A study of the landmark television program The Simpsons which focuses on the show's dual roles as subversive political satire and mainstream mass media hit. Since its first appearance as a series of cartoon vignettes in 1987 and its debut as a weekly program in 1990, The Simpsons has had multiple, even contradictory, media identities. Although the show has featured biting political and social satire, which often proves fatal to mass...