Investigating the Impact of 9/11 on The Simpsons through Natural Language Processing

TL;DR

This study used Natural Language Processing to analyze The Simpsons scripts for changes in language, sentiment, and topics around 9/11, finding minimal impact on the show's overall tone and content.

Contribution

It applies NLP techniques to quantify the influence of a major social event on a popular media series, offering a novel analytical approach.

Findings

No significant trend change in word frequency or topics.

Slight decrease in sentiment around 2001-2002.

Overall positive sentiment persisted despite social upheaval.

Abstract

The impact of real world events on fictional media is particularly apparent in the American cartoon series The Simpsons. While there are often very direct pop culture references evident in the dialogue and visual gags of the show, subtle changes in tone or sentiment may not be so obvious. Our aim was to use Natural Language Processing to attempt to search for changes in word frequency, topic, and sentiment before and after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. No clear trend change was seen, there was a slight decrease in the average sentiment over time around the relevant period between 2000 and 2002, but the scripts still maintained an overall positive value, indicating that the comedic nature of The Simpsons did not wane particularly significantly. The exploration of other social issues and even specific character statistics is needed to bolster the findings here.