Ah, the Simpsons.
The world’s favorite animated, crazy, funny and, at-times heartwarming, American family.
We grew up watching them, and we certainly learned valuable lessons from them along the
way.
I mean, let’s face it…
Homer, Bart, Lisa and Marge have all been hit with all sorts of struggles throughout
their lives.
And watching them fight through these struggles and eventually arrive at their “aha” moment
has probably taught us more about our own lives than we realized at the time.
From problems at work, at school, with family and friends and even things on a more existential
level…
The Simpsons has taught us so much.
Even though the now classic series focuses on humor, The Simpsons is jam-packed with
quality advice and life lessons that are useful for audiences of all ages.
I’m Kyle from WickedBinge.
And these are 10 Life Lessons The Simpsons Taught Us!
Hard Work Will Pay Off Every time we see Bart, he seems to be up
to no good.
His careless nature is a major part of his character and one of the main reasons the
audience loves him so much.
A polar opposite to Lisa, he’s portrayed as a care-free, spunky kid who couldn’t
care less about the opinions of grown-ups or schoolwork.
He’d rather ride his skateboard through the neighborhood than sit and listen to a
single lesson.
Now, although Bart seems untouchable in terms of his carelessness and rebellious way of
living- he too is vulnerable to failure, and it shows in the episode “Bart gets an F”.
After his failing grades threaten to hold him back another year in school, Bart immediately
dedicates himself to his school work.
Even though he struggles learning the material, his dedication is admirable…
Yes, he still flunks his test, but his hard work pays off in the long run when Mrs. Krabappel
determines that he passed by just a little bit.
Jealousy Will Get You Nowhere Episode after episode, we see Homer going
through the most embarrassing, absurd and oftentimes demoralizing situations as he goes
about his daily life.
We’re used to seeing him struggle with difficult issues and struggles in life.
But in “Homer’s Enemy” his life takes a wild and unexpected turn in the right direction.
Homer is shown as lucky and with great fortune throughout this episode, in juxtaposition
with a new character.
Unexpectedly, Homer gets a high-paying and well-desired job spot at the Springfield Nuclear
Power Plant.
His new colleague, Frank Grimes, doesn't greet him with open arms, considering that Homer
is unworthy of the job due to his incompetence, laziness and careless nature.
Frank, as opposite to Homer, has been working hard and dedicating his life to advancing
in his career.
Unfortunately for him, Homer snatched his dream job right before his eyes.
Bitter due to the fact that his work didn’t get recognized, Frank is consumed by jealousy
and envy and eventually goes mad, and his succumb to madness causes his death.
Yes, death.
A rather extreme way of portraying how jealousy can take a toll on a person, but the premise
stays the same: Jealousy will get you nowhere in life.
In many ways, we see this through the lense of comedy… very, very black comedy.
But in reality, this type of frustration exists.
Many times we compare ourselves to others and become bitter when good fortune happens
to them and not us.
Frank Grimes is an extreme tale of what jealousy can lead to.
If you’re interested in other great tales in audio form…
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Stealing Will Leave You With Nothing But Shame We all know that Bart is impressionable to
some extent, so when Nelson and Jimbo, as well as the Nintendo characters in his head,
pressure him into stealing a videogame from the Try-N-Save supermarket, he impulsively
takes the game.
Being a clumsy kid, he gets caught, banned from the store and the security guard leaves
a message for his parents.
Panicking, Burt rushes home and changes the tape so his parents don’t learn of his misdoings,
but he gets caught later when the family has their Christmas photo taken at the same store
he shoplifted in.
The fact that Bart participated in stealing deeply disappoints Marge, and she becomes
cold and distant towards her son, leaving him out of family activities and refusing
to talk to him.
Eventually, Bart comes home days after with something hidden under his jacket.
Marge sees him and suspects he’s stealing again, but it turns out to be a new portrait
of him for the family photo he ruined in the first place.
When Marge takes a look the photo, she is overwhelmed by emotions upon seeing the receipt
that reveals that Bart paid for the photo himself.
The two reconcile their relationship, and everything turns back to normal.
So, what’s the lesson here; well, as simple as it sounds- stealing is always bad.
Not only that, but succumbing to peer pressure will eventually destroy your own character
and lead you to a bad path in life.
But beyond that, your children are never perfect… and they will make mistakes.
And that it’s important to forgive and understand.
Being Proud of Your Culture Means Being Proud of Yourself
Culture discrimination is a touchy subject.
In The Simpsons, multiple characters have problems with their heritage and skin color;
just look at Krusty the Clown and Apu, who were ashamed of their Judaic and Indian backgrounds
and refused to let them show in their professional environment.
Even though it took a long time, Krusty found passion in his Judaism and thus reconnected
with his father, with whom he had a difficult relationship with.
On the other hand, Apu managed to find love in his arranged marriage.
The premise of both of their stories is simple: Never be ashamed of who you are.
Culture and heritage can be celebrated… and shouldn’t be hidden away.
Well, unless someone writes about how portraying it is offensive…
Then just cut the character out.
(This last line is a reference to The Simpsons cutting Apu.
Find a headline and screenshot it) Even the Most Noble People are Struck with
Hardships They Don’t Deserve.
We all know Ned Flanders as an overly positive, kind and religious man who’s often the butt
of the joke.
His overly religious lifestyle may be a bother to some, but he always treats others with
kindness and respect, maybe even more than they deserve, and although his savior is meant
to reward him for such behavior, Ned has experienced his fair share of despair throughout the series.
For example, in the episode “Hurricane Ned”, his family home is the only one left destroyed
after a terrible storm hits Springfield.
At one point his store, The Leftorium, nearly failed and went out of business -- possibly
because a person of lesser moral character wished for his misfortune.
He even lost his wife and still hasn’t gotten over her death, as he raises their two kids
alone as a single dad…
Like biblical characters, this drove Ned to question God as if his misfortune was simply
a test by his creator.
As we watch him on the show, we see that he’s living proof that there’s no logic as to
what can happen to a person; even the most noble people are stricken by tragedies, even
though they are the least deserving of them.
Family Always Comes First It’s common knowledge that Homer Simpson
isn’t perfectly ideal as a family man; he’s lazy, sloppy, careless and an inattentive
husband and father, who often gets his family into trouble.
Not to mention the fact that he routinely strangles Bart.
However, we see glimpses of Homer’s fatherly side in various episodes; for example, in
“You Only Move Twice”, Homer decides to give up his dream job when he discovers the
rest of his family is miserable with their new life.
In other episodes, it’s revealed that he only keeps his current job so he can provide
for the family once Maggie is born, even though the job is highly abusive and offers no opportunities
for development.
His dedication and love for his family are obviously strong, even though it’s not seen
often.
So, the life lesson is…
Family Comes First.
Yes, we know what you’re thinking- what a cliche!
We agree, but the matter of family should never be taken lightly- it is, after all,
the pinnacle of our society and should be cared for most.
Don’t Sacrifice What Truly Matters for Temporary Pleasure
The Simpsons doesn’t always focus on the most serious of topics.
Some episodes are more goofy and lighthearted.
But when they do go the serious route, it’s usually memorable.
In the episode “The Last Temptation of Homer”, Mr. Burns hires a female employee: An attractive
redhead by the name Mindy Simmons, who Homer is instantly attracted to.
Despite being in a long-term marriage with Marge, he starts fantasizing about Mindy,
thus emotionally cheating on his wife.
Things get worse when Mindy and him are sent to an energy convention where they have to
share a hotel room; soon, as the tension rises, the pair kiss and talk about their feelings
for one another.
Homer is overwhelmed with emotions and starts to cry; apparently, he has feelings for both
of them and is lost on what to do.
Mindy assures him it’s his decision, and, for once, Homer makes a good one- he decided
to stay faithful to Marge and not sacrifice his entire marriage and family for temporary
satisfaction.
Homer isn’t a smart man, but he knows what love is.
Being Tolerant Will Get You Places In various episodes, we see Homer’s occasional
close-minded and blunt behavior, but in “Homer’s Phobia” we see that even he, despite being
such an airhead, can find the errors in his ways and open his mind to new views.
In the episode, Homer dissociates himself from his new family friend John after hearing
that he identifies as gay.
Although this may seem way more offensive view for Homer to have now, keep in mind this
episode aired nearly 20 years ago, and this viewpoint was likely something many would
understand or even agree with.
Homer fears that John will have a negative impact on Bart; in fear that his son may turn
out to be gay, Homer decides to ensure Bart’s heterosexuality by taking him to do ‘manly’
things such as hunting.
Homer even shows his son a cigarette billboard featuring scantily dressed women to see if
his son Is attracted to girls.
Soon after the two go to see a steel mill, a rather ‘manly’ environment as deemed
by Homer.
Ironically, the entire workforce is gay and the steel mill is turned into a gay disco
when the men are on a break.
Which is pretty hilarious.
As a desperate last attempt, Homer takes Bart deer hunting with Moe and Barney.
Since they couldn’t actually find a deer, they decide to go to “Santa’s Village”
and shoot the reindeer, which backfires quickly-they are brutally attacked by a group of reindeer,
but luckily John, alongside Lisa and Marge, defuses the situation and saves the unfortunate
trio.
After thanking John for his help, Homer accepts his lifestyle and realizes that he doesn’t
have a bad influence on his son.
The life lesson in this is surely mainly focused on tolerance and acceptance; it’s important
to let people live their own lives, and not let it sour your relationships.
Your Mental Health is as Important as Your Physical Health
The Simpsons has also touched another very controversial topic in “Moaning Lisa”-
depression.
In this episode, we see a groaning, unhappy Lisa, who tries to mend her sadness trough
playing the saxophone.
Unfortunately, she is interrupted by Homer who yells at her to keep the music down, since
she is distracting him from his game with Bart.
Soon, she hears a saxophone playing in the distance and decides to follow the music.
The musician is revealed to be “Bleeding Gums” Murphy, and they engage in a duet.
Meanwhile, Marge has a dream about her childhood; when she was little and was sad, her mother
told her to smile.
After her dream, she goes to Lisa’s room and realizes she’s not there- she eventually
finds her and the two come back home.
Now familiar with her daughter's feelings, Marge brainstorms to find a way to cheer up
Lisa.
The next day, when Marge is dropping Lisa off to school, she tells her to smile and
keep her true feeling inside so she doesn't seem different from the other children.
Of course, Marge’s intentions are pure- but this advice is entirely wrong; faking
emotions and pretending everything is all right will eventually lead to a very unhappy
life.
Marge soon realizes her mistake and apologizes to Lisa, saying it’s okay to be sad and
that showing vulnerability and your true self is not only brave, but healthy.
In this episode, The Simpsons not only explored a tough subject-depression-but an even more
controversial topic: the stigma surrounding mental health of adults and kids.
The idea of this episode is to explain that depression isn’t anything to be ashamed
of- everyone is vulnerable to it, and everyone should have the right to compassion and understanding
when it comes to their mental health.
Despite the fact that we’ve been pushing our feelings down and out of sight for generations.
Stand Up To Bullies.
We know that Bart and Lisa have their differences, but they still share a tight sibling bond.
Bart’s protective and caring nature comes through mainly when Lisa is bullied by her
peers.
For example, in one episode, she’s bullied by Nelson over some cupcakes; Bart immediately
rushes to her aid, but finds himself beat up.
To end Nelson’s reign of terror over the neighborhood kids and to make him see the
error in his ways, he decides to seek help from Grandpa Simpson and Herman, who decide
to gather all of Nelson’s previous victims so they can all face Nelson together.
They overpower him in the end, and a peace treaty is signed, and the whole group ends
up eating cupcakes together.
What does this teach us?
To stand up to bullies.
At the end of the day, bullies can be scary…
But they prey on fear and almost always back down when pushed back.
Standing up for yourself and those you care about is oftentimes the only way to deal with
these types of people.
But let us know in the comment section…
What lessons did The Simpsons teach you?
Let us know in the comment section below.
And let us know what cartoon taught you the most about life.
Maybe we’ll feature it next.
But most importantly, stay wicked!