7. One answer is that the cultural elitist should simply turn his nose at the masses & become snob: the route of Mencken, Vidal, etc.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
8. The nobility of Sideshow Bob is he doesn't take the easy (and lazy) path of snobbery but sees it as his mission to uplift the masses.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
9. For the elitist to uplift the masses means entering into a complex love/hate relationship with them: which is what Bob has with Bart.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
10. Sideshow Bob wants to destroy Bart but also edify him: "to send Bart to heaven before he sent him to hell."
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Replying to @HeerJeet
11. The love/hate feelings Sideshow Bob has for Bart are surely shared on some level by the show's writers: Bart is their paycheck & a pain
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Replying to @HeerJeet
12. Sideshow Bob embodies something rarely celebrated in our culture: the creative power of negativity: scorn as life-affirmation.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
13. Stephen Marche interestingly noted that Sideshow Bob is a rare character in show who points to values outside Springfieldian mainstream.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
14. Sideshow Bob recommends "the Springfield Review of Books. Just look at these amusing pictures of Susan Sontag and Gore Vidal."
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Replying to @HeerJeet
15. The other character who points outside of Springfieldian values is Lisa: not so much as she is as a girl but as she will be as a woman.
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Replying to @HeerJeet
16. Lisa of course is more complex character. We can imagine her growing out of Springfield, seeing its flaws, but flinching from hating it.
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17. In conclusion: Sideshow Bob is great character because he speaks to way Simpsons as a show is reflectively aware of its place in culture
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Replying to @HeerJeet
18. Sorry: one last point raised by
@MessEnScene Sideshow Bob's reactionary politics make him foil to Lisa's liberalism.1 reply 0 retweets 6 likes -
Replying to @HeerJeet
@HeerJeet Now see, I'd love to see an essay from you on JUST this point.@MessEnScene0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
End of conversation
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