The Simpsons is a famous entertaining animated series that is known for its peculiar sense of humor. However, the episode Trash of the Titans carried profound messages that underneath all the jokes were frustrating and mind-opening at the same time. This episode focused on problems of waste management, drugs, weapons, explicit content, and indifferent authorities.
The problem of indifferent authorities could be seen through the examples of Homer and Ray Patterson, sanitation commissioner. During the conversation with Homer, Ray was always grinning when talking about his work and responsibilities. Moreover, his remarks seemed rather cliched, and the phrases that came out of his mouth were void of any deep feelings. For example, his comment, “Here’s your apology back, Mr.Simpson, and I’m sorry we couldn’t work this out.” indicated that he probably used this phrase a lot, and there were no emotions behind it (Kogen et al., 1998, 7.03).
Additionally, Homer, as a new commissioner, failed his people and put his interests above all else. He allowed other cities to put trash in the local mine in return for money and power. Among the garbage that was thrown out were drugs, used needles, and weapons, such as guns, grenades, and ammunition.
Another observation is the explicit content in the episode. Aside from Homer trying to suffocate his child and threatening him, there were other bizarre moments. The dead bunny emerging from the ground and a revealing picture of the U2 band’s bottoms are among the examples. Additionally, there were moments of the Clown throwing out the “used-up porno” and the office of sex offenders with Moe in the line (Kogen et al., 1998, 16.15).
The end of the episode was quite meaningful and sad. Springfield was now moving its location, and Lisa responded that people would ruin the new area too. The culmination was the Indigenous man looking at the moving cars and houses and his friend telling him not to look back since the former location of Springfield was now a landfill. The most depressing moment was the scream of the man.
References
Kogen, J. (Writer), Wolodarsky, W. (Writer), & Kirkland, M. (Director). (1998). Trash of the titans (Season 9, Episode 22) [TV series episode]. In J. L. Brooks, M. Groening, A. Jean, M. Reiss, S. Simon (Executive Producers), The Simpsons. Gracie Films; Twentieth Century Fox Film Productions.