Why do we love the Simpsons? It's a fair question to ask. They seem to be composed of a boorish lout, an extremely ill-behaved boy, a know-it-all, and a hyperbolic exaggeration of a nagging wife. There's seemingly not much to love.
Some of it surely has to do with the fact that they are (or rather, were) extremely funny. For a period in the 90's, no television show outside of Seinfeld had writing as good as The Simpsons. Their longevity must have something to do with it. As one of the longest running television shows of all time, even though they've overstayed their welcome, they've grown on us. But that can't be all. There must be some reason why episodes we've seen literally hundreds of times before still leave us with a lump in our throats. So what is that reason?
Simply put, They are Us and We are They. The reason the one-sided, sometimes downright abusive relationship between Homer and Marge still appeals to us is because in it, we see our ideal relationship. They are quite evidently soulmates, a perfect example of opposites attracting. They are what we strive for in our romantic relationships. In Bart, we see the little child we all wish we could have been to some extent. To him, every day is a vacation. Seeing him, constantly carefree, we're reminded of the summers we had as children, back when summers off were still a thing. And in Lisa, we have the embodiment of our conscience. She may be self righteous and a little off putting, but beneath it all, she's striving to do the right thing. We connect with that.
Even underneath that there is a more basic reason for why we love The Simpsons. They're a family, and they love each other, however much they may fight. What's not to like?
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