Echoes of Springfield: The Simpsons in Remix Culture

This chapter analyzes the extent to which the series has become reworked and repurposed in the realm of contemporary remix culture. Most notably, the series’ semiosis has resonated not only with an avid fan community but with participatory culture at large. In particular, “Simpsonizing”—the art of translating people’s physiognomies into Simpsons characteristics—has popularized a form of caricature and comedic representation. Besides examining Simpsons-related fan productions exhibiting nostalgic sentiments, this chapter looks into revitalizations of the show’s characters and video remixes of The Simpsons’ intro sequence. Finally, I focus on Simpsons imagery used in political contexts in Germany to provide a more profound exploration of The Simpsons’ semiosis used in participatory culture’s civic imagination.