The Simpsons Stamps Mark The Change Of America’s Favorite Family From Rebels To “American Legacy”

The Simpsons is being immortalized in a series of US Postal Service stamps unveiled today, but remember when the show was banned in schools and people were all like “it’s corroding our nation’s moral fiber!” ?

When The Simpsons first aired in 1989, (after a long struggle to find a network that would even take it), critics compared it to its raunchy FOX predecessor Married With Children, a show featuring a dirty old man, his horny wife and their dysfunctional kids. (That The Simpsons came on right after it didn’t help.) Many adults considered The Simpsons to be equally disturbing, cynical and encouraging of bad behavior. It was even banned entirely in Russia and Venezuela. So how does a show go from that kind of reception to being hailed as “an American legacy,” twenty years later?

Bart Simpson’s anti-authoritarian ways were condemned as a bad example most famously by George H.W. Bush who implied he considered them the anti-role model for an American family, but in a presidential era when “anti-authoritarian” can be interpreted as a willingness to embrace change, the creators of The Simpsons are now being cast as the original “mavericks” of popular TV.  Not that they are taking it that seriously, as evidenced by executive Simpsons producer James Brooks’ comment that, “We are emotionally moved by the Post Office Department’s selecting us rather than making the lazy choice of someone who has benefited society.”

He can play humble all he wants, but The Simpsons, in many ways, defined a generation of kids. The show’s creator Matt Groening elaborates on why anti-authoritarianism is at the core of the show,

“It’s not so much trying to change the minds of people who are already set in their ways [meaning adults], it’s to point out to children that a lot of rules that they’re told [are] by authorities who do not have their best interests at heart. If we can point out that teachers, political leaders, your parents, or your peers may be foolish, that’s a good lesson. Think for yourself.”

And now you can go out and, for just 44 cents, lick Marge Simpson to your heart’s content. Truly, a defining moment for our nation.

Check out the Simpsons’ historic journey from rebels to establishment.

Simpsons postage stamps ready [Reuters]