Here's just another example of how Americans suck at world history. An episode of The Simpsons has upset some folks in Argentina because it takes a shot at beloved former president Juan Peron. The episode already aired in the U.S. (number 10 this season) and is about to air in Argentina.All the fuss is over one tiny, little scene where Carl tells Homer that Peron was a military dictator and, "When he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared." The statement is just a set-up for a joke from Lenny, who says, "Of course, his wife was Madonna." Referring to Madonna's role as Eva Peron in Evita.
Here's the problem: Peron wasn't a brutal dictator. It was the regime after Peron that was blamed for the disappearance of 30,000 Argentinians.
It's not clear what, if any action, will be taken by the network that airs The Simpsons in Argentina. It is a little embarrassing for The Simpsons, which has very high ratings in Argentina. Still, it probably won't lead to anyone burning an effigy of Homer in the streets.
Should the episode be censored or changed for Argentina? It is wrong after all...Here's the clip at the heart of the controversy:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-15-2008 @ 2:33PM
Ryan said...
Uh....when did the Simpsons portray perfectly correct world history?
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4-15-2008 @ 2:35PM
Boomstick said...
Apparently Argentinians have no sense of humor. Which makes the high ratings of a show like The Simpsons ironic.
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4-15-2008 @ 2:49PM
Cincinnati Mike said...
"Peron wasn't a brutal dictator."
Maybe not. All those Nazis he protected after the war certainly had nothing to complain about.
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4-15-2008 @ 2:53PM
Fred Mertz said...
But Carl is a moron.
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4-15-2008 @ 4:15PM
Hank said...
it's an easy editing fix. replace "When he disappeared you, you stayed disappeared." with "When he hid a Nazi they stayed hid". they can argue with that.
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4-15-2008 @ 4:24PM
Curt said...
Excuse me for living, but if he wasn't a military dictator, he was a militaristic demagogue. He used military power to pursue his political objectives (he was a military officer) and he was an active collaborator with Nazi escapees whom he welcomed to Argentina like rural counties welcome representatives of microchip factories. The Simpsons were not far off.
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4-15-2008 @ 4:35PM
Bash said...
You know, as a german, I don't bitch about the Simpsons and everyone else portraying us as lederhosen wearing nazis.
We don't wear lederhosen.
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4-15-2008 @ 8:04PM
h0mi said...
Or eating lots of chocolate.
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4-15-2008 @ 8:08PM
eugene said...
Hmmm... somebody point me to the part in the Simpsons clip where they say Peron was a brutal military dictator who killed thousads, I couldn't spot it. All I heard was that he was a military dictator and hey, look at that, he WAS A MILITARY DICTATOR. Maybe he was benevolent one, as far as military dictators go, but he still took part in a military coup and led the country before he was eventually elected as president.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:32PM
Salem said...
Here in Argentina, Perón is a man loved by ones and hated by others. The joke about him may be wrong, but nobody really cares...
The point is, we don't joke about the dissapeared ones... Is a wound "too fresh" for my people to joke about.
Our 30.000 dissapeared back in the late 70's and early 80's by military dictators are still "sacred"...
For us, this "dissapeared ones" issue is still kinda like... I dunno... The Holocaust for Jewish people back in the 50s. You just don't joke about it.
I know The Simpsons always was an "edgy" show with little to no respect for anything, but I can understand why some people (specially people older than me, who were teenargers or adults during this era) is pissed off.
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4-15-2008 @ 9:33PM
Cincinnati Mike said...
Now THAT is perspective. Thanks, Salem.
4-17-2008 @ 12:18AM
ryanknapper said...
So the country who provided sanctuary to Nazi war criminals is upset about *this* aspect of their history being misquoted?
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4-18-2008 @ 9:20AM
ariel said...
ryanknapper:
The Government provided sanctuary to nazis, not the country, the country provided sactuary to all the ppl in Europe who was dying of hunger by the war, they come here and prospered, they are our grandparents. Your comment its really stupid, its like telling USA ppl that don´t be upset and sad about 7/11 because they deserve it, which
they did, but it´s a tragedy. Same here
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4-21-2008 @ 11:53PM
sitruc said...
People in the US don't deserve 7-11 and those grey hotdogs that have been there for 20+ years.