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.
16 comments:
When Odysseus goes home and needs to cross the river styx, not only does it make fun of the river of styx and crossing through hell and the Hades it also makes fun of the band Styx.
This clip is a parody of The Odyssey because it shows the stupidity of the crew to accept their hosts no matter what. For example on the island of Circe the men drink the potion even though there are skeletons around it, and this is a close resemblance of what they actually did in the book, they mistreated their hostess and expected her to be okay with it. It also shows the relationship between the crew and Odysseus. In the story, no one except him returns home from the journey, and this is all his doing in an indirect way, because he lead the men to their deaths. In the Simpsons parody no one except him returns, all because of his fault, although in this it's directly his fault when he eats them all.
The Simpson's episode is a parody of Greek heroes in that in the parody, things don't go Odysseus's way. Most of the comedy comes from the twisting of every adventure. One twisted part of the heroic code included was the idea of honor, which Homer (as Odysseus) is not exactly a great role model for.
The Simpsons' video clip we watched was satirical because in many ways the heroic code was displayed. Such as the guest host relationship was displayed because Penelope couldn't kick out the suitors. Also like regular mythology women were displayed as being non equal to men, like the harpies being ugly when in the book they were supposed to be beautifully dangerous. But overall the simpsons version of the Odyssey was correct in many ways even though it was comedic.
The Simpson parody depicts the Greek hero's as more as mortals instead of gods. The gods were playing jokes on the humans lives and used them for entertainment instead of teaching humans lessons. Also Odesius is depiccted more as a stupid irrational man who is trying to get home but due to his own stupidity, has a hard timer doing so.
You see the Simpson's satirically make fun of The Odyssey with many brief details of what the story had to offer. Such as the beautiful Sirens are actually Patty and Selma. The "gross" twin sister of Marge. You also see how close they would get to Ithaca only to have Poseidon to toy with them and send them to other danger and tasks to be tested more and more. Such as their rude behavior at Circe's Island when they acted as poor guests and were turned into pigs. In the actual story Odysseus does what he can to aid his friends but in the Satire Homer just eats them.
The video clip made fun of the odyssey and how every opponant they encountered was on a different island. The odyssey took place over 20 years which is a very long time and a lot of things change over that amount of time and homer does not address it.It also makes fun of the men who took a drink from Circe and how they were not fearful as they should have been. The fact that Penelope was loyal to him over that long time was a very dedicated thing to do which the Odyssey does not talk about as much
The Simpsons' parody of the Odyssey succeeds in over simplifying the story. In having Odysseus become overweight over his long journey is perhaps more realistic than the Greek version, and in having Odysseus eat his friends goes to show how idealized the Greek version of the Odyssey is. Showing Poseidon flicking the ship also satirizes the amount of credit that the Greeks gave the gods for their misfortunes, and continues to express the unbelievable nature of the Odyssey.
The Simpsons clip poked at many things in the Odyssey written by Homer. they made fun of the way the odysseus handles his trials with the sirens and how they are not what the claim to be. It goes on to make fun of Odysseus at Circe’s Island. It has Homer being self absorbed and egotistic(hubris) when he eats his friends and finally, when his life depends on it, leaves for home. He then gets home and is fat and lazy compared to how he was when he left. Homer, the character, also throws a spear at the potential suitors instead of an arrow. In addition when Odysseus comes home he hides and pretends to be a beggar where as Homer comes home, in all his glory, and just states that he is the king and asserts himself.
this parody i found interesting and funny not only did they make a clever joke by playing the band Styx on the river Styx. but they showed in a sense what the gods did to Odysseus and his men by flicking them off course literally.
Homer pursues greatness on his quest. He is trying to reach home but cannot for he and his friends are lured by the sirens and then Poseidon guides them towards the island of Circe where his friends drink Circe's potion. Circe's potion turns Homer's friends into pigs whom Homer goes on to eat without the knowledge that they were his friends. This part may align with Hercules killing his own family in his myth. Homer eventually returns home to Ithaca where he wins back Penelope and then ignores her, which perhaps aligns with the common Greek myth constant that women are forgotten or taken advantage of by the Heroes.
"The Simpsons'" video is parody in a sense that the slang is given a more modern swing and they speak in the true undertone of what they mean. They follow the basic time line. They use of the gods interference is shown by them kicking Odysseus and his ship all over the Mediteranean. "odysseus" shows his heroic codes when he discovers alll the sutors he "takes out the trash" to save his own honor.
To begin, the Simpsons had a great parody of The Odyssey. I thought it was very funny when the Zeus character flicked the ship away from Ithaca, and all the way to Circe. I liked hoe the men turned into swine. I thought it was interesting because women seem to always say that men are pigs. I also liked that one of the men said,"Does every evil creature have its own island?" My thought on this was, wouldn't the most vulgar of creatures be banished from society to their own nature's? Also, wouldn't these creatures wonder why they were banished and why people come to see them?Would these feelings cause the revenge that is inevitable which results in human loss? Finally, I liked how the when the got home, Homer threw the spear through the line of men attempting to marry his wife. It was a lot like the story when Odysseus got home. He threaded his own bow, and shot the target through the loops.
The Simpsons clip is making fun oh if you think of the story as a whole it just seems pretty ridiculous. He is revered as a hero after this long journey were he was the only one who wound up coming home in the end . DO you think if he wasn't the only one who came home they would both be heroes or neither in a sense
Odysseus and his crew were lured to the Sirens island with song. In the Odyssey they plugged their ears to get away from the Sirens; in the Simpsons they were turned away by the appearance of the Sirens. They made fun of Odysseus' trip through the river Styx by making him listen to '80s music. In the Simpsons they used Helen of Troy and her old age and old appearance to show the amount of time it took Odysseus to make it back to Ithica. It was to show that the voyage was many years and that it wasn't short. In the Simpsons version Odysseus had to overcome the "challenges" placed in front of him to return home. He had to avoid the Sirens, leave the island of Circe, and cross the river Styx. He went home and was looking for his honorable return home, but was not recognized and did not have a big homecoming. He had to defend his title against the suitors.
The Simpson's version of the Illiad is a satire because it shows the trip of Odysseus which was long and hard yet they put a twist on it by showing the comedy side. this is seen through Poseidon saying, "aint I a stinker", when he changes the course for Odysseus. While there is some satire, the heroic code is still there. He had to overcome many great perils and after all that he had to fend off suitors for his wife. And though he had help he was eventually on his own.
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