Bart Simpson: Difference between revisions

For the comic book series of the same name, see Bart Simpson (comic book series).

Template:Simpsons character Bartholomew "Bart" Jo-Jo Simpson is a main character in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Nancy Cartwright. He is the oldest child and only son of Homer and Marge Simpson, and brother of Lisa and Maggie. Along with his father Homer, Bart is arguably the most well-known character on the long running animated series. Both Bart and Lisa ranked #11 in TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time".

Character origins

In an interview, Simpsons creator Matt Groening claimed he chose the name "Bart" as an anagram of "brat". As the other members of the Simpson family are named after and loosely based on members of Groening's family, many believe that Bart is specifically based on Groening himself. Groening has made conflicting statements about this, saying both that he never had much in common with Bart, and that Bart is partly based on himself. Groening's older brother Mark also provided some inspiration for Bart.

Groening once claimed that Bart was partly inspired by the Diane Arbus photo "Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York City", but in the DVD commentary for "Homer's Night Out", has denied this to be true. Groening has also said that he found the premiere of Dennis the Menace disappointing and was inspired to create a character who was actually a menace. Bart and Homer are the two main characters of the show.

Personality

He is a self-proclaimed underachiever who begins each show in school detention writing lines on the blackboard, which are known as the Chalkboard Gags. He is easily distracted by almost anything, even, strangely enough, algebraic equations. He is considerably under motivated and takes great joy in disrupting the routine at Springfield Elementary, yet his pranks are often elaborately complex, while his actions and speech frequently show considerable mental agility, street-smarts and understanding, so he cannot be called "stupid" per se. Bart also shows amazing intelligence outside of his pranks. But eventually, these pranks are meant to terrify everyone, including Springfield's powerful citizen Charles Montgomery Burns.

In his book Planet Simpson, Chris Turner describes Bart as a nihilist.

Bart's interests include anything from Krusty the Klown, skateboarding, reading comic books (especially Radioactive Man), terrorizing Lisa, playing video games/computer games, helping Lisa solve various problems (e.g. reuniting Krusty with his estranged father), and pulling off various pranks (such as mooning unsuspecting people and prank calling Moe Szyslak at his tavern).

It had been also suspected for a long time by viewers that Bart had Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) even before the revealing of the Simpson gene, as Bart exhibited many of the traits of a child afflicted with ADD. His extreme mental quickness coupled with his inability to be able to keep his attention set on mediocre work at school such as in the episode Bart Gets an F are big hints. It was later confirmed in the episode Brother's Little Helper that Bart is indeed afflicted with ADD. This would explain a bit of his behavior as well.

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Bart getting strangled

Whenever Homer finds out that Bart has said or done something stupid or bad, he yells out: "Why you little–!", and strangles him in anger. This has made some people think that Homer doesn't care at all for Bart. But Homer loves Bart, despite this fact.

Bart's character traits of rebelliousness and disrespect for authority has been likened to that of America's founding fathers, rendering him an updated version of American icons Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, rolled into one."

Bartman

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Bartman in the video game Bartman Meets Radioactive Man

Bartman is a comic book title and the alter ego of Bart Simpson. Essentially, in addition to his normal clothes, Bart wears a purple mask and cape to become Bartman. The name, when written, bears a striking resemblance to the name Batman, and Bartman is indeed supposed to be a superhero of some sort. Bartman makes a short appearance in the Simpsons episode "Three Men and a Comic Book". This alter ego was the basis for the short-lived Bongo Comics series (1993-1995), which saw the young Bart adopt the mantle of crimefighting. He was aided by Milhouse, as the Robin-like Houseboy. Bartman is also featured in the video game Bartman Meets Radioactive Man (1992-1993) and the game Bart's Nightmare for the Super NES and Sega Genesis. More recently, Bart can dress up as Bartman in The Simpsons Hit & Run. Some 17 years after his first and only appearance on the television show Bartman was featured again in the season eighteen episode "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times."

Cultural influence

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Since the inception of the Simpsons, Bart has become internationally recognized as a symbol of defiance to authority. This Maltese language anti-European Union bumper sticker became popular during the contentious deliberations regarding Malta's admission to the EU. (Photo taken in Tarxien in August 2005.)

In 1998, Time magazine selected Bart as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century—the only fictional character to make the list. There are many reasons for this.

After first airing as an independent series in 1990, The Simpsons broke many taboos. For a significant period of time, Bart struck a chord with countless young viewers for his rebellious tendencies, arguably becoming the show's most spotlighted character. Bart symbolized the ever-changing youth of America, constantly doubted and criticized for its eroding morals and questionable conduct. Bart consistently outraged many conservative (and even some liberal) critics for nearly a decade for being a terrible role model, often being a poster child for many parents denying their children access to the show. Although there were children on television with disruptive tendencies before Bart Simpson, never before was a young character with delinquent tendencies given such mainstream exposure as a protagonist or anti-hero rather than a villain (and as such, stereotyped negatively, dissuading emulation by youngsters). Fear of the character had grown to the point where T-shirts with Bart's likeness were banned from many schools. Bart Simpson merchandise still took the country greatly by storm throughout 1990 however, and even went beyond Garfield merchandise too.

However, countless people who grew up watching Bart and The Simpsons assert that Bart is actually a very effective role model. Child characters in film and animations had tended to conform to idealistic and arguably unrealistic temperaments up to and around the time The Simpsons first aired. Bart was, in contrast, a cynical, jaded and often more realistic portrayal of childhood, which can be frustrating as well as idyllic and whimsical. Bart's delinquent tendencies do not go unexplained, as the show often satirizes adult arrogance and mistreatment of children's feelings and desires. Although Bart is a troublemaker, he is often misunderstood by other children and adults alike on the show—something with which many young people can identify themselves. Bart is essentially good at heart, as he often does the right thing and struggles with personal moral dilemmas. In many ways, he defined and personified an entire generation. Although Bart's influence on both the show and pop culture is less pronounced today than in the past, he is still an international symbol of defiance in the face of oppressive authority, as well as a prototype of rebellion to children growing up in a radically changing world.

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Bart with Conan O'Brien

Bart also arguably influenced an entire new generation of anti-hero characters such as the raunchy young cast of South Park and many other characters both in animation and live action.

In 1990, Bart became one of People Magazine's most intriguing people of the year. The only other fictional characters to do this were Jessica Rabbit. Bart Simpson also was the only fictional character to make the Time 100 People of the Century list too.

Bart is undoubtedly the most depicted Simpsons character on various memorabilia such as T-shirts, car decals, and even graffiti art. Bart and other Simpsons characters have appeared in numerous television commercials for Nestlé's Butterfinger candy bars from 1990 to 2001, with the slogan "Nobody better lay a finger on my Butterfinger!". This association was parodied in an episode when he discovered a video tape with Lisa that he participated in a TV commercial for an anti-odor product when he was a baby; Bart says that he doesn't remember being in a commercial, then holds up a Butterfinger and eats it.

When he vandalizes property, Bart uses the alias El Barto, a Spanglish way of saying "The Bart". No one in Springfield has made the connection (except for Homer and Lisa), and Bart vandalizes property without getting caught. In one episode, Principal Skinner says to Lisa "Help you catch Bart? Well, he is the second most-wanted criminal at this school, behind the mysterious El Barto." He then looks out his office window and sees "El Barto" and a picture of Bart spray-painted on the wall of a school building. He is also known to don a mask and cape as superhero alias Bartman.

Matt Groening drew Bart next to the words "Class of '72, Matt Groening" on the sidewalk of SW 18th Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon, behind Lincoln High School (which he attended) and across from Kings Hill Station in 1996 after the new sidewalk was laid following the construction of the Station. The city has opted not to remove the "graffiti" or cite Groening for vandalism.

Appearances on other shows

• Bart was featured in a major cameo role in the South Park episode "Cartoon Wars Part II". Although he is never referred to by name nor do any of the characters react to him as if he were a well known personality which hints he may not be breaking the 4th wall, he is quite obviously Bart or at least meant to be a homage or allusion to the character. His manner of speech, famous catch phrases, and dress style are all identical...although the character is drawn and animated as a traditional looking South Park child character.
• Bart was lampooned in an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures quite directly, early into The Simpsons' run as Blart Simpleton, also voiced by Nancy Cartwright. The depiction was in a noticeably negative light, as the character is treated rather harshly. The episode was Weekday Afternoon Live.
• Bart appeared several times in Futurama, in the episode "Mars University" a Bart Simpson doll can be seen at the circus and in "A Big Piece of Garbage" a pile of Bart Simpson dolls is found on a giant ball of trash. When one of the dolls says Bart's "Eat my shorts" line, Bender actually does so.
• In King of the Hill, Bobby has a Bart doll in his bookcase.
• Bart made a brief appearance in the extended version of Michael Jackson's video for Black or White near the end. He was jumping up and down on the couch watching the video when Homer came in and turned off the noise causing the screen to go fuzzy. In the video, he wore a black Michael Jackson shirt.
• In an episode of Garfield and Friends, Garfield is put into a computer. One of the characters the controller digitizes him into resembles Bart.
• He appeared with the rest of the family in the Monster in the Mirror segment on Sesame Street. He had a solo and shared a brief dialogue with Homer at the end of the song.
• In the first annual of Ultimate X-Men when Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman is talking to his dad while in hiding, on the wall you can partially see a picture of Bart.
• In the episode Simpsons Already Did It in South Park, Butters attempts to cause problems in the fictional community of South Park as Professor Chaos. Upon realizing that all good ideas have been already used in The Simpsons previous episodes Butters goes insane. He begins to see all South Park characters as their Simpson counterparts, including his sidekick General Disarray who turns into Bart Simpson and follows Butters taunting him by constantly saying "Simpsons did it. Simpsons did it."
• Though it may not count, in one scene of Basic Instinct a Bart Simpson figurine is shown on a keychain.

See also

• Bart's chalkboard gags
• Do The Bartman

External links

• Bart Simpson Dedication
• Biography from the official Simpsons website