General Simpsons Thread

TheRealJims talk about Homer's Enemy

I do like this view that in spite of the title, Homer is actually innocent in the end, and is actually quite friendly to Grimes.

And yet his son (should've just been his nephew to avoid adding into the Unintentionally Unsympathetic pile) still blames Homer. It's like when someone blames Batman for not killing the Joker because Joker killed their loved one

How could he be this nephew? He has no family!

Grimes just wasn't ready for Springfield, really.

I saved an essay from facebook on m PC that got fried, I am so sad to have lost it, because it pointed out Frank Grimes is not actually representative of a more deserving person getting shafted. He just has a very hideously tough life that makes him think he's better than everyone else and makes him feel hideously entitled. He didnt graduate from an IVY league with sheer effort, he just did ok on a nameless college and his talents and achievements were not beyond those of other people.

But if you ignore that and or just think this is precisely what makes him such a perfect person for the episode, the episode is still amazing.

I mean, Grimes is absolutely a more deserving person than Homer. Almost anyone would be.

Grimes never acts superior towards Lenny & Carl, except to call out how they ignore and even condone Homer's dangerous incompetence.

Edited by RavenWilder on Mar 24th 2024 at 3:32:25 AM

I really detest the cruelty and black humour of that episode to be honest.

That much is true, yes.

The reason Frank Grimes was created was to show how a real person would react to being in the show's universe.

I reminded of a video essay that points out how the episode (rather unintentionally) depicts how the working class can be easily turned against each other when the a lot of their grievances are about institutional systems. Basically, Grimes real issues are a society that exploits the work of those who work hard, rewards the undeserving, does little to support workers like him and keep them in a state of near poverty. But instead of taking his anger out in constructive ways, he turns against Homer and uses him as a scapegoat for all his frustrations.

Because while Homer is a crap safety inspector, Burns is the one who hasn't done anything about it. Burns is the one who doesn't value Grimes' work ethic. Burns (and people like him) are the reason Grimes lives above a bowling alley and below another bowling alley. But because Grimes has been raised in a society where someone's work ethic is also a moral statement on their character, Homer is worse in his eyes because of his laziness because it shatters his believe that working harder makes you more successful.

Yeah TRJ also pointed it out - that Grimes channeled his frustrations on Homer rather than the system itself.

And he never did give Homer or anyone else a chance to explain about certain things.

I’m having fish and chips for lunch, and it’s making me remember this classic line. XD

“Let them have their tar-tar sauce! “

"Homer's Enemy" has just a lot of levels to the theme of the episode, probably way more than intended by the writers. Initially it's just a commentary on how The Simpsons is not an accurate depiction of reality and shouldn't be treated as such. But it also exaggerates aspects of the show to make its' point, Homer was once terrified that he bumbled into stopping a nuclear disaster while the episode shows him gleefully ignorant of all safety protocols.

For me I largely saw the episode as Grimes pursuing a personal greviance to his own self sabotage. He's right about everything but is framing it as a personal attack when Homer has nothing to do with his problems. Maybe just because I've seen a number of people who were in... imperfect situations... and proceed to burn bridges and compromise themselves further. As mentioned, this also feeds into a class conflict theme.

Great fiction is always multi layered and complex, you can see it in a variety of ways.

I'm gonna be honest, I never quite got the mean spirited vibe of this episode many do, especially compared to other episodes of the show. Sure Grimes is rather pitiful, but everyone besides maybe Burns is pretty blasé rather than cruel to him.

As Jims points out, the secret sauce to the episode is that Homer isn't actively making Grimes' life miserable besides maybe the first few minutes. It's that sort of nuance that makes the difference between say, a good Spongebob Squarepants episode, whether it's a sociopathically stupid character ruining the life of an Only Sane Man, often with the civilians ganging up on him for trying to stop the former, or just a somewhat obnoxious but harmless character that the cranky foil takes increasingly destructive measures to be rid of. A lot of the frustrations are on themselves. Hell midway through the episode we actually get a rather self aware moment where he's TRYING to impress Grimes, even if he fails miserably.

I actually kinda liked this episode because it took so many of Homer's bittersweet misadventures and compounded them into a moment that shown Homer was actually rather accomplished. Sure, it's absurd cartoonish luck to Grimes, but in the world of an average Springfieldian, Homer isn't a total Butt-Monkey after all.

"Would you like to see my Grammy award?"

Edited by Psi001 on Mar 26th 2024 at 12:27:18 PM

The "cult of work" video about Frank Grimes had some rather eerie music.

I think another key to making the episode work is, by the time we get to the third act, Grimes has given up on trying to confront or reason with Homer, and instead turns their focus to how no one else seems to care what a dangerous incompetent Homer is.

"Accidents have doubled every year since he became safety inspector. And meltdowns have tripled! Has he been fired? No. Has he been disciplined? No, no! (...) No, Homer is not okay, and I want everyone in this plant to realize it. I would die a happy man if I could prove to you that Homer Simpson has the intelligence of a six-year-old."

And, of course, the thing that triggers Grimes's big break down is the entire plant applauding as Homer enters and wins a contest for children. "I can't stand it any longer! This whole plant is insane! Insane, I tell you!"

Compounding to that, as many accidents Homer causes, we never see serious repurcussions for them. We get odd moments of cartoon injuries at worst that snap back the next scene, otherwise it's just a load of inconsequential alarms and breakdowns. Grimes doesn't understand things are working on cartoony wacky factory rules.

It's part why I didn't really side with Marge in "Three Eyes on Every Fish" either. She treats Blinky like some abomination and ultimately kills and serves him for dinner to prove her point, despite the fact that Blinky seems to be comfortably living besides having a third eye and tasting bad. She murdered something that could have lived a full life for the crime of having a cartoony defect rather than being a real threat.

Edited by Psi001 on Mar 26th 2024 at 10:39:13 AM

It's not Homer's undeserved blessings that Grimes is so offended by, although they cause him to be upset by the random nature of Fate.

It's the deserved negative consequences that Homer *doesn't* receive from society that enrages Grimes. That's not random happenstance or flukes of luck. It's not an accident that Homer is never held to account for his dangerously irresponsible behavior, it's a choice — a choice repeated over and over by the people around him.

I believe Matt Groening is on record as having especially liked this episode, which isn't so shocking if you've ever read his earlier comic *Life in Hell*.

My favorite bit from that comic? "Love is like a snowmobile speeding over the tundra, until it flips, pinning you beneath. At night, the ice-weasels come."

Isn't that the plot to Mr Plow?

Refresh my memory. When did Krusty start showing his true colors? Was it before or after this famous part?

(After the lousy Itchy & Scratchy cartoon) Ehh, I could pull a better cartoon out of my a- (sees that the cameras are still on) Ehh, hehe (back to his funny clown self) Hey, whoa! Wasn’t that great, kids?!

when he stopped being Homer in disguise,so he's been like that for ages

Grimes should have tried his luck at Shelbyville.

I feel like for most of Seasons One and Two, Krusty was a genuinely enthusiastic, almost child-like entertainer with some hints of being abrasive and money hungry.

Season Three, with episodes like 'Like Father Like Clown' is probably when we started seeing the more jaded cynical Krusty properly kick in, even if he was arguably still more sympathetic there.

It's funny how Krusty's evolution is almost reverse to Binky the Clown from Garfield and Friends, a show that ran around the same time. Binky started out a one-off curmudgeonly clown gag and then turned into an unironic loud cheerful manchild. They even both done a 'Krusty Gets Busted' plot around the exact same era.

Edited by Psi001 on Apr 4th 2024 at 2:06:07 PM