Analyzing The Simpsons 'Rosebud'

Lastly The Simpsons asks the questions what is of value in a mans life? By examining the book The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer by Aeon J. Skoble, Mark T. Conard, and William Irwin and the episode “Rosebud” the message The Simpsons are trying to convey becomes clear. The episode “Rosebud” is a parody of the film Citizen Kane. But while the episode at it’s core is a parody it represents so much more than that. The film and the episode may seem like they convey the same message they do not. The film focuses on a man who is rich and struggles to hold onto a distant memory. The episode follows homer and his struggle with choosing what makes his daughter happy and what will make him happy. Mr.Burns in the episode represents Charles …show more content…
Homer is than forced to deal with the dilemma of taking away a toy that his daughter loves for wealth or letting her keep the bear and let the money slip away. At the end of the day Homer lets Maggie keep the bear because he knows that her happiness is more important than money. The D'oh! of Homer asserts “That there is something ethically admirable about Homer Simpson”. Homer chooses family over money and understands whether he realizes it or not that the value in a mans life is not material possessions but his family and what makes them happy. There are a lot of instances where Homer does something that affects his family negatively but at the end of the day Homer makes it up to his family because he realizes that his family is what’s most important in life. The D'oh! of Homer states “We should not however, be too hard on Homer, for he does sometimes act admirably. Paradoxically for example, even though he forgets that Maggie exists, his work station is covered with pictures of her, pictures which he himself hung up out of love for her” Homer loves his family and realizes that the true value in life is ones family and not material