Consumerism is very common in our society today. It is expressed through different media, such as ads, literature, and films. The Simpsons cartoon has a number of themes behind each episode. Scott McCloud’s theory of amplification through simplification is present in The Simpsons episode called “Lisa’s Pony” by forming a simpler meaning behind a broad message. This episode includes consumerism and what it does within the relationship between Homer and Lisa. In addition to my analysis of The Simpsons, I will consider “Mrs Faust” written by Carol Ann Duffy. Mr and Mrs Faust are consumed by what they want to own rather than the love in their relationship which leads them both to dwell in unhealthy personalities and decisions. “Mrs Faust” and “Lisa’s Pony” both critique the ideology of consumerism and the idea that money can buy happiness. 

The generalizations within Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Defined a Generation are very diverse. This book pertains to The Simpsons and the themes within their episodes, such as the family’s take on pop culture and influences of the internet. Consumerism in this book was displayed with reasons as to why people practice this. The author explains that consumerism is for show. To boost egos or popularity. Chris Turner says, “Cool is the lifeblood of consumerism” (Turner 184). He explains the theory that if consumerism increases and spreads among society, so has the popularity, or “coolness”.  The comparison of consumerism to a tyrant regime suggests that consumerism has total power over its supporters and is hard to rid of because “it is everywhere” (Turner 184). The death of a consumeristic society would come from the end of desires and needs (Turner 262). However, people would have to be fully satisfied with what they already have. This is unlikely because people get tired of what they have. There are always new products being made, which makes people want these new products as opposed to the ones they already possess. This is what drives consumerism- unfulfilled desires. Turner relates this to a Simpsons episode called “You Only Move Twice” (Turner 262). In this episode, the Simpson family moved to a new town with a house much nicer and well maintained than their other one. Even though they gained a nicer house, Marge found it not to be enough once they had it. She wanted something else. Something more than what she already had. 

Within the Journal of Consumer Affairs, there is an article entitled “Anti-Consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well-Being.” A diagram representing the relationship between materialistic values and anti-consumption values is compared and determines the well-being of consumers. There are four categories in which determine well-being: control over consumption, scope of concerns, material of desire, and source of happiness. Consumer well-being is shown to be greater when people are more in control of what they purchase and the decisions they make while making purchases. These people who value anti-consumption tend to look elsewhere for satisfaction rather than materials and contribute toward donations voluntarily, whereas materialistic people are easily swayed by advertisements and are self determined (Table 1).  Materialistic people are not very open to spending on on things outside of personal matters. These people are “associated with self-centered attributes [including,] selfishness, envy and non generosity” (Table 2). Where people who are less involved with consumption still spend on themselves, they also donate to others in need. High material desire harms the wellbeing of consumers. This causes obsession and “aspiration for possession” (Table 3). Low level anti-consumerists tend to refrain from a consumption-based lifestyle because it reduces stress levels that this can cause. A less selfish way to spend money would be on traveling or things to keep memorable. Materialistic people look for happiness in what they buy because they neglect other, more important, things in their life. These people are preoccupied by materials and focus strictly on success and popularity (Table 4). A better way to boost the wellbeing of consumers is to spend time on other activities that could be satisfying, like pursuing a personal goal or spending time with friends and family. When it comes to being happy, self actualisation is important. This is when a person realizes their full potential, however this involves the characteristics of independence, experience, and creativity; things money cannot buy. Materialistic people cannot attain self actualization because they are consumed in products and what money can buy (Table 4). Many of those who are low consumerists use self actualization as a motivation to better their life and relationships. In conclusion, the well being of consumers is better when there is control of what is purchased, when there is low desire for materials, and when there are other things to be happy about besides materials.

Within the Journal of Modern Literature, Kathryn Simpson discusses the opinion of author Virginia Woolf. Woolf is a modernist who believes that feminism is present in our culture. She talks about a feminist critic and how it affects the “gift economy”. The “gift economy” is simply giving a gift for no reason rather than getting rewarded or making a trade. In Woolf’s writing, she claims “the gift economy is based on social and personal connection, intimacy, generosity, and risk-taking” (20). This being said, giving for these reasons will lead you in the right direction without stepping on the feminist train. Men use the “gift economy” as welcome mats to win the girl. Gifts in this way can be problematic because they can cause a false perception through the receiver's eyes. Men mostly use gifts to manipulate the interpretation of a gift, meaning that a female might see a gift as a kind gesture rather than what the gift might really mean. This being said, materialism plays an important role in any relationship. For example, the man in the relationship might seek sexual affection while the woman might only want the gift because she knows it’s a new and exciting product. This is a form of consumerism because the woman only wants the new and upcoming material. Simpson will interpret, “the idea of the gift quite broadly to include non-material gifts such as the gift of music played to “reward” and to charm, the giving of compliments, the sharing of a moment of ecstasy, and a kiss- the gift which finally gives rise to an altered perception and to a powerful, surreal, even mystical vision at the end of a story” (21). Gifts shouldn't have to be materials for them to be considered a “gift”. This quote had a deep expression upon me because giving these non-materialized gifts is something very special that you can share with people.   

In Scott McCloud’s novel, Understanding Comics, he develops the idea if amplification through simplification. This idea describes abstract images and symbols as being representations of specific, more descriptive, meanings. Within The Simpsons, this theory is often expressed. The artistic make-up of the characters is very simple, where the meaning behind each episode is more complex. The meaning is well understood by viewers because the details within the cartoon are “stripped down” in order to prevent distractions from the essential meaning (McCloud). The way a character is presented plays a significant role in the reaction that the audience has to that character. This involves language as well because if the cartoon is presented in a less detailed way, the language can be more straight forward in order to understand exactly what the writers want the audience to get from the episode. More detailed characters, or even the use of humans, create a serious and more immediate connection to reality which tends to not be so straight forward because the complexity of the character has to match the language used.

“Lisa’s Pony” centers around consumerism in parent-child relationships. In this episode, Homer, Lisa’s father, is given a task to get a new reed for Lisa’s saxophone, however, he fails to do this, and Lisa is embarrassed at her school talent show. Because of this, Lisa is angry with her father, but Homer sees her anger as a sign that Lisa does not love him anymore. Like many modern parents, Homer tried to fix his mistake with ice cream for his little girl; this did not work. Marge, Homer’s wife, suggests that Homer spend time with Lisa in order to make things better. People in today’s world tend to avoid this solution, much like Homer, because it is easier to give a gift to make someone happy than to work to fix the problem. Nothing seemed to be working in the short time he spent with Lisa, and Homer became mildly concerned with his ego. During the tea party he had with Lisa, Bart and his friend were watching and began to laugh at him. This caused the tables to flip and Homer to run after his son, ruining the tea party. Homer, also, told his wife that doing girly things was causing him to “go fruity”. 

Similarly to men today, Homer’s “quick fix” to the problem was to buy Lisa a gift that would make her incredibly happy so she would love him again. Men often see gifts as a way of winning over a woman’s happiness, as does this happen profoundly with children, too. It is of the nature of children to want things without reason, and often will they get excited when they receive presents or something they are usually not allowed to have. Parents typically use this when rewarding their children which is a good way for them to realize what is and is not an acceptable way to act. It is not just, however, to use materials to win the love of your child. Homer is guilty of this when he bought Lisa the pony she has always wanted. His wife wanted to get rid of it, but Homer explained that “Lisa loves [him]. The pony stays”. Because horses are expensive, Homer takes on a second job that deprives him of sleep. He did not last very long before he was falling asleep at the wheel, sleeping at work, and stealing merchandise because he had no time to eat. How far are people willing to go to win the love of their child? 

The compulsion of the pony distracts Lisa from seeing her father’s suffering until Marge, ultimately, leaves it up to Lisa to decide if keeping the pony is worth it. Lisa makes a big decision to give up her horse, but she claims that “there’s a big, dumb animal [she] love[s] even more than that horse”. Love cannot be defined by materials but what one is willing to give up for someone else. 

Unlike The Simpsons, Mr. and Mrs. Faust had plenty of money to be spent. They worked hard, saved money, and “flourished academically” to be the successful people they came to be. (Duffy 6,9). The problem with Mr. and Mrs. Faust, though, is that everything they bought was not enough. They drowned their souls in material goods, and lost sight of the true happiness within their relationship. Because of their successful careers, they were able to buy more things: boats, cars, a second home- the latest toys. However, the more things they bought, the farther away they became as a couple. Mr. Faust dwelled in his success that he “learned to love the kudos, not the wife” (Duffy 20). He became overly compelled in materials that “[he] sold his soul” to the devil in order to obtain more worldly possessions (Duffy 105). In contrast to the common argument made about men and how they try and win the happiness of women, Mr. Faust did not care about their marriage. He was bottled up in his own realm of materials and did not concern himself with his wife. He was very egotistical and pushed his wife away by prioritizing fame and materials instead of her. 

The actions of Mr. Faust changed Mrs. Faust’s life because she “learned to love the lifestyle, not the life” (Duffy 18/). Mrs. Faust was trapped in her marriage because she fell in love with what the money could by her; she was not truly happy with who she married. Money cannot fulfil the hole of dissatisfaction in your life, but she spent most of her days searching for the happiness her husband did not bring her. She looked to her wallet and found nothing but paper and plastic cards. The plastic surgery and the hair dye did not work (Duffy 74/). Even travelling the world did not bring her happiness. By this point in her life “[she] was as bad” as her husband when it came to spending and being consumed by materials (Duffy 17). When Mr. Faust died she was only concerned with what his will left her: the yacht, multiple houses, all the loot (Duffy 115). She got sick and simply “bought a kidney with [her] credit card” (Duffy 122). Mrs. Faust, ultimately, let materials and her wallet control her life because of her unhealthy relationship. Her unhappiness thrived for what can be bought in a store, when in reality, material goods cannot buy happiness. 

I believe today’s society tends to be spoiled; it is very common to want the new thing and get it, one way or another. I am guilty of this. It is in our nature, as humans, to use materials in order to bare happiness from others. This is most common between men and women in relationships. However, this strips away the true meaning of love, which cannot be defined using materials. Many couples fail to realize that they love what money can buy rather than their significant other for who they are. Parents and children are also common to consumerist behavior. Children are often bribed or rewarded with a gift and, overall, become spoiled. In conclusion, I feel it is important to build healthy relationships and refrain from compulsion of materials throughout the relationship. By doing this, stronger bonds between loved ones will be made and love will be dispersed for true purpose.
