In her analysis of TV phenomena in the post-network era, Amanda Lotz (2014) has drawn on Newcomb and Hirsch's concept (1983) of the “cultural forum,” according to which a television text raises a range of questions, contradictions, conflicts, and ideas that coexist and compete with each other within liberal societies. Popular TV comedies of the broadcast era succeeded in drawing a heterogeneous audience by operating as such a cultural forum. Lotz gives the example of All in the Family, which alternatively challenged and reinforced different worldviews through the show’s antagonism between the characters Archie and Meathead (p. 44). In the post-network era, ushered in by the arrival of MTV as well as Fox's “edgy” shows, television began to work increasingly in terms of what Lotz dubs a “subcultural forum,” as a discourse “among more narrow groups that share particular cultural affinities or tastes.” Networks like MTV and Fox, and shows like Married… with Children and The Simpsons thus provided “the lingua franca for adolescents and operat[ed] as ‘must-see TV’ in order for teens to achieve cultural competence” (ibid., pp. 47–48).

In the previous chapter, I have discussed the extent to which The Simpsons reflected Gen Xers’ meta-television culture as one element for the series’ success. This chapter sheds light on the ways the show succeeded as a “subcultural forum” and “must-see TV” for a significantly hybrid audience in the early 1990s. For this purpose, I will analyze stylistic characteristics of The Simpsons, such as its fast-paced, strident aesthetic and the role of soundtrack.