Why Simpsons fan art is so funny, so touching

The Simpsons has inspired a huge fandom to respond creatively to their every meme. But as fans work with the same content over, and over, they also create something radically new.

The old adage goes, “there’s a Simpsons quote for every situation”. A correlating frustration is felt by modern-day television creators, as encapsulated by an episode of South Park “Simpsons already did it”. Every conceivable plot line, complication, or bizarre happenstance has probably been featured on The Simpsons at some stage. The show has had many opportunities to use every idea: 671 episodes have aired over thirty-one seasons (not counting their two-year stint on the Tracy Ullman Show as animated shorts).

So much material has been covered in that time. In one episode, Homer becomes an astronaut, put on a mission with Buzz Aldrin in order to see if ants can be trained to sort tiny screws in space. In another, Mr Burns attempts to block the sun from ever hitting the town of Springfield in order to raise electricity prices and ends up being shot by a baby. There are episodes where Lisa breaks the laws of thermodynamics, Homer goes on a psychedelic journey led by a coyote with the voice of Johnny Cash, Homer is saved from agitated reindeer by an…