very same Simpsons T-shirts as are actually available. "Eighteen bucks for this? What a rip off!" The episode features an album titled The Simpsons Go Calypso and Otto says that this has gone too far. In real life the third Simpsons album was due to be released this month. In another episode Chespirito (a Spanish television comic who dresses as a giant bee, generally with something attached to his backside) reiterates the words of Spike Lee. "Credit the audience with a little intelligence, with the willingness to work it out, and they will reward you with their attention and their understanding." However, from viewing the whole section we see that the writers of The Simpsons think that the TV producers don't agree. Chespirito: I'm just not comfortable with this [giant] lobster. It's the same tired old jokes. Let's give the audience some credit. Writer: How about a giant mousetrap? Chespirito: I love it! It is well known that The Simpsons deals with many cultural issues important to modern society. It has dealt with issues of modern family life, women in the workplace and the 'dumbing down'/Americanisation of foreign cultures. When we look at all this together, the intertextuality and references to the media, the self-references, the comment on culture and so on, we can begin to see that the real comment that The Simpsons has to make is on the media. In so doing, it is also commenting on our reading and acceptance of media. The key episode to illustrate this point is Homer: Bad Man (episode 2F06). In this episode Homer is accused of sexual harassment and suffers a trial by media as all sorts of shows seem to victimise him. The sensational news programme Rock Bottom puts together a poorly edited interview to force Homer to admit his guilt. Following the interview appear in small letters the words "Dramatization. May not have happened." A media circus erupts around Homer. Round the clock helicopter surveillance of "the Simpson Estate" is ...
