Semiotic and comparative analysis of Worker and Parasite (The Simpsons)
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Abstract
Worker and Parasite is an animated scene of less than twenty seconds in length from the episode Krusty Gets Kancelled of The Simpsons (4th season / year 1993) that parodies the avant-garde cartoons of 20th century Eastern Europe, as well as being a contemporary critique of American capitalism towards the defeated communist model of the late 1990s. By means of semiotics, the aim is to analyse and compare all the information that this popular "sketch" promotes to the audience by means of the introduction to the cartoon, the five scenes that make it up and the outcome of its broadcast during the episode. The results indicate that Worker and Parasite can be fully identified with the so-called experimental animation, its great contrast with commercial animation being the key to the success of this iconic animated scene, although the scene would only reflect a preconceived idea that the American people have of Eastern European animation and not its enormous value. This stereotype would also spread to Spain due to the popularity of the tv series.
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