The Simpsons Can Eat My Shorts

The Simpsons got cute last Sunday and ran an extended couch gag scene during the opening credits in collaboration with an anonymous Britsh street artist who calls himself Banksy.  The opening title sequence depicted South Korean workers laboring over Simpsons animation and merchandise.

The title sequence is in reaction to reports that the show has begun outsourcing most of its animation to a company in South Korea.

The video shows sweatshop conditions employing children, it has women being forced to work in unsafe conditions, kittens are being put through a shredder to stuff dolls, a severed dolphin's severed head is used to seal boxes, and a shackled unicorn's horn is being used to punch out DVDs.

I'll be the first to say I love a good joke.  I'll make fun of myself and anyone else and be the first to tell people to lighten up.  But this wasn't an attempt at humor.  Banksy and the Simpsons were trying (right?) to make a serious attempt at social awareness of sweat shop labor practices.  Right now the world wide blogosphere is lit up with people praising and commending the Simpsons for attacking itself and shedding light on the practice of sweat shop labor.

The problem is... this opening sequence is just bigoted and ignorant.  I would be all behind this scene if the outsourcing of the Simpsons animation process was happening to China or South East Asia.  But this is South Korea!

South Korea is the world's 15th largest economy and has a per capita GDP that is higher than more familiar countries like Portugal, Poland, Turkey, The Czech Republic and New Zealand.  It is a modern and advanced, liberal democracy.

If the animation studios were relocating to New Zealand or the Czech Republic, would they still have run something similar to this crap.  Not likely.

Al Jean, the executive producer of the Simpsons was interviewed by the New York Times and even admitted this opening sequence was all a work of fiction.

Q) Has Banksy's criticism made you reconsider any of the ways you do things at "The Simpson" in terms of producing the show or its merchandise?

A) I have to say, it's very fanciful, far-fetched.  None of the things he depicts are true.  That statement should be self-evident, but I will emphatically state it.

Q) A lot of the show's animation is produced in South Korea, but not under those conditions.

A) No, absolutely not.

There is zero truth in any of this!  And South Koreans love the Simpsons!  Tons of my students watch it, quote it, and have Simpsons merchandise.  This opening sequence was unwarranted and I'm sure Koreans will find it extremely hurtful.  A complete slap in the face of people who are loyal fans and very eager and proud to have a contributing part in the animation process.

If American animators at the Simpons are upset that their jobs are being lost to South Korean animators, then that sucks for them.  Maybe they should be pissed off more at their corporate overlords that are willing to ship overseas one of the most recognizable American television franchises in existence.  And pissed at an American public that will still watch the show even when it is owned and produced by people who do not respect or appreciate American labor.

They could have done something humorous to attack corporate America for outsourcing jobs or attack an American public asleep at the wheel as their pool of well paying white color jobs continue to dwindle.  But instead they just went for making South Korean (or Asian in general) look like a horrible place in an attempt to score quick, political shock points.

I stopped watching the Simpsons over ten years ago once Family Guy and South Park figured out how to do what they did better.  And I still see no reason to start again.

If you want to see what animation studios in South Korea are like, check this out.

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