Two Sundays ago, The Simpsons aired an episode entitled The Book Job. I don't watch The Simpsons, but I watched this particular episode because one of my favorite authors, Neil Gaiman, was guest-starring (or do you say voice-starring? Anyway.) and that made me curious. What followed was a well-observed, sharp, and poignantly hilarious look at the state of Young Adult novels, the tweens who fuel their popularity, the publishers who package them, and the authors who despairingly write them.
The episode kicks off with Lisa Simpson finding that the author of her favorite fantasy series is actually just a frontwoman for the publishing company that churns out the formulaic YA novels and markets them for huge profit. As Lisa mourns the discovery of this publishing corruption, her father Homer immediately sees an opportunity to make millions. Enlisting the help of Bart and trusty mercenary friends, they form a writing group to come up with a generic fantasy novel that will appeal to the adolescent masses. The show goes through every step of the writing and marketing, deftly poking fun at the entire process. While her father and brother have decided to take the low road, Lisa avows to predictably take the high road and fulfill her ambition of being a novelist. She is the one who will break the mold and write a bestseller all by herself. Brimming with good intentions, she sets out on her task, only to find procrastination and writer's block at every turn. Typing "Chapter 1" on the first day, she is quickly distracted by the fact that she needs music to write to, which leads to the need to first organize all her CDs in a logical system. Then she decides she needs a change of scenery, so she heads to the coffee shop, where she feels guilty about using their free Wi-fi without a purchase so ends up swilling coffee and getting nothing done in a brand new location. Ultimately, while Homer and his team complete their novel about high-school trolls (because the market is so saturated with vampires these days), Lisa is frustrated to find that all she has is "Chapter 1."
The plot takes a nice twist when Homer's gang discover that the publishers have completely re-written their novel to make it about vampires instead of trolls, since that appeals more to their demographic. What started out as a quick get-rich scheme has surprisingly turned into a collaborative labor of love, and the episode morphs into an Ocean's Eleven-style heist as the gang tries to rescue their book and preserve their (admittedly dubious) artistic dignity. Oh, and lest I forget, there's Neil Gaiman, who offers to help Homer with his book, but is relegated to being in charge of the catering. He has an evil genius twist at the end, slyly suggesting that his many bestsellers might be a product of publishing corruption as well.
This is an episode that got me interested in The Simpsons, and if you don't watch the show either, I suggest you give it a shot now. The episode will be up for a short time on Hulu (again non-US readers, I'm sure you'll find an ingenious alternative) and it is simply a wonderful 22-minute piece of comedy to enliven your day. Whether you are a longtime Simpsons fan or a complete novice, there's something in this episode for everybody. Especially if all you want to watch is a not so subtle indictment of the Twilight franchise in particular or the prevalence of vampires in general.
The episode kicks off with Lisa Simpson finding that the author of her favorite fantasy series is actually just a frontwoman for the publishing company that churns out the formulaic YA novels and markets them for huge profit. As Lisa mourns the discovery of this publishing corruption, her father Homer immediately sees an opportunity to make millions. Enlisting the help of Bart and trusty mercenary friends, they form a writing group to come up with a generic fantasy novel that will appeal to the adolescent masses. The show goes through every step of the writing and marketing, deftly poking fun at the entire process. While her father and brother have decided to take the low road, Lisa avows to predictably take the high road and fulfill her ambition of being a novelist. She is the one who will break the mold and write a bestseller all by herself. Brimming with good intentions, she sets out on her task, only to find procrastination and writer's block at every turn. Typing "Chapter 1" on the first day, she is quickly distracted by the fact that she needs music to write to, which leads to the need to first organize all her CDs in a logical system. Then she decides she needs a change of scenery, so she heads to the coffee shop, where she feels guilty about using their free Wi-fi without a purchase so ends up swilling coffee and getting nothing done in a brand new location. Ultimately, while Homer and his team complete their novel about high-school trolls (because the market is so saturated with vampires these days), Lisa is frustrated to find that all she has is "Chapter 1."
The plot takes a nice twist when Homer's gang discover that the publishers have completely re-written their novel to make it about vampires instead of trolls, since that appeals more to their demographic. What started out as a quick get-rich scheme has surprisingly turned into a collaborative labor of love, and the episode morphs into an Ocean's Eleven-style heist as the gang tries to rescue their book and preserve their (admittedly dubious) artistic dignity. Oh, and lest I forget, there's Neil Gaiman, who offers to help Homer with his book, but is relegated to being in charge of the catering. He has an evil genius twist at the end, slyly suggesting that his many bestsellers might be a product of publishing corruption as well.
This is an episode that got me interested in The Simpsons, and if you don't watch the show either, I suggest you give it a shot now. The episode will be up for a short time on Hulu (again non-US readers, I'm sure you'll find an ingenious alternative) and it is simply a wonderful 22-minute piece of comedy to enliven your day. Whether you are a longtime Simpsons fan or a complete novice, there's something in this episode for everybody. Especially if all you want to watch is a not so subtle indictment of the Twilight franchise in particular or the prevalence of vampires in general.
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