Post by The Womb on Aug 24, 2014 15:56:52 GMT
Barney Gumble is often overlooked in the Simpsons as just a belching, drunk simpleton. Which admittedly he is the majority of the time. But I was thinking today in work about him and I started to wonder why Barney Gumble was the way he was. There's a episode of the Simpsons that shows Barney's first time drinking alcohol. Before he drank, he was a straight A student, really smart, and was very afraid of breaking the rules. This suggests to me that Barney has a high intellect, and perhaps a conservative christian family life, considering his hesitation to drink or get in trouble. (And he grew up in suburban, white christian America in the 60's and 70's) When he takes his first sip, that's it, Barney is gone and is replaced by another form of Barney not previously seen before, but turns out to be the Barney we all know from the show. That kind of behavior is consistent with a repressed childhood and perhaps even sheltered, that when released from it, people tend to go a little wild and are more prone to developing addictive dependencies.
Skip forward in time and we see Barney pretty much drunk all the time and saying stupid stuff all the time and is constantly written off by other people as a waste of life. Yet there are clear signs that this isn't the real Barney. Take for instance Barney's self made short movie that he made for the film festival. He shot a beautiful, articulate and artistic piece and contains within it one of the most poignant quotes in a cartoon ever recorded "Don't cry for me, I'm already dead." The reception is a stand in ovation, critical acclaim and Barney even wins the film festival. This suggests a deeper and impossibly creative side to Barney that isn't usually shown in the show. The list goes on, he's the star of the show in the barber quartet with the B Sharps. When discovered, Barney is found looking for change in the toilets singing "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen" why would he be singing that particular song, with those particular lyrics? When recruited by NASA, Barney outshines everybody and shows a hyper intelligence not witnessed before by Homer, who's known Barney his entire life.
My conclusion is that Barney is perhaps one of those rare geniuses that is so hyper intelligent, so hyper aware of the world around him, that he can't fail to see injustice, the futility of life and suffers from acute depression because of this. This drives him to drink himself into a stupor so deep, that he can actually bare to stay alive and not feel the pains of his depression. Barney is perhaps one of the most complex and amazing characters in the Simpsons, and is often overlooked because of his drunken stupidness. So, with all that said, here's to Barney Gumble, the greatest man in Springfield. I leave you with a link to the episode, a star is burns. Thank you .
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Skip forward in time and we see Barney pretty much drunk all the time and saying stupid stuff all the time and is constantly written off by other people as a waste of life. Yet there are clear signs that this isn't the real Barney. Take for instance Barney's self made short movie that he made for the film festival. He shot a beautiful, articulate and artistic piece and contains within it one of the most poignant quotes in a cartoon ever recorded "Don't cry for me, I'm already dead." The reception is a stand in ovation, critical acclaim and Barney even wins the film festival. This suggests a deeper and impossibly creative side to Barney that isn't usually shown in the show. The list goes on, he's the star of the show in the barber quartet with the B Sharps. When discovered, Barney is found looking for change in the toilets singing "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen" why would he be singing that particular song, with those particular lyrics? When recruited by NASA, Barney outshines everybody and shows a hyper intelligence not witnessed before by Homer, who's known Barney his entire life.
My conclusion is that Barney is perhaps one of those rare geniuses that is so hyper intelligent, so hyper aware of the world around him, that he can't fail to see injustice, the futility of life and suffers from acute depression because of this. This drives him to drink himself into a stupor so deep, that he can actually bare to stay alive and not feel the pains of his depression. Barney is perhaps one of the most complex and amazing characters in the Simpsons, and is often overlooked because of his drunken stupidness. So, with all that said, here's to Barney Gumble, the greatest man in Springfield. I leave you with a link to the episode, a star is burns. Thank you .
realvid.net/suh666rath8z
