Alternative topics 1: Is the fictional character Homer Simpson an undiagnosed autistic character?
In the absence of any elections in Britain happening for the next few months at least, and with other elections around the world likely to be postponed, welcome to the alternative topics series of Alan's Green Thoughts.
The world's longest primetime animated situation comedy, The Simpsons, has been running since 17 December 1989, 30 1/4 years as of this month. Strangely enough, I have noticed that in its run of 679 episodes and counting, the words "autism" and "autistic" are not mentioned even once, despite several episodes hinting at autism in their own subtle way.
I believe that in fact, the show's main protagonist, Homer Simpson, is himself an undiagnosed autistic, based on his behaviour and implied reasons behind it throughout the cartoon's run, and may in fact be the most famous fictional undiagnosed autistic character on television. The viewers just believe he is a buffoon and a jerk, although overall they are of course correct in that assumption about Homer. A key hint we get of this is in the season five episode "Burns' Heir", where an actor portraying Homer Simpson for the benefit of Montgomery Burns to fool Bart into thinking the rest of the Simpson family do not miss him at all, says in a Michael Caine-style voice:
"Sorry, MB, but I'm having trouble with this character. Is he supposed to have a neurological impairment, like Rain Man or Awakenings?"
If you are unfamiliar with "Rain Man", this is perhaps the most famous autism-related film known; therefore, the "neurological impairment" (or rather neurological difference) the actor in that Simpsons scene refers to is autism, and apparently implies Homer has it.
Given that it would take far too long to look at the details of each of the 679 episodes, I have included broad observations in my arguments but refer to episodes where this is significant, and excluded salient points not significantly correlated with autism or neurodiversity:
Arguments for Homer Simpson being an undiagnosed autistic character:
He so frequently misses and misreads social cues and body language.
He frequently misjudges social situations and contexts primarily due to the above, whether or not he is drunk in the scene in question.
He frequently fails to realise when his behaviour is inappropriate or rude.
Even when he shows signs of higher intelligence than usual, his noticeably poor social skills do not improve, as seen in the season 12 episode "HOMR" and the season 14 episode "C.E. D'oh"
He has particularly obsessive interests which often come at the detriment of his normal life, although these vary from episode to episode. Notable examples include "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" from season 10 and "The Springfield Files" from season 8.
Arguments against Homer Simpson being an undiagnosed autistic chracter:
He does not display particular sensitivity to sound, light, sensations etc. (then again, neither do I)
He does not display any notable stimming behaviour.
He is not particularly good at noticing small details and his understanding of the "big picture" is not consistently impaired throughout the series.
Not a single psychiatrist or marriage counsellor featured on any episode of The Simpsons ever mentions the possibility of him being autistic, even when his social ineptitude and lack of common sense are highlighted so often.
The situation comedy context also distorts both sides of the story, given that social ineptitude and misunderstandings, whatever their cause, are the primary ingredients of any remotely good situation comedy.
From my experience of watching "The Simpsons" I believe Homer Simpson is an undiagnosed autistic character, although it is admittedly a borderline case based on these observations.
The world's longest primetime animated situation comedy, The Simpsons, has been running since 17 December 1989, 30 1/4 years as of this month. Strangely enough, I have noticed that in its run of 679 episodes and counting, the words "autism" and "autistic" are not mentioned even once, despite several episodes hinting at autism in their own subtle way.
I believe that in fact, the show's main protagonist, Homer Simpson, is himself an undiagnosed autistic, based on his behaviour and implied reasons behind it throughout the cartoon's run, and may in fact be the most famous fictional undiagnosed autistic character on television. The viewers just believe he is a buffoon and a jerk, although overall they are of course correct in that assumption about Homer. A key hint we get of this is in the season five episode "Burns' Heir", where an actor portraying Homer Simpson for the benefit of Montgomery Burns to fool Bart into thinking the rest of the Simpson family do not miss him at all, says in a Michael Caine-style voice:
"Sorry, MB, but I'm having trouble with this character. Is he supposed to have a neurological impairment, like Rain Man or Awakenings?"
If you are unfamiliar with "Rain Man", this is perhaps the most famous autism-related film known; therefore, the "neurological impairment" (or rather neurological difference) the actor in that Simpsons scene refers to is autism, and apparently implies Homer has it.
Given that it would take far too long to look at the details of each of the 679 episodes, I have included broad observations in my arguments but refer to episodes where this is significant, and excluded salient points not significantly correlated with autism or neurodiversity:
Arguments for Homer Simpson being an undiagnosed autistic character:
He so frequently misses and misreads social cues and body language.
He frequently misjudges social situations and contexts primarily due to the above, whether or not he is drunk in the scene in question.
He frequently fails to realise when his behaviour is inappropriate or rude.
Even when he shows signs of higher intelligence than usual, his noticeably poor social skills do not improve, as seen in the season 12 episode "HOMR" and the season 14 episode "C.E. D'oh"
He has particularly obsessive interests which often come at the detriment of his normal life, although these vary from episode to episode. Notable examples include "The Wizard of Evergreen Terrace" from season 10 and "The Springfield Files" from season 8.
Arguments against Homer Simpson being an undiagnosed autistic chracter:
He does not display particular sensitivity to sound, light, sensations etc. (then again, neither do I)
He does not display any notable stimming behaviour.
He is not particularly good at noticing small details and his understanding of the "big picture" is not consistently impaired throughout the series.
Not a single psychiatrist or marriage counsellor featured on any episode of The Simpsons ever mentions the possibility of him being autistic, even when his social ineptitude and lack of common sense are highlighted so often.
The situation comedy context also distorts both sides of the story, given that social ineptitude and misunderstandings, whatever their cause, are the primary ingredients of any remotely good situation comedy.
From my experience of watching "The Simpsons" I believe Homer Simpson is an undiagnosed autistic character, although it is admittedly a borderline case based on these observations.
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