The Simpsons Skewers Apple, Their Fanatics

"I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me."" I saw that wink and thought, "That stupid pandering cunt". But that's just me. "By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing. It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America. This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it." Oh, come on. Only the most idiotic partisan would see it that way. And only a WinJihadist would compare it to an Apple joke on The Simpsons. Get over yourself.

@subzerohitman721: "The quite typical reactions of the resident Mac fanatics is hilarious. Infact, reading the responses by john, roberts, lotsa, joe, and the gang is like watching someone laughing but sweating nervously at the same time. The hypocrissy and the fanaticism of the Mac fans, but they are laughing nervously because they don't get it." Sweating nervously? What dream world do you live in? I found it amusing. Like someone else said, next week they take the piss out of Microsoft - so what? It's funny, because that's what The Simpsons do. They make fun of America in almost every episode. What does that mean? Are Americans sweating nervously? No, because not many are wrong enough to interpret things like you do. It's funny, they make fun of everything and everyone. What about the episode with the Bill Gates character on the show that went around harassing people and being evil. Did you sweat nervously when you saw it because you knew you like a company that is evil? No. Did Paul post about that episode like a giddy school-girl having her first crush on a boy? No. That would mean he's fair and unbiased - which he's not.

@shark47: "From your description it seems like they were mocking the "Bill Gates is evil" crowd." Homer is running his own internet business and Gates and his goons come in make threats, trying to trash the joint. Now, Gates is a scrawny nerd, so it's the best he can do to be intimidating that makes it funny. The joke being this skinny nerd is such a menace. Which in real life, he was. MS is evil, remember?

Gorath, For whatever reason I didn't realize you were British. I went to school in London and enjoyed it greatly, got married and Scotland, and have relatives who live in Wales. Thus, I was chastising you for the wrong thing. I believe that most Americans don't understand some of the key aspects of how American democracy works. One of the fundamental functions of our Supreme Court is to protect the higher law status of our Constitution. Thus, when a Justice of the Court utilizes a gut feeling to describe the limits of the constitution it is very disquieting. In contrast, the British system has an unwritten constitution in which Parliament is sovereign (In the US sovereignty lies with the people.). Thus, Parliament can effectively make ANY law and the only recourse the people have is to vote the ruling party out of power during the next election. Now tradition does act as somewhat of a check on the powers of Parliament but Parliament can and does make substantial changes to fundamental laws. Thus, while our Bill of Rights of 1791 enjoys higher law status, your English Bill of Rights of 1689 has no special status and any act of Parliament can over-ride the English Bill of Rights. In terms of superiority one could argue that the parliamentary system used in Britain is arguably more democratic than our presidential model with a clear higher law which creates in effect a dual layer of democracy. The British System can be much more responsive to public opinion, while the American system arguably protects the rights of individuals and minorities better. As for understanding British humor, I generally think I'm pretty good, obviously I fell short on this particular joke, could be that it wasn't in fact funny. ;) Subzero Hitman, Do you actually believe what you write? I watched the episode and as I've already said, it was beyond funny. It was one of the best episodes I've seen in several years. Paul et al is correct it did skewer Apple. What is most funny though is the various reactions of various winjihadists on this website. Wow, taking on the icabal would actually create fear amongst Matt Groening and his writers at the Simpsons. Really? Wow, that Apple Fans saw this and laughed "nervously." What as though Apple were a religion and the Simpsons were somehow attacking our core fundamental beliefs. Wow, that Apple Fans are unaware of the "Steve reality distortion field." The show simply mocked and satirized the more extreme aspects of both Corporate Apple and its customers. What's really funny, is that not a single Apple fan has said that the show was slanderous or libelous. Not a single Apple fan has said that it was particularly offensive in any way. Not a single Apple fan has even said it was unfunny. Not a single Apple fan has said they will now stop watching the Simpson's. How have Apple Fans reacted, let's see they have a sense of humor. They also realize that they or other Apple Fans sometimes act irrationally, and they understand SATIRE. Clearly the humor lies in the fact that the Simpson's greatly EXAGGERATED the foibles of Apple and its fans. In reality I've seen every aspect of Simpson's satire exhibited by various Apple Fans and the company from time to time, seeing every one of them played out to the extreme in 90 seconds is FUNNY. For example, the recent Apple ad in which PC spends all his money on advertising rather than fixing Vista was considered slander by many of the members of this site. Yet, the larger truth, the truth that Microsoft has Billions of dollars and yet, Vista has floundered for nearly two years while Microsoft first denied any problems, then belatedly said that this was part of the normal upgrade cycle, then finally admitted that there were problems but they were solved. And finally has stopped advertising Vista and now simply advertises Windows. Thus, the basic truth of the Mac ad, Vista was broken and Microsoft couldn't, wouldn't, or just didn't care to fix it is a truth that MS can't seem to dodge. Regards Joe Dokes

"lotsa, Take the suppository. Chill. Get a life is so appropriate here. " I'm sure his might mouse have beared the brunt of his iLovin. Stevenotes on infinite loop and lotsa kleenex.

The test to this is whether you watch something like this, and even being on the receiving end of the joke, you laugh anyway. I haven't seen the episode yet (as much as I hate to say it and as a very long time fanboy that can easily quote old episodes nearly verbatim, the Simpsons have jumped the shark a while ago) , but I'll be sure to watch it. The key is to be funny, not mean, and contain some truth. Reminds me of the Microsoft iPod packaging parody. It is something I've cracked up laughing about and saved it for future viewing. It's funny, contains a bit of truth, and is not mean. Seriously, if anyone is offended by this, even when Paul brings it up, you really need to breath some fresh air sometimes.