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Bart Simpson

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For the comic book series of the same name, see Bart Simpson comics.

Template:Simpsons character Bartholomew "Bart" Jo-Jo Simpson[1] is a fictional character in the FOX animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Nancy Cartwright[1], and first appeared on the Tracy Ullman Show short "Good Night". At ten years of age, Bart is the eldest child and only son of Homer and Marge Simpson, and the elder brother of Lisa and Maggie.[1] Bart's most prominent character traits are his mischievousness, rebelliousness, disrespect for authority and sharp wit. During the first two seasons of The Simpsons, Bart was the show's main character; while later episodes started to focus more on Homer, Bart remains one of the most enduring characters on the series, and has proven to be one of the most well-known characters in the history of American television animation.[2]

Personality

Bart is a self-described underachiever and proud of it, and is considerably motivated in disrupting the routine at Springfield Elementary. His pranks are often elaborately complex, while his actions and speech frequently show considerable mental agility, street-smarts, and understanding. In "Separate Vocations" when Bart becomes hall monitor, his grades go up, showing that he only struggles because he does not pay attention, not because he is dumb. This is reinforced in the episode "Brother's Little Helper", in which it is revealed that Bart suffers from Attention Deficit Disorder (although the claim is later dismissed). On the other hand, he often seems to have trouble understanding even the simplest concepts, such as the word "irony", what the equator is and that the logo on his globe, "Rand McNally," is not actually a country. The fact that he is the son of Homer Simpson and shares many of the same mannerisms and behaviors may also account for his antics. Homer even described Bart as "a younger, more in-your-face version" of himself. It is often joked that Bart is a pawn of the devil due to his mischievous behavior, such as when Lisa calls him "the Devil's cabana boy", a role which Bart seems to relish. In one Halloween episode, the Devil actually makes an appearance in the form of Ned Flanders, saying "Hey, Bart" like they are old friends.

Although he gets into endless trouble and can be sadistic, shallow and selfish, Bart also exhibits many qualities of high integrity. He has, on a few occasions, helped the school Principal Seymour Skinner, and his teacher Edna Krabappel despite the fact he often terrorizes them, and he often befriends outcasts like Milhouse Van Houten. One great example of his quasi sense of honor is in the episode This Little Wiggy where Bart stands up for Ralph Wiggum at the cost of peer popularity. In addition Bart, almost invariably, has made amends with the person he has pranked by the end of an episode.

Due to Bart's mischievousness and Homer's often uncaring and incompetent behavior, the two have a turbulent relationship. Bart will often address Homer by his given name instead of "Dad", while Homer in turn often refers to him as "the boy". Whenever Homer finds out that Bart has said or done something stupid or bad, he yells "Why you little–!" and then strangles him. In The Simpsons Movie, Homer and Bart's relationship reaches a breaking point following Homer's pollution of Lake Springfield. Nevertheless, the two really do love each other deep down. Marge, however, is much more caring, understanding and nurturing than Homer, but she also refers to Bart as "a handful" and is often embarrassed by his antics. Despite his attitude, Bart is sometimes willing to go through a series of humiliations if it means pleasing his mom.

Bart's appearance in the show rarely changes from episode-to-episode. He typically sports blue shorts and an orange t-shirt with blue sneakers that resemble Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars.[original research?] Although his t-shirt color occasionally changes to light blue or red, a differing appearance is only seen in special occasions such as when the Simpsons go to church or when the episode takes place in the winter season.

Bart shares a sibling rivalry with his younger sister, Lisa, but has a buddy-like relationship with his youngest sister Maggie, due to her infant state. While Bart has often hurt Lisa out of jealousy, and even fought her physically, they are very close. Bart cares for Lisa as deeply as she does for him, and has always apologized for going too far. He also believes Lisa to be his superior when it comes to solving problems, and frequently goes to her for advice. Despite his duties as a brother to torment his sister, Bart is also highly protective of Lisa, such as in Bart the General: when a bully destroys her box of cupcakes he immediately steps in with a 'that's my sister, man!' and proceeds to stand up against schoolyard-leviathan Nelson Muntz. This close relationship is also exhibited in Round Springfield; after the death of Lisa's hero Bleeding Gums Murphy, Bart uses his Krusty-Metal-O settlement money to buy her the only known copy of Murphy's album, because she was the only one who believed him when he said he was sick. The siblings have formed a dynamic crime-solving duo during many of their encounters with Sideshow Bob, Bart's nemesis.

Bart also has had numerous relationships, including one of Lisa's friends, Emily, who kissed Bart on a dare ("Flaming Moe's"), Reverend Lovejoy's daughter, Jessica Lovejoy ("Bart's Girlfriend"), Rainier Wolfcastle's daughter, Greta Wolfcastle ("The Bart Wants What it Wants"), a juvenial, Gina Vendetti ("The Wandering Juvie"), a girl from North Haverbrook, Darcy ("Little Big Girl"), an unnamed girl in ("The Monkey Suit"), and a girl in season nineteen's upcoming episode. Bart's first (and probably the greatest) love of his life was Laura Powers ("New Kid on the Block"), his next door neighbor and babysitter, with whom he shares a lot in common. But because she's a teenager and Bart is only 10, the two never have a relationship. In Another Simpsons Clip Show, Bart calls Laura "The only girl he ever loved."

Bart's interests include watching Krusty the Klown, skateboarding, reading comic books like Radioactive Man, watching The Itchy & Scratchy Show, terrorizing Lisa, playing video games/computer games, helping Lisa solve various problems like reuniting Krusty with his estranged father, and playing various pranks such as mooning unsuspecting people and prank calling Moe Szyslak at his tavern. His best friend is Milhouse van Houten.

Bart sometimes demonstrates amazing linguistic abilities. Though he has not demonstrated the ability since the episode in which he learned, he speaks near-perfect French. He also learned Spanish in a matter of hours in preparation for the family's trip to Brazil. Upon learning that Brazilians speak Portuguese and not Spanish, Homer tells his son to forget what he learned, prompting Bart to strike himself over the head with an airplane phone until he forgot the language. Bart also speaks Japanese, which he also learned in a couple of hours in prison along with Homer, and is also shown speaking Japanese in 'A Star is Burns', Cantonese and Latin. His advanced linguistic skills may be inherited from Homer, who also speaks advanced languages, including penguin. Bart can also drive, having his own driving license, given to him in "Little Big Girl" after saving Springfield from a fire, although he has been seen driving before, a la "Burns' Heir", and also with a fake license, particularly in the episode "Bart on the Road". He still possesses it, using it to great effect in "24 minutes", stealing Principal Skinner's car to get to Jimbo's house. He is allergic to real and imitation butterscotch, luminous monster make-up, cauliflower, and shrimp, the latter of which is possibly inherited from his mother. According to an interview, Bart has a fear of coffins. This fear may have started when, shopping for a coffin for the yet-living Grampa in the episode "Tennis the Menace", when Bart is accidentally shut in a coffin while fooling around. This fear is referred to in "Funeral for a Fiend", where Bart is nearly cremated while in a coffin. In the episode "The Boys of Bummer," it is revealed that Bart's favorite song is "Love Stinks" by The J. Geils Band.

In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist. Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority has been likened to that of America's founding fathers, rendering him an updated version of American icons Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, rolled into one."[3]

Character

Creation

File:Simpsons good night.jpg
Homer says good night to Bart in his first televised appearance on the short "Good Night".

Matt Groening first conceived the Simpson family in the lobby of James L. Brooks' office. He had been called in to pitch a series of animated shorts, and had intended to present his Life in Hell series. When he realized that animating Life in Hell would require him to rescind publication rights for his life's work, Groening decided to go in another direction.[2] He hurriedly sketched out his version of a dysfunctional family, and named the characters after various members of his own family, substituting "Bart" for his own name,[2] as he decided it would have been too obvious for him to have named the character Matt.[4] Bart then made his debut with the rest of the Simpsons clan on 19 April, 1987 in the Tracey Ullman short "Good Night".[5] The name "Bart" is an anagram of the word "brat".[4] Groening conceived Bart as an extreme version of the typical misbehaving child character, merging all of the extreme traits of characters such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn into one person.[4] Groening's older brother Mark provided most of the inspiration for Bart.[6][7][8]

Groening has also said that he found the premise of many things such as Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace.[9]

Voice

Nancy Cartwright originally auditioned for the role of Lisa, but was soon told that her voice would be better suited voicing Bart, so Matt Groening let her try out for the part, and upon hearing her read, gave her the job on the spot.[10] Bart's catchphrase "Eat My Shorts" was an ad-lib by Cartwright in one of the original table readings, harking back to an incident when she was at college.[11]

Although Cartwright is probably best known for providing the voice of Bart Simpson in The Simpsons, she is also the voice for Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders and Ralph Wiggum.[12]

Cultural influence

In 1998, Time magazine selected Bart as 46th of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century, and the only fictional character to make the list.[13] He had previously appeared on the cover the December 31 1990 edition.[14] Both Bart and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time".[15]

Bart's catchphrases, "¡Ay, caramba!," "Don't have a cow, man!" and "Eat my shorts!" were featured on t-shirts in the initial show's run.[16] The latter two phrases were rarely actually spoken on the show itself until after they became popular through merchandise, and the use of many of these catchphrases diminished in later seasons. The use of catchphrase-based humor was mocked in the episode "Bart Gets Famous" in which Bart lands a popular role on the Krusty show for saying the line "I didn't do it."[17] During the early seasons, Bart was the rebellious lead character and frequently received no punishment for his misbehavior, which led some parents and conservatives to characterize him as a poor role model for children.[18][19] At the time, then-President George H. W. Bush said, "We're going to strengthen the American family to make them more like the Waltons and less like the Simpsons."[20] Several U.S. public schools even banned The Simpsons merchandise and t-shirts, such as one featuring Bart and the caption "Underachiever ('And proud of it, man!')".[20] Despite the ban, The Simpsons merchandise sold well and generated US$2 billion in revenue during the first 14 months of sales.[20]

Bart is the most prevalent Simpsons character for the show on memorabilia such as T-shirts, car decals, and even graffiti art. Bart, and other Simpsons characters, have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1990-2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!"[21] This association was parodied in "Barting Over", an episode when he discovered a video tape with Lisa that proved he participated in a TV commercial when he was a baby; Bart says that he does not remember being in a commercial, then ironically holds up a Butterfinger and eats it.

Early Simpsons merchandise included t-shirts that featured a picture of Bart and the slogan 'Underachiever and Proud of It'. Parents and teachers initially objected to the slogan, pointing out that the phrase, coupled with Bart's popularity among teenagers, made Bart a poor role-model for school-aged children.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Bart Simpson.

References

  1. ^ a b c Richmond, Ray; Antonia Coffman (1997). The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to our Favorite Family. Harper Collins Publishers, pg. 178. ISBN 0-00-638898-1
  2. ^ a b c BBC (2000). 'The Simpsons': America's First Family (6 minute edit for the season 1 DVD) (DVD). UK: 20th Century Fox.
  3. ^ Cantor, P: "The Simpsons: Atomistic Politics and the Nuclear Family", page 738. Political Theory, Vol 27 No 6, Dec 1999.
  4. ^ a b c Groening, Matt: Jean, Al (2007). The Simpsons Movie: A Look Behind the Scenes (DVD). The Sun. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  5. ^ Richmond, p. 14
  6. ^ Groening, Matt (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Eighth Season DVD commentary for the episode "My Sister, My Sitter" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ Paul, Alan (1995-09-30). "Life in Hell". Flux Magazine. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Groening, Matt (2006). The Simpsons The Complete Ninth Season DVD commentary for the episode "Bart Carny" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  9. ^ Groening, Matt (2005). The Simpsons The Complete Seventh Season DVD commentary for the episode "Two Bad Neighbors" (DVD). 20th Century Fox. {{cite AV media}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  10. ^ "Bart's voice tells all". BBC News. 2000-11-10. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Larry Carroll (2007-07-26). "'Simpsons' Trivia, From Swearing Lisa To 'Burns-Sexual' Smithers". MTV. Retrieved 2007-07-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Stated in interview on Inside the Actors Studio
  13. ^ "Bart Simpson". Time. 1998-06-08. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  14. ^ "TIME Magazine Cover: Bart Simpson". Time. 1990-12-31. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "CNN - TV Guide's 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters". CNN. 2002-07-30. Retrieved 2007-03-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Turner, Chris. Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, p. 25. ISBN 0-679-31318-4
  17. ^ Turner p. 61
  18. ^ Turner, p. 131
  19. ^ Rosenbaum, Martin (2007-06-29). "Is The Simpsons still subversive?". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-08-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ a b c Griffiths, Nick (2000-04-15). "America's First Family". The Times Magazine. pp. 25, 27–28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ "Don't lay a finger on his Butterfinger - Nestle USA Inc. Nestle Chocolate and Confections' television advertisements - Brief Article". Prepared Foods at Find Articles. Retrieved 2007-05-17.

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