The social debate of The Simpsons between postmodernity, consumerism and contemporary crisis

Abstract

Among the main challenges to understanding how mass media shape collective imaginaries in the contemporary era are the saturation of hyperreal environments and the fragmentation of metanarratives. Addressing this issue, television series such as The Simpsons, examined through the lenses of postmodernity, consumerism, and contemporary crisis, bring to light key aspects of the human condition. This research aims to analyze the media discourses that reveal them. A qualitative-interpretive approach was employed, utilizing audiovisual discourse analysis techniques applied to 10 key episodes distributed across three decades of broadcast (1990–2019). The findings showed that this animated series exposes the contradictions of social reality through a narrative that combines irony, parody, and intertextual referentiality. The series simultaneously reproduced consumerist codes and opened spaces for symbolic resistance. The notion of hyperreality was examined to understand how Springfield constructed a reality capable of being perceived as more tangible than lived experience itself. This study contributes to the field of cultural studies a reading that avoids uncritical praise and enables the discernment of contemporary ethical dilemmas. Its significance lies in understanding why the series, even during periods of decline, has continued to express something truthful about humanity.