You know how most people find themselves relating more to Squidward than SpongeBob as they age into adulthood and enter the workforce? The experience of Frank Grimes, an unlucky, almost-grimdark character with college-education and a strong background in nuclear physics, slowly going mad by witnessing the extremely incompetent HS-educated Homer disprove meritocracy by merely existing in the same work environment is that of every educated millennial entering the workforce. The Simpsons was arguably already starting to become aspirational just a few seasons in. Homer is every ignorant, complacent, and lucky HS-educated boomer who got in on the ground floor in the early 1980s with a small fraction of the skills needed for entry-level positions nowadays and who somehow actually made enough money to become homeowners in their twenties and save up enough to enjoy a petty-bourgie lifestyle even during the economic downturns. Grimes's rage at the lobster dinner scene still resonates with me.
Naw, Grimes is a chud and a loser. Homer is definitely a lucky idiot but he isn't exploiting anyone and isn't at all responsible for Grimey's lack of success. He never sees the system as anything but a meritocracy and blames the system failing him on a co-worker.
Does he ever express any kind of political opinion? He's basically just a stand-in for "Homer's Opposite". His whole schtick is being overqualified and unlucky.
Homer is definitely a lucky idiot but he isn’t exploiting anyone and isn’t at all responsible for Grimey’s lack of success.
The first two seasons of The Simpsons did a great job of illustrating who Homer was and why he was where he was. Strong unions and solidarity, a desire for public safety (mixed with the corporate need to cover ass), a strong family unit built on love rather than obsession with consumerism. With that in mind, Grimey's outrage seems misplaced.
But subsequent seasons turned Homer into a proxy for "Generic American Idiot Across All Economic And Social Strata". Especially in later seasons, Homer leveraged his privilege to deleterious effect. In Flaming Moe's, he screws over his friend to get famous with a drink. Homer's Barbershop Quartet kicks Chef Wiggum to the curb to get famous. In Much Apu About Nothing the town turned out against migrants as a scapegoat for rising taxes, a great example of Homer (among other townsfolk) exploiting neighbors in a quintessentially American way. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? involves Homer bankrupting a car company out of cavalier incompetence and neglect. You Only Move Twice has him taking a job at an explicitly villainous Bond Villain's corporation just to get a pay raise. Simpson and Delilah has him gleefully climbing the corporate ladder based entirely on having a full head of hair.
Homer's greedy and apathetic early on. He's prone to violent outbursts. In later seasons (particular after S10) he becomes overtly callous and cruel to the plight of others. He's happy enough to exploit people directly, given the opportunity. And he's - sometimes consciously sometimes not - routinely exploiting others near him through selfishness and neglect.
Moe steals the Flaming Homer. I also don't really consider how Homer is outside of the episode in question cause there isn't a ton of character consistency as far as how mean spirited he will be from episode to episode.
Homer's Enemy is such a good episode because it lends itself so well to criticism. Like obviously Frank Grimes was in the wrong, but like he's wrong because his limited ideological framework that makes him unable to reconcile the idea of hard work being rewarded unconditionally with the very existence of Homer Simpson, and this contradiction drives him so brutally insane he kills himself. And it's such a perfect conclusion too, the show itself can't solve the contradiction and just chooses to dispose of Grimes so they don't have to deal with it anymore. It's so * muaaa * chef kissing italianly
*Oh and also like throughout the episode like it seemed to root for Grimes, but everyone was, like, laughing at Grimes? Like he's constantly points out that Homer is incompetent, but everyone is like "so?" It's a major self-own, the chud that wrote this thing doesn't realize that everyone is laughing at him, because he's hysterically pointing out that everyone is naked under their clothes. I honestly am so fascinated by this episode, it's intended to be a vehicle for meritocracy, but even the tiniest scrutiny deeply deeply undermines it.
You know how most people find themselves relating more to Squidward than SpongeBob as they age into adulthood and enter the workforce? The experience of Frank Grimes, an unlucky, almost-grimdark character with college-education and a strong background in nuclear physics, slowly going mad by witnessing the extremely incompetent HS-educated Homer disprove meritocracy by merely existing in the same work environment is that of every educated millennial entering the workforce. The Simpsons was arguably already starting to become aspirational just a few seasons in. Homer is every ignorant, complacent, and lucky HS-educated boomer who got in on the ground floor in the early 1980s with a small fraction of the skills needed for entry-level positions nowadays and who somehow actually made enough money to become homeowners in their twenties and save up enough to enjoy a petty-bourgie lifestyle even during the economic downturns. Grimes's rage at the lobster dinner scene still resonates with me.
Naw, Grimes is a chud and a loser. Homer is definitely a lucky idiot but he isn't exploiting anyone and isn't at all responsible for Grimey's lack of success. He never sees the system as anything but a meritocracy and blames the system failing him on a co-worker.
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Does he ever express any kind of political opinion? He's basically just a stand-in for "Homer's Opposite". His whole schtick is being overqualified and unlucky.
The first two seasons of The Simpsons did a great job of illustrating who Homer was and why he was where he was. Strong unions and solidarity, a desire for public safety (mixed with the corporate need to cover ass), a strong family unit built on love rather than obsession with consumerism. With that in mind, Grimey's outrage seems misplaced.
But subsequent seasons turned Homer into a proxy for "Generic American Idiot Across All Economic And Social Strata". Especially in later seasons, Homer leveraged his privilege to deleterious effect. In Flaming Moe's, he screws over his friend to get famous with a drink. Homer's Barbershop Quartet kicks Chef Wiggum to the curb to get famous. In Much Apu About Nothing the town turned out against migrants as a scapegoat for rising taxes, a great example of Homer (among other townsfolk) exploiting neighbors in a quintessentially American way. Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? involves Homer bankrupting a car company out of cavalier incompetence and neglect. You Only Move Twice has him taking a job at an explicitly villainous Bond Villain's corporation just to get a pay raise. Simpson and Delilah has him gleefully climbing the corporate ladder based entirely on having a full head of hair.
Homer's greedy and apathetic early on. He's prone to violent outbursts. In later seasons (particular after S10) he becomes overtly callous and cruel to the plight of others. He's happy enough to exploit people directly, given the opportunity. And he's - sometimes consciously sometimes not - routinely exploiting others near him through selfishness and neglect.
Moe steals the Flaming Homer. I also don't really consider how Homer is outside of the episode in question cause there isn't a ton of character consistency as far as how mean spirited he will be from episode to episode.
I got that backwards. Apologies.
He started as a dumbass with a heart of gold and metasticized into a cynical twit in later seasons.
Part of what killed the series.
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No, Frank Grimes is a fucking asshole.
Homer's Enemy is such a good episode because it lends itself so well to criticism. Like obviously Frank Grimes was in the wrong, but like he's wrong because his limited ideological framework that makes him unable to reconcile the idea of hard work being rewarded unconditionally with the very existence of Homer Simpson, and this contradiction drives him so brutally insane he kills himself. And it's such a perfect conclusion too, the show itself can't solve the contradiction and just chooses to dispose of Grimes so they don't have to deal with it anymore. It's so * muaaa * chef kissing italianly
*Oh and also like throughout the episode like it seemed to root for Grimes, but everyone was, like, laughing at Grimes? Like he's constantly points out that Homer is incompetent, but everyone is like "so?" It's a major self-own, the chud that wrote this thing doesn't realize that everyone is laughing at him, because he's hysterically pointing out that everyone is naked under their clothes. I honestly am so fascinated by this episode, it's intended to be a vehicle for meritocracy, but even the tiniest scrutiny deeply deeply undermines it.
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