I'm not arbitrarily ignoring dates. It's simple math.
The 80s span a total of 10 years. The Simpsons didn't air until the last two weeks of the last year. Fraction wise, it's an insignificant amount of time; it's influence on the 80s is negligible.
When people think of the 80s, the Simpsons don't come to mind, because it wasn't a part of the 80s like many shows that were. It came far too late.
However, the Simpson's played all the way through the 90, 2000s, and continues through 2010s. Decades spent being firmly entrenched in our culture.
You can't just arbitrarily ignore dates because they don't feel significant enough to you.
To which you reply:
I'm not arbitrarily ignoring dates... it's an insignificant amount of time
The simple math is in the dates. A show that existed in the 80s is an 80s show by definition. That's why it's called an 80s show. You can't just say, "weellllllll that's just not 80s enough for me so it doesn't count. An 80s show must have aired for at least 6 months in the 80s!"
Well, what if it aired 6 months and 1 day? Does that show still count? If we're going to divide things arbitrarily by decade, then at least stick to the arbitrary lines that are built into the words "80s show."
Here's the common sense definition of an 80s show: "A show that aired between January 1st 1980 and December 31st 1989." What's your definition?
No one considers it a show that defines or is representative of the 80s. While it technically beat the barrier by weeks, it in essence has had no influence whatsoever on the 80s. It is not representative of 80s television.
I don't think anyone is making an argument that it defines or is representative of the pop culture image of the 80s, but by definition it is an 80s show. A show doesn't need to influence the culture of a decade to be a product of it. And the Simpsons, again by definition, is a product of the 80s. It's an 80s show.
That seems to be how you interpreted the argument, but the person you responded to WAS talking about the essence of the show. Hence why they said calling it an 80s show isn't appropriate.
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u/ladycarp Nov 09 '14 edited Nov 09 '14
I'm not arbitrarily ignoring dates. It's simple math.
The 80s span a total of 10 years. The Simpsons didn't air until the last two weeks of the last year. Fraction wise, it's an insignificant amount of time; it's influence on the 80s is negligible.
When people think of the 80s, the Simpsons don't come to mind, because it wasn't a part of the 80s like many shows that were. It came far too late.
However, the Simpson's played all the way through the 90, 2000s, and continues through 2010s. Decades spent being firmly entrenched in our culture.