2005/08/01 by Andrew F Wood, Anne Marie Todd · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Media, Gender, and Advertising #Music History and Culture #Gothic Literature and Media Analysis #Depiction #Rhetoric #Sociology #Commodification #Argument (complex analysis) #Conflation #Media studies #Urbanity #Art #Visual arts #Epistemology #Linguistics #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.1080/07393180500200878
openalex publication_date 2005/08/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The Simpsons’ visual and textual depiction of Springfield as a typical American city provides an insightful critique of the modern project. We demonstrate how America's longest running sitcom depicts urban life as a mutable environment whose disparate locales convey their inhabitants to a ubiquitous, ever-present continuum that we term “omnitopia.” In depicting Springfield as omnitopia, the show offers a cartoon version of public life marked by dislocation, conflation, fragmentation, mutability, mobility, and commodification. The study of these components provides a means to interpret and critique the increasing decline of locales in the urban environment.