Episode: Season 15, "The President Wore Pearls" The Simpsons rarely gets political. And other than the Treehouse of Horror that sees Kang and Kodos pull an "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" on Bill Clinton and Bob Dole, and "Politically Inept with Homer Simpson," it usually falls flat when it does (though the opening of "Treehouse of Horror XIV" which sees Homer's votes for Obama continually going to McCain on a voting machine was a keeper). So with Michael Moore turning up in Season 15's "The President Wore Pearls" the show wisely tried to avoid being directly political, but really, it was still there. Moore had overstayed his welcome in the public eye by that point: his fantastic documentaries "Roger and Me" (looking at the auto industry and its impact on his hometown of Flint, Michigan), and its follow-up, "Pets or Meat," were eye-opening, and "Bowling for Columbine" crucial to the debate around the school shooting, others like it, and gun control. "Farenheight 9/11" wound up caught in a maelstrom of partisan politics in the U.S., and pretty much everything Moore did from there on out was divisive. Which would be fine in other settings, but on a show like The Simpsons, the aim should always be for funny, and Moore showing up just wasn't. It was simply "hey there's Michael Moore, he's that political documentary guy who chastised the president at an awards show, remember him?"
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
