Postcard on the wall at the Common Ground Diner on Springfield’s Main Street
Springfield city officials are collecting ideas on how to pitch the city to 20th Century Fox. The idea is to win a competition among 15 other Springfields nationwide for the honor to host the premiere showing of "The Simpsons Movie."
This contest is apparently the brainchild of "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening (pictured), whose dark humor is the hallmark of the Simpsons clan, as well as of his comics going back to the longtime, self-published favorite, "Life in Hell."
One of the reasons Groening’s work is so meaningful and brilliant is that he aptly captures both optimistic human aspirations as well as deep fears about who we are—our base tendencies toward greed, deceit, self-indulgence, hatred of others, and pure survival instincts. Yet he balances these with glimmers of hope and levity, and above all, irony.
Has Springfield recovered enough to have a sense of humor? Or are we going to pursue this completely straight-faced?
Those who know the city and the series well can attest to the notion that of all Springfields in the country, ours highly deserves the pick for the premiere. It’s not just because a "Simpsons" creator is from the greater Springfield region, or even because our Springfield is allegedly the first Springfield to be so named in the US. (Those reasons are likely in our favor.)
It’s primarily because we can boast the absolute best fodder for dark humor and irony—some of the starkest contrasts society has to offer. And we have some of the most complicated characters who have paraded through public office, among others, with tangled and interwoven storylines fraught with everything from brute thuggishness to well-hidden, drawn-out fraud to outrageous, exploitative sex scandals, and menacing mob connections.
But this doesn’t translate into much unless we have what it takes to look over our shoulders or even around us today and laugh about it. If we can stomach all that, and pitch it right, then we have what it takes to win this thing. But it does entail knowing ourselves well, and being able to assess more than a list of talking points about our good side. It’s about admitting our bad side, and doing so intelligently, and very tongue-in-cheek.
The public is invited to attend two meetings—where donuts will be served, a la Homer Simpson (a sign of irony?)—and contribute to the discussion. The first meeting is this week, Thursday, April 26, 7:00 pm at the Hippodrome, 1708 Main Street. The second is Monday, April 30, 7:00 pm, same place. Details about the competition’s rules are slated to emerge May 1.
