Everything about Springfield The Simpsons totally explained
Springfield is the fictional city the
animated television
comedy The Simpsons takes place in. The geography of Springfield and its surroundings are flexible, changing to address whatever an episode’s plot calls for.
Springfield is Anywhere, USA. Nevertheless, fans have tried to determine a specific U.S. State for Springfield's location. The show has played upon this, intentionally eluding mention and identification of Springfield's state, such as in the episode "
Much Apu About Nothing" when, just as Lisa is about to point out Springfield's state on a U.S. map, Bart's head occupies the picture.
Creation
The name
Springfield for the town was chosen by the show's creator
Matt Groening because it's one of the most common place-names in the U.S.—more than half the states have a Springfield. The town was partly inspired by Melonville, the town in
Second City Television, which featured a large cast of recurring characters. Groening liked the idea of a town that was its own mini-universe and partially based
The Simpsons on it.
The uncertain location of Springfield is a
running gag in the series. There are 34 states in the
United States that have at least one community with that name. 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. There has been much speculation on the location of the state. Though the state in which Springfield appears is never actually stated, numerous episodes discuss other states, thereby implying that Springfield isn't located in them. A web page discussing Springfield's location states that, due to the many contradictory clues, it's impossible for Springfield to exist in any set location.
In
The Simpsons Movie, the idea that Springfield can't 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, while Kentucky and Ohio border each other with no state in between. 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. The town of
Springfield, Vermont was elected to host the movie's premiere. In response to this, Groening revealed that he'd always intended Springfield to represent
Springfield, Oregon, and his hometown of
Beaverton.
History
Colonial era
Springfield was founded in 1796 by
Maryland settlers trying to find a course to "New
Sodom" after misinterpreting a passage in the
Bible. In its early days, the city was the target of many
Native American raids, and to this day, many forts and trading posts remain, including Fort Springfield and Fort Sensible. It was also the site of
two battles during the
American Civil War. The first battle of Springfield was fought between the
North, the
South, and the East in an effort to keep Springfield out of, in, and next to the Union respectively.
The founder of Springfield was the pioneer
Jebediah Springfield, whose deeds are immortalized with a bronze statue that stands in the center of the city square in front of the Springfield Town Hall building. The town motto, "A Noble Spirit
Embiggens the Smallest Man", is attributed to Jebediah. Only Lisa, Homer, and the museum owner know that Jebediah was a fraud.
Present day events
The town's name was changed temporarily to "Liberty-Ville" after
Bart Simpson accidentally mooned the United States flag. As a result, Bart and his family appeared on a talk show where the host made it appear that the
Simpsons, and Springfield, hate America by twisting the words of Bart's mother,
Marge. When the rest of the U.S. reciprocated this affront, Mayor
Joe Quimby changed the name of Springfield to "Liberty-Ville". An enormous patriotic craze ensued, wherein all items were priced at $17.76, including pizza "By the Slice" and houses.
For a brief period, Springfield divided itself into two cities because of an
area code dispute.
Homer Simpson, upset that he'd to memorize a new area code, 939, while the rich side of town retained the familiar 636 area code, riled up the lower class citizens of Springfield to rebel and establish their side of Springfield as a separate town, to be called New Springfield. They erected a wall made of
refuse dividing the two area codes and elected Homer as their new mayor. Mayor
Joe Quimby maintained control of the rich side, which came to be called Olde Springfield. The two towns reunited when the band
The Who, while in Springfield for a concert, suggested speed dial to solve the town's problem and agreed to play if the wall was torn down, a reference to that of the
Berlin Wall.
The town also briefly declared martial law by the
U.S Army when Homer Simpson and a few other soldiers deserted the army.
In
The Simpsons Movie, the entire town was trapped inside a dome by Russ Cargill, head of the
EPA . During the time, the town was devastated and was plagued with frequent power outages (
Mr. Burns refused to give free power) and shortage of supplies. The town was repaired after the dome was destroyed.
Geography
Physical geography
Springfield's geography changes with the special needs of each episode. It has included forests, meadows, mountain ranges, a desert, a
gorge, beaches, canyons, swamps, waterholes and waterways. Springfield is sometimes shown located on the coast of a large body of water, although other episodes show skyline shots of the city with no signs of a coastline. Major named geographical features include Springfield Gorge, Springfield National Forest, Mt. Springfield, the Springfield Badlands (also known as the Alkali Flats), The Murderhorn (a play on
Matterhorn), Springfield Glacier, Springfield Mesa and Springfield National Park. Wildlife includes
grizzly bears in the Springfield Forest,
wolves, some of which prowl into the urban areas of Springfield,
vultures in the Alkali Flats, and
manatees south of Springfield in the coastal waters.
Cityscape
The city is divided into many neighborhoods, including: Bum Town, Chinatown, Crackton, East Springfield, Greek Town, Junkyville, Little Bangkok, Little Italy, Little Newark, Ethnictown, Lower Eastside, Pressboard Estates, Recluse Ranch Estates, Skid Row, Springfield Harbor, Springfield Heights, Springshire, Tibet Town, flammable district, Fast-Food District, a gay district, and a Russian district. There is also a housing project in Springfield called Lincoln Park Village.
Pollution
At one point,
Homer Simpson was elected Sanitation Commissioner. After Homer spent the entire yearly budget in his first month of office, he was forced to take in the garbage of other cities and then buried it in some old abandoned mines underneath the city in order to make enough money to pay the city's trash collectors. Eventually the mines that were storing the collected trash erupted and littered the entire city, prompting the entire city, population and structures, to literally move five miles (8 km) down the road to establish a “new” Springfield away from the massive dump that “old” Springfield had become.
Visitors to Springfield are advised to wear radiation suits and carry
Geiger counters, since the city is perhaps the most radioactive in the
United States. This is because the
Springfield Nuclear Power Plant was built during an incredibly lax period of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the plant's nuclear core was surrounded not by several layers of protective concrete, lead and graphite, but by ordinary plaster and a horseshoe hanging from a nail. Lake Springfield has also been a point of interest when it comes to pollution.
Springfield is home to the state's largest self-sustaining tire fire which has been burning continuously since 1966 or 1989.
Government and infrastructure
Elected officials
The current mayor of Springfield is
"Diamond Joe" Quimby (D), while their
representative in congress is
Krusty the Clown (R). Despite being a congressman, Krusty continues to host his eponymous children's television show on a daily basis, and in fact treats congressional duties as an afterthought to his entertainment career.
Mayor Joe Quimby is manifestly incompetent and immoral as well as being a conspicuously corrupt and fraudulent politician. Quimby is a sleazy
womanizer and has had multiple affairs on his wife. Quimby vacationed to
Jamaica during a flu
epidemic in Springfield and used the town treasury to fund the murder of his enemies and for his acquittal when he later confessed to the crime. The citizens of Springfield are normally accepting of this conduct, except on certain issues, such as when the citizens blamed Quimby for traffic jam caused by
Bart Simpson - the largest in the history of the town. “Diamond” Joe, as he's called, has been the mayor of Springfield since the beginning of
The Simpsons — so long that he’s gotten tired of having to be reelected — and has only during brief times not been mayor.
The
Springfield Police Department, led by Police Chief
Clancy Wiggum, is also corrupt and incompetent, although it manages to foil many crimes with the help of citizens.
Laws
Upon reading the town charter,
prohibition was discovered to have been a standing law that hadn't been enforced for 200 years ("Spirituous beverages are hereby prohibited in Springfield under penalty of catapult."). Following a brief period of enforcement, it was ended after further reading of the charter found that the law was repealed one year after its inception.
Gambling and
same-sex marriage are legal in Springfield.
Crime
Most of the organized crime in Springfield is run by mob boss
Fat Tony and his henchmen,
Louie,
Legs and
Johnny Tightlips. They have often paid off the civil servants of Springfield, such as when they bribed police officers
Eddie and Lou to smuggle alcohol into the city during the reinstating of prohibition and
gas chamber. Penitentiaries located in Springfield are
The Charles Montgomery Burns State Penitentiary, Springfield City Jail, Springfield Correctional Institute, Springfield Juvenile Correctional Facility, Springfield Juvenile Hall, Springfield Penitentiary, Springfield Prison, Springwood Minimum Security Prison, Springfield State Penitentiary, Springfield State Prison, Springfield Women's Prison and the re-opened (after being condemned for 30 years) Morningwood Penitentiary (despite it being completely run-down).
People and culture
Arts and entertainment
Springfield boasts an opera house, an outdoor
amphitheater, an
arboretum, a vibrant
jazz scene and was previously regarded as the entertainment capital of its state. There is also an unusually high number of museums, including Springfield Museum (which features the world's largest
cubic zirconium), Springfield Knowledgeum, Springfield Museum of Natural History, The Museum of Swordfish, Springsonian Museum, and a
stamp museum. It was also once home to a concert hall designed by Frank Gehry which promptly became a prison.
Media
Sports
Baseball
The town is home to the Springfield Isotopes, an
AA minor league baseball team. Home games are played at
Duff Stadium. The Springfield Isotopes were the inspiration for the new name of the
Florida Marlins' AAA affiliate, the
Albuquerque Isotopes, when they relocated to
Albuquerque, New Mexico from
Calgary. The plot of the "
Hungry, Hungry Homer" episode revolves around
Homer Simpson's attempts to thwart a planned move by the team to
Albuquerque. Isotope Player Buck Mitchell's wife has stripped for the crowd trying to promote her new CD during a game.
Other sports
Springfield has a basketball and hockey arena, which is home to the Springfield Ice-O-Topes hockey team. The town may also have a
WNBA franchise which also plays at the facility. Springfield also has a large soccer field. At one time, the Portuguese and Mexican soccer teams played a match in that arena. Other sports venues in Springfield include the Springfield Speedway (an
oval track where
stock car races are held), Springfield Downs (a horse racing track), and a dog track. There is also the Association of Springfield Semi-Pro Boxers. Springfield also had an NFL team, the Meltdowns, designed by Homer.
Rivalry with Shelbyville
There is a strong rivalry between Springfield and its closest neighboring town,
Shelbyville, starting with the rivalry that existed between
Jebediah Springfield and Shelbyville Manhattan, the founder of Shelbyville. Manhattan wanted to found a city where men were free to marry their cousins, but Springfield refused to allow it. This caused Manhattan to break away with his supporters and found the town of Shelbyville. The rivalry extends to the present day through
American football and even a Lemon tree near the two towns' borders. Plays have been written which depict the rivalry of the two cities; in this case Springfield was on the receiving end of some rather obnoxious 'hooting'.
Mob mentality
The people of Springfield suffer from often severe cases of unrelenting mob mentality. The mobs are primarily violent in nature, often caused by boring sports events, decapitated statues, even single statements and accusations that are greatly misinterpreted. These mobs most often result in rampant destruction property, fires, robberies, fist-fights, batteries, and even murders.
These mobs aren't always completely violent, however; they can often branch off into non-violent, even beneficial activities. For instance, when the townspeople decided to vent their anger upon a relatively innocent Bart, after seeing him slowly getting away in a parade float car with his father, the mob decides to go to the old mill, although it was clear that wasn't Bart's destination, merely for cider. In another case, a classic mob appeared to reclaim Monty Burns' old teddy bear from Maggie, only to have their hearts swayed by her saddened face, after which they all decide to sing at the hospital.
Sister Cities
Kabul,
Afghanistan was the only known
sister city to Springfield, however it was, they sent a letter to Springfield stating how they no longer want to be Springfield's sister city. After Mayor Quimby read the letter to the public, an Afghanistani man is then seen ripping a flag to shreds exclaiming that "I have no sister city!".
Further Information
Get more info on 'Springfield The Simpsons'.
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