his is a bloody, violent, gruesome version of Tom and Jerry, where the two characters find new and more disgusting ways to kill each other every episode. This is a very significant reference point because it is dealing with cartoon violence. Some believe that by putting the violence in this context the animators can get away with it. This is not the point. The point is to continually raise questions about censorship, violence and effect, and to satirise the gravity that the whole matter is dealt with. The Simpsons in itself is a violent cartoon, and so when Marge takes on cartoon violence in Itchy and Scratchy, she is actually taking on the existence of The Simpsons . This form of self-reference is not unusual in The Simpsons, and it is one of the most post-modern aspects of the show. Self-reference exists at many levels. A subtle reference occurs when Maggie is not allowed a dummy . She tries to suck on some toys, and the toy that she is most happy sucking is a little Bart Simpson doll. Self-reference is also present in an indirect form. There is a lot of comedy at the expense of the Fox Network. Ned Flanders says: "So the network slogan is true: Watch Fox and be damned forever". Other self-references are very direct. Take, for example, The Simpsons Halloween Special II . In this episode Bart has a dream that the Simpsons are rich and famous. As they enter a posh restaurant, a customer is talking about the Simpsons (but is she talking about the Simpson family or the show as a whole?) Woman 1: If I hear one more thing about the Simpsons, I swear, I'm going to scream. Woman 2: At first they were cute and funny, but now they are just annoying. This is a view that has been expressed about The Simpsons time and again, particularly in Australia where the show did not perform nearly as well as expected in the longer term. The same episode also parodies the heavy marketing and merchandising of The Simpsons. A boy is in a shop where he sees the...
