The Simpsons and US politics
July 1, 2020
Fancy some pop culture with US politics for a fun little story as competition ramps up ahead of the federal election in November?
UNSW’s US political expert Dr William Clapton is a fan of classic 90s Simpsons episodes and is available to talk about the satirical animation with reference to contemporary Trump-era politics.
Here is just a small example of some of his expertise in a recent UNSW Newsroom story…
What classic Simpsons episodes can teach us about Trump-era politics
Three 90s episodes of the cult classic demonstrate a disturbing continuity in US political culture, says UNSW’s Dr William Clapton.
As Trump and Biden vie for votes ahead of the US election on November 3, US political expert Dr Will Clapton explores prominent parallels between 90s Simpsons satire and contemporary US politics.
Revisiting three classic episodes from the 90s offers unique insight into the “issues and events that are reflected in contemporary politics and are still current today”, he says.
Sideshow Bob Roberts highlights US electoral fraud and media bias (Season six, episode five, 1994)
The story of Sideshow Bob’s fraudulent landslide win in the election for Springfield mayor draws its inspiration from the Watergate scandal of the 70s, but it could just as easily be about Trump’s presidency today, Dr Clapton says.
Sideshow Bob’s campaign enjoys the “support of notable right-wing radio jock Birch Barlow who is modelled on the real-life US political
