by Dorothy Hoffman

Created on: September 08, 2009

I confess, I've been a big fan of The Simpsons since its primitive origins on the wonderful Tracey Ullman Show. After all these years, I still think it's just about the funniest thing on TV. I've also watched and enjoyed South Park, King of the Hill and (I hesitate to admit) even Family Guy. So, since I don't think my values have been too severely undermined, I may be a bit biased.

Maybe we should ask, first of all, just what are our cultural values? And why to we think they're so fragile they can be undermined by a cartoon? Maybe if they are, they aren't such good values in the first place.

The Simpsons, for all its iconoclastic humor and cynical wit, is actually pretty pro-family. Homer is a loser, no doubt, and prone to bursts of irrational anger. He's lazy and stupid, he drinks too much and eats too much and goofs off on his job. But he also loves and is faithful to his wife, Marge, supports his family, and even tries occasionally to be a good father and role model for his kids.

The large cast of characters includes people of many faiths, different ethnic and racial backgrounds, various socioeconomic strata and gender orientations. All get their share of abuse, but also sympathy. Even the evil Mr. Burns has some good in him.

King of the Hill also treats its characters with a lot of sympathy and understanding. The theme of tolerance is a very strong in most of the episodes I've watched. People don't always live down to their stereotypes in either of these cartoon shows, and I think that's often the point. They may be only cartoon characters but they are complex, and it's clear the shows' creators have a lot of affection for the Simpsons and their fellow Springfieldians, and the Hills and their red-neck neighbors.

South Park and Family Guy are a little different. I think they're aimed at younger audiences and rely of a sharper, cruder and more cynical kind of satire. Sometimes I think the humor is so indiscriminate I wonder if the writers have any respect for anything, sometimes I don't quite get it (I mean, why hasn't anyone strangled that evil baby on Family Guy yet, and what's with the talking dog?), but mostly I just think these shows are hysterically funny.

To get back to our cultural values, though, I think many of these shows fall pretty close to the mark. They certainly promote a healthy mistrust of pompous authority figures. They skewer any form of hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness, in religion, politics and society. They promote tolerance and willingness

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