Springfield's state

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Springfield's state
Image:Springfield's state's flag.jpg
Springfield's state's flag, as seen in "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade".
Capital Capital City
Motto "To Fraternal Love",[1]
"Not Just Another State"[2]
Governor Mary Bailey (D)[3]
Known Congressional Representatives Rich Texan (R) (Senator), Krusty the Clown (R) (Congressman)
Area Unknown
USPS NT, TA, USA
State Bird Potbellied sparrow
State Pasta Bow tie

Springfield's state is the state in which the fictional American City of Springfield in the TV show The Simpsons is located. The state capital is Capital City. The exact identity of the state is a common source of speculation and a recurring joke in the show and has been referred to in many episodes.

Contents

[edit] History

The town of Springfield was founded by Jebediah Springfield, and was believed to be the location of New Sodom, due to misinterpreting a passage in the Bible. However, settlers heading for the New Sodom instead founded Springfield,[4] built on Puritan values, and Shelbyville, built on marriage between cousins.[5]

[edit] Locations

The state has a Springfield County in which the city of Springfield is located. There is also a Swartzwelder County, named after Simpsons writer John Swartzwelder, which borders Springfield County.[6] There is also the very rural Spittle County (mentioned in several episodes), which claims to be the birthplace of the loogie. Other cities in the state include Shelbyville, chief rival of Springfield; Cypress Creek, founded by the Globex Corporation; and Capital City. Catfish Lake is known for its fishing and marriage retreats. There is also the unpopular community of Stenchburg. There are also the towns with the scary names of Terror Lake, Cape Fear, New Horrorfield, Bloodbath Gulch, and Screamville, and towns with the chaste names of Frigid Falls, Mount Seldom and Lake Flaccid. Guidopolis in which Homer became a Towtruck driver. There are also the towns of Brockway, Ogdenville and North Haverbrook made famous in the episode "Marge vs. the Monorail," Springfield's Pee-Wee Football team defeated "Victory City" in Bart Star, although that does not necessarily mean it is within Springfield's state.

[edit] Economy

The state is made up of mainly agricultural land, with occasional large cities such as Capital City and small and medium-sized towns such as Springfield. The farms mainly grow corn, livestock, dairy, fruit, cotton, tobacco, tomacco and for a time hemp, while within the cities, the main industries are brewing by the Duff and Fudd beer corporations, coal mining, casinos, manufacture of boxes, pillows, food (including crackers), copper, iron, steel, industrial equipment, dangerous chemicals and retail. This balance means that most of the population works in low paid jobs, mostly blue collar.

Despite this, several wealthy citizens exist, most famously Charles Montgomery Burns (a utilities magnate), Aristotle Amadopoulos (another utilities magnate), Rich Texan (a business owner), Hank Scorpio (a crime lord who would later seize the Eastern Seaboard) and Artie Ziff (an entrepreneur).

The state features at least three international airports: Springfield International, Shelbyville International and Capital City International. Springfield also has a nuclear power plant, a naval base, an army base and an air force base, providing jobs.

The state includes both areas of high wealth (the former Old Springfield, the center of Capital City), and slum areas (Capital City outskirts, New Springfield). Because of this, the state becomes very polarized, with constant feuds between upper and lower class citizens over issues as petty as telephone area codes.

[edit] Geography

The state is heavily polluted due to years of lax controls, corrupt government, greedy business and Mafia influence. Toxic waste is crammed into every crack, and Lake Springfield contains mutated three-eyed fish. Despite this, the state has a wide array of wildlife, including grizzly bears, bald eagles, and manatees.

The terrain of the state is varied; it is a coastal state with desert and badlands, mountain ranges almost as high as Mount Everest, lush forest, valleys, plains and huge areas of farmland.

The state is a northern state that was on the Union side during the Civil War - the fact that the state flag has a Confederate flag on it makes it all the more embarrassing for the state's population.

[edit] Politics

Mary Bailey, a Democrat, is the Governor and was first seen in "Two Cars In Every Garage, Three Eyes On Every Fish", although at least two of the state's congressional representatives (Rich Texan and Krusty the Clown) are Republican. There is also a radio show host named Birch Barlow who is a right-winger. Additionally, Springfield's state is seen in the season three episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" to have a corrupt Congressman named Bob Arnold, whom Lisa overhears taking a bribe for the rights to demolish Springfield Forest.

[edit] Education

The state follows a standard education system, with elementary schools, junior high schools and high schools. However, the state has a very low education budget; schools can only afford to buy books other schools have banned, they are forced to cancel all artistic and physical education, and must rent out classrooms as prison cells to make ends meet. The most extreme example of this is Springfield Elementary School, which was moved from Missouri brick by brick after reaching bottom of the state league table. The state is also home to Springfield University, Springfield A&M (which was founded by a cow), and the unfortunately-acronymed Springfield Heights Institute of Technology.

[edit] Real-life location

The uncertain location of Springfield is a recurring joke in the series. Springfield is meant to represent "anytown, USA" and not be a specific real city,[7] although the producers have admitted to basing the town on various locations.[8] The name was chosen because it is a common town name in the United States;[9] there are 35 states in the United States that have at least one community with that name.[10] Despite this, many fans still believe that Springfield is located in a real state and try to follow the clues. The search for its location has been described as a "riddle wrapped in an enigma that is Springfield's location". Common fan speculation is that it is in the states of Connecticut, New York, Missouri, Oregon or Illinois.[11] Although a web page discussing Springfield's location states that, due to the many contradictory clues, it is impossible for Springfield to exist in any set location.[12]

Episodes frequently make fun of the fact that Springfield's state has never been revealed, by adding further conflicting descriptions, obscuring onscreen map representations, and interrupting conversational references. In the episode "Blame It on Lisa", when asked about Springfield's location, Lisa replies, "it's a bit of a mystery, yes. But if you look at the clues, you can figure it out."[13] David Silverman, a director for the Simpsons, has claimed that Springfield is in the fictional state of "North Takoma".[14][15] This is substantiated by the state abbreviations NT and TA used within the show.[15][16] However, this has never been officially confirmed in any canonical episode of The Simpsons or by other Simpsons producers. Homer's driver license displays the state as NT and the ZIP code as 49007,[17] which is Kalamazoo, Michigan.[18], although the area codes for Springfield have also been stated as 636 (East-Central Missouri) and 939 (Puerto Rico).

In The Simpsons Movie, the idea that the state cannot exist for real is further emphasized when Ned Flanders identifies the four bordering states as Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky, most of which are vastly separated from each other.[19] To promote the movie, various towns and cities across the United States called Springfield competed to hold the premiere of the movie in their town. Springfields from many different states entered the competition.[20] The town of Springfield, Vermont, was elected to host the movie's premiere.[21][22]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Simpsons "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade" - November 17, 2002
  2. ^ (2002). The Simpsons The Complete Second Season "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  3. ^ "Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish". The Simpsons.
  4. ^ "Lisa the Iconoclast". The Simpsons. 1996-02-18. No. 16, season 7. 0 minutes in.
  5. ^ "Lemon of Troy". The Simpsons. 1995-05-14. No. 24, season 6. 5 minutes in.
  6. ^ "Dog of Death". The Simpsons. 1992-03-12. No. 19, season 3. 16 minutes in.
  7. ^ Turner, Chris. Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, 30. ISBN 0-679-31318-4. 
  8. ^ Kalkstein, Meghan (2007-07-27). Groening: Springfield is the real deal!. KVAL. CBS. Retrieved on 2007-11-19.
  9. ^ Simpsons launch hits Springfield. BBC News (2007-07-21). Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  10. ^ Basile, Nancy. Where Is Springfield on "The Simpsons?" (html). About.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  11. ^ Stewart, D.L. (2007-06-12). Maybe this Springfield is just a state of mind. Dayton Daily News. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
  12. ^ Hughes, Sam. Where Is The Simpsons' Springfield? (html). Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  13. ^ McCann, Jesse L.; Matt Groening (2005). The Simpsons One Step Beyond Forever!: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family ...Continued Yet Again. HarperCollins, pp. 42-43. ISBN 0-06-081754-2. 
  14. ^ Laura Lee Davies. "Bill Oakley & David Silverman", Time Out, 1996-09-25. Retrieved on 2008-04-28. 
  15. ^ a b Silverman, David. (2003). The Simpsons The Complete Third Season DVD commentary for the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.
  16. ^ "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington". Meyer, George; Archer, Wes. The Simpsons. Fox. 1991-09-26. No. 02, season 03.
  17. ^ "Duffless". Stern, David M.; Reardon, Jim. The Simpsons. Fox. 1993-02-18. No. 16, season 04.
  18. ^ Kalamazoo Zip Code
  19. ^ Richmond, Ray (2007-05-11). Springfield of dreams (html). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  20. ^ Associated Press (2007-06-08). Springfield hopes to host 'Simpsons' premiere (html). Lansing State Journal. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
  21. ^ Cindy, Clark. "'The Simpsons Movie' Hometown Premiere Contest", USA Today, 2007-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-10. 
  22. ^ McGourty, Carry; Jared Weiner. "Peace, Granola and Now 'The Simpsons'", ABC News, 2007-07-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-10. 
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