The Simpsons is known for being the longest running show on TV, which may baffle many of its viewers (myself included.) But once you approach the simple cartoon after reading Mittell's assessment, it becomes apparent why it has managed to survive so long. The Simpsons is more than just a cartoon. Unlike its predecessors The Simpsons manages to combine two genres in one- the family-style sitcom and the very pliable cartoon. Before this, cartoons such as the Donald Duck video we watched in class used the cartoon style to create episodes about violence and physical humor that would otherwise be unable to be depicted without the characters facing serious injuries. Changes to set, and appearance of characters are relatively easy to do in a cartoon as opposed to a sitcom with real, human actors and sets that had to be manually adapted. In this aspect, The Simpsons has a lot of freedom in regards to the way they could design the lifestyle of their characters.
The Simpsons also reflected many of the sitcoms that were on TV at the time of its origin. The Simpsons portrays an animated family of Marge, Homer, Bart, and Maggie, who face typical family issues (bad grades, making money, marriage) except in the exaggerated animated fashion. The siblings dont get along, the father is the typical "dumb dad" that was a common stereotype of family sitcom shows of the time. There always seems to be some kind of moral lesson learned during the episode that emphasizes the importance of family.
The reason they have stuck around so long is because of their ability to adapt to today's media. Every episode it seems that there is a reference to today's pop-culture.