Humongous Homer

“Donuts.  Is there anything they can’t do?” –Homer Simpson

Most of you who are reading this blog about fat people in American Humor realized that it was only a matter of time before I brought up Homer Simpson.  In many ways, the inherent humor of the blubbery bunch is epitomized in the character of Homer, who represents the stereotypical beer-bellied suburban dad in America.  Homer Simpson utilized his aura of loveable chubbiness to reach new heights in American humor.  In fact, quite a large percent of the jokes and humor in The Simpsons is based off Homer’s tastes for large quantities of fatty foods.  Specifically, donuts are a recurring theme in the show, as was shown by Homer’s profound insight stated above. 

One episode that particularly comes to mind that exemplifies the focus on fattiness in The Simpsons is “King-sized Homer.”  In this episode, Homer learns that if he gains 61 pounds, he will be classified by the government as “obese” and will be able to get disability benefits.  Despite warnings from the female members of the Simpson family that this might be unhealthy, Homer quickly embarks upon his quest to gain weight with the help of his son Bart.  After consuming mountains of highly caloric foods along with a donut that Bart makes out of play-doh, Homer achieves his goal by gaining 61 pounds in one week.  

Once Homer is obese, his overweight character and appearance become more extreme.  Homer starts to wear a muu-muu because he is too big for normal clothes, and he is not allowed into a movie theatre because of he is too large for the seats.  His wife Marge gets angry at him for being fat and lazy, and Homer shirks his duties as a safety inspector for the nuclear power plant to cause a nuclear malfunction.  Luckily, Homer is able to save the day by stopping the explosion with his large girth, and he becomes a town hero for stopping the next Chernobyl.  The episode ends when Homer gets a liposuction to become thin again as his reward for saving the town.  

The “King-Size Homer” episode reflects the mixed feelings that we have toward obese people in American society.  While “King-size Homer” acts gluttonous and lazy throughout the episode, we still sympathize with Homer because he is the underdog who faces adversity and gets made fun of for being obese.  One scene in particular when we cheer for “King-size Homer” as the underdog occurs when the nuclear power plant is about to explode.  Since Homer is too large to drive a normal car or use a skateboard, he hijacks an ice cream truck and races it to get to the exploding nuclear power plant.  In many ways, the ice cream truck acts as Homer’s “superhero” vehicle, similar to the “Batmobile” in Batman.  Overall, Homer Simpson uses his large size in this episode to create this image of a hilarious obese superhero that we can laugh at and root for simultaneously.