Thursday, April 26, 2012

"The Simpsons" And "The Odyssey?"

How is The Simpsons' video clip a parody and/or satire of The Odyssey and heroes in Greek Mythology?  Please list at least one specific from the Heroic Code as you explain and defend your assessment and thinking.  This response is due during class today.

23 comments:

Siren E said...

"The Simpsons" version of "the Odyssey" is a satire on the gods' and on the story itself. It takes homer/odysseus and makes him a stupid and ignorant fool. When passing through the river Styx, he exclaimed it was hell. In true mythos, hades if the ruler of the dead, not n necessarily "hell."

Anonymous said...

I noticed the guest/ host relationship. When Odysseus gets to the island she offers his men something to drink. Although it was something that turned them into a pig, the initial action was from a host to her guests. Helen also shows hubris. She talks about how her face set sail a thousand ships, but in this version she made it into a joke and said it very sarcastically. Odysseus, however, also showed the opposite of being a hero. When he saw the women smoking on the rocks and screamed and went the other way. Most heroes don't back down from anything. The clip did also show the all mighty power of Zeus. He flicked the ship so that it would go in a completely different direction.

AbbyC2014 said...

They make Odysseus seem foolish and careless. He "betrayed" his friends by eating them, then he ignored his wife once he made it back home. In this episode, it seemed as though all the heroes were portrayed as reckless and uncaring/dispassionate. I also think this pokes fun at the gods. On the map, Odysseus and his men were almost home, when Zeus shoved their boat back to face yet another trial. It made fun of the gods' meddling ways with the heroes, they felt like they could do whatever they wanted because they were immortal.

Nate H. said...

According to the heroic code, a hero comes from a warrior society, and would be very skilled in combat, and be very disciplined. The hero's of Greek myths are always focused on a single goal, and take that goal very seriously. A true warrior would not run from the sirons, or see a pig where his friends once were and not think twice about it. The Simpsons made hero's look bad by taking away a very basic element of a hero; his undying warrior mentality and behavior.

Anonymous said...

The Simpsons satire is different because it greatly exaggerates many of the main points of the odyssey. In the odyssey Achilles does not kill as many people as it makes it seem like he does in the Simpsons. This is just one of many examples that were exaggerated and made fun of in this particular satire.

Anonymous said...

This is a parody of the Odyssey obviously because it contains the humor element in which everything is portrayed as funny. The heroic code is still shown as he stumbles across obstacles but takes them on in a humorous way instead of heroically. He ignorned his wife once returning home, and it shows a map and them being shoved back to different trials. It pretty much just makes fun of the Gods.

Alli H. said...

From what I could tell, the Simpson's video clipped was a satire on the Iliad in the way that Homer was still a hero in the satire, but it makes fun of some of the situations that the Greek hero would be in, but like in the Heroic Code, Homer still had to be intelligent enough to not drink the sorceress' potion and find his way home through struggles. I think they also may have done this since the authors name is Homer, and there's Homer Simpson. It's just funny. and I think it is different how Zeus in the satire does not help them, but does the opposite, when usually Greek heroes get help or assistance from the Gods at some point.

Anonymous said...

The Simpsons video gave the impression that the heroes were rude and brainless. Homer ate the pigs, which were his friends, after being warned by a goddess. When he returned home, Homer was rude to Penelope as she welcomed him. Hubris overcame the men on the ship when they traveled past the Sirens, the lack of beauty the woman possessed made them turn around and head the other direction. Homer's quest was to return home and he followed the directions of what divine powers said, however the way he did it was not exciting in the least bit, and was perceived to be easy, like this quest was not a big deal.

Anonymous said...

The Simpsons is a parody of the Odyssey because they put Homer Simpson on a boat just like Odysseus, ans the leave marge at home with Bart just like Penelope left home for 20 years with out Odysseus, they put a twist on the adventure that's Odysseus goes through.

Casey W said...

The Simpson's "The Odyssey" is a parody of the true story. It specifically mocks the guest/host relationship when the Greek sailors are on the Island of Circe. They are rude about how she looks and the way she acts. Because of this attitude, they end up paying the ultimate price by turning into pigs. The satire continues when Odysseus (Also known as Homer) goes on to eat his friends turned pig. They augment his hubris by him eating them and not listening to Circes about how they are truly his friends. Only someone with excessive pride would go so far as to eat his friends and not listen to the person in charge to fin out what he is actually eating. This is also poor guest/host relationship because as the guest he just eats the pigs without permission.

marandaD said...

The Simpsons episode satirizes the idea of Odysseus being a careless friend and sort of betraying his friends.

Dominic P. said...

The Simpsons' video clip makes fun of The Odyssey by have homer eating the pigs that were his friends and going home through the styx. He then comes back home uses a spear to take out his enemies.

Anonymous said...

The video clip is a parody of the Odyssey in a way that they make fun of how Homer is Odysseus and must make his journey home, but somehow doesnt make it for twenty years. They play it off so that only the interesting things show and how it was so short even though it was suppose to be twenty years. The guest/host relationship between the suitors and Homer's wife showed that they guests behaved unkindly and became upset, even though she allowed them into her home.

Paulh said...

The Simpson's clip satires the role of the gods in the lives of heroes. In the clip, it shows Zeus flicking the ship away right as they get close to their destination of Ithaca. This is clearly a parody of their role, because never, in any of the books we read, did the gods hurt heroes simply because they had the power to do so. It was always because that specific hero had dishonored them in some way. The clip also satires the guest host relationship. Odysseus (Homer) comes on to Circe's island and immediately starts eating the pigs (his friends), that reside there. Since in the heroic code heroes are supposed to respect the houses they visit and never try to dishonor them, this was a blatant parody.

Anonymous said...

They put homer on a boat just like they did with Odysseus and he leaves for 20 years without seeing his wife and they have to put a obstacle that Odysseus has to go through it in order to get home.

Anonymous said...

In the video clip, Homer and his friends go through the journey described in the Odyssey. They do not go through all of the events that are described in the Odyssey. When they get to the island of women they sail away because "they are so ugly". The hero's are almost home when Zeus, "little stinker" flicks the boat and drives it to an island. The guest/host relationship is clearly satirized on the island while Homer eats his friends who had earlier been turned to pigs while Cece tells him they are his friends. The clip portrays the hero's as unintelligent.

Anonymous said...

I think one parody or form of satire in the simpsons is the fact that homer doesn't care about losing face or honor. In ancient Greece heroes wouldn't want to lose their honor or respect. The simpsons portrayal of Odysseus they show a man who doesn't care about what he does, he eats his friends and shows little remorse. He doesn't care about losing his honor.

CoryP said...

I find it entertaining that the clip shows the somewhat behind the scenes stuff about the Odyssey, like Poseidon physically altering Odysseus' course. There are somethings like the sirens scene which are not really close to the Myth at all. But the part where they attend to Circe's wish for them to drink her potion is fairly accurate which is nice to know. They play off of the scene when Odysseus comes home and just have him "Take out the trash" which is a little off from the actual myth but hey it was funny.

Anonymous said...

This video clip is a parody because Odysseus (Homer) ate his friends that were turned into pigs, and even though Circe told him they were his friends, he continued eating them anyway. This could be seen as an example of hubris. He did not want to listen and it is almost as if he was told his destiny, but was ignorant about it. Also, like Hercules, he knew he was doing something wrong, but tried to repent after. Most heroes in Greek mythology can be seen as ignorant.

Anonymous said...

homer is fat and not a hero. throws spear through people like odysseus shoots arrow and stings bow through a dozen 1 inch rings. my responce was at least 15 times longer but the system is screwed up and ive been trying the whole semester to write these and its bull

Anonymous said...

In the Simpsons video clip homer does not fill the arete code of excellence. He does not fill this code because he is fearful and careless. When he went through the styx river he was fearful of it and when he ate his friends when there were pigs he was careless.

Anonymous said...

The Simpsons parody mocks the perils and trials of the journey Odysseus makes. It portrays Odysseus as exhibiting hubris and being ignorant. For example, he is a greedy guest because he accidentally eats his friends after they are turned into pigs. According to the clip, Odysseus is actually self-absorbed and does not portray any heroic qualities.

Anonymous said...

This video has the same basic ideas as the real myths just with a simpsons style twist. It is a satire it shows the same content just not in a serious way. It all is the same but with a little added to it like when homer eats his friends.