I took this photo outside a Burbank convenience store. If you look closely you can see a line of people in the dark; they’re at one of those Kwik-E-Mart’s you’ve heard so much about. We’re all waiting for our turn to buy snacks and very sweet pink donuts at a Simpson’s-themed 7-11.
On the one hand, this is effective, headline-grabbing marketing strategy. On the other, it’s a joyous making-real of a very unreal fiction. The cartoon world of The Simpsons is entirely synthetic, but people love it — so much they want to enter it, not minding that they have to wait in line. It’s a LARP (live action role-playing game) with the end goal being a 7-11 purchase.
This kind of thing has a freakishly honorable tradition. Jane Austen Society attendees — Janeites — are treated to scholarly panels and a “pageant of costumes and finery that have become an integral part of JASNA’s Saturday night entertainment….those who want to show off their skills or just join in for fun, may take the floor.” Bloomsday breakfast (bangers, rashers and Guiness) is served June 16 at the James Joyce Center in Ireland, complete with actors reading. Even brilliant Joycians have been said to galavant around as their favorite Ulysses characters during conferences.
I think there is something wonderful about people loving a ficitonal world enough to wish it could be real, and it’s also charming that this extends from the highbrow to the low. Come to think of it, while The Simpsons is certainly pop culture, it’s also literary as hell. Me, I didn’t mind that I my Simpsons LARP experience ended with a donut. If only it had also included Duff Beer….
a few more pics if you’re curious
