Season Analysis

The Simpsons

Season 34 Analysis

Season Woke Score

out of 10

Season Overview

No specific overview for this season.

Season Review

Season 34 of The Simpsons maintains the show's current trajectory by blending traditional character humor with a consistent emphasis on contemporary social and cultural issues. The season is notable for dedicating entire episodes to exploring identity, with a clear focus on race, and for engaging in pointed political allegory. The humor and narrative frequently center around a message of re-examining history and societal structures. Homer and the male supporting cast are repeatedly positioned as incompetent or buffoonish figures whose antics are contrasted with the female characters’ relative competence. The core family unit remains structurally intact but is frequently deconstructed through plots that question its foundation and dynamics. While not every episode is a vehicle for social commentary, the most memorable and high-profile episodes are those that directly tackle identity and cultural self-reflection.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics9/10

The plot of one major episode, 'Carl Carlson Rides Again,' exists specifically to explore the main character's racial identity and ancestral lineage, featuring a guest appearance by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr.. The character Carl struggles with feeling 'authentic' and 'Black enough,' making the entire narrative a lecture on identity and immutable characteristics. This focus elevates racial identity above character merit and is reinforced by the show’s ongoing decision to recast white voice actors for characters of color.

Oikophobia7/10

The episode 'Hostile Kirk Place' functions as a direct allegory for debates over critical race theory and historical instruction in schools. The character Kirk Van Houten tries to censor the teaching of a historical disaster caused by his ancestor. This attempt to whitewash uncomfortable history is immediately vilified, and Kirk's crusade to ban history from the curriculum is portrayed as a path to a 'fascist, dystopian future'. The narrative's clear moral frames resistance to self-critical historical re-evaluation as an extremist act.

Feminism6/10

Female characters are consistently centered as the competent and morally grounded figures. The episode 'Lisa the Boy Scout' involves Lisa invading and excelling in a traditionally male space, fitting the 'Girl Boss' trope. Other episodes shift the focus to Marge's independent life, while Homer is frequently relegated to being an incompetent, selfish, or jealous fool who attempts foolish scams. The recurring dynamic positions the male lead as a bumbling idiot in contrast to the female characters' fulfillment outside of the home.

LGBTQ+3/10

No major Season 34 plot points explicitly centered on alternative sexualities, gender identity politics, or the deconstruction of the nuclear family were a central focus. The traditional male-female pairing remains the normative structure, although it is often satirized or undermined through Homer's failures and Marge’s independence.

Anti-Theism4/10

There is no central plot targeting religion, but a brief moment of moral relativism appears in an episode where Marge quotes the biblical passage Mark 8:36. Homer immediately dismisses the concept of losing one's soul for worldly gain, replying that gaining the world is the only profit that matters. This functions as a cynical joke that directly scoffs at transcendent morality and replaces it with amoral materialism.