struggling to recall a reference to Catch-22 on The Simpsons. In all fairness, I don't know my Simpsons as well as some people I know, not having the benefit of a full set of DVDs to study from, but I'm confident that if there was a reference in there, I'd have seen it.
So, I racked my brains, and I came up with a single reference: the episode where Sideshow Bob tries to blow up Springfield with an out of date nuke. In that episode, Bob crouches in the garden outside some military hotshot's office listening to him yell, just like when Yossarian crouches outside Major Major's office trying to trap the man.
Okay, that's one. But I can think of four or five references to Frasier, and, while awesome, that show doesn't carry the cultural weight that Catch-22 does. And I don't think it's a case of the book being an easy target, because I can think of eight references to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, and that's hardly a reference that'll go over anyone's head. I'd expect that, over the course of, what, eleven years of The Simpsons, there'd be at least three or four Catch-22 references.
I dug out a couple of interviews with Matt Groening that I read for uni a couple of years ago. Lo and behold, Groening cites Catch-22 as one of his biggest influences. So where are the references to it?
Next stop is the Simpson-phile's Simpsons-file, where my search for Catch-22 turned up the same interview with Matt Groening I'd read, and two episodes I hadn't thought of.
One is 22 Short Films About Springfield, in which the Catch-22 reference is apparently the number 22 in the title. Uhhh, right.
The second is the one where Sideshow Bob's brother tries to blow up Springfield, and the Catch-22 reference is obscure at best. If I had a copy of the book to hand, I'd check, but I can't place the quote offhand. I'm wondering if it's not actually a quote from the film, which I haven't seen all the way through. I'm given to understand that there's a big difference in dialogue between film and book.
Anyhow, I'm sort of pleased to know I'm not losing my mind, even if I am disappointed to find that there's no bastard child of Matt Groening and Joseph Heller running around out there.
As a vaguely related aside, I sort of want to get a Flying Hellfish tattoo. The episode itself is pretty average - it was just on - but I love the logo.
(These colours are a bit off, but it was the best image I could find in a hurry)
posted by beck at 3:49 pm
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