So how the hell does "Flanderization" apply to Flanders...

So how the hell does "Flanderization" apply to Flanders? He's like the only major character on the show who's had any real lasting development or changes to his status quo. I mean, it took actresses dying or quitting to make it happen, but it happened, which is more than we can say for Homer Simp

>Character Development vs "Flanderization"

What's the difference?

Flanderization doesn't mean a character developping or changing their status quo. It means taking a characteristic that's already there and exagerating it to the point that's all the character is about anymore. Basically, it means turning a character into a parody of itself.

One exaggerates their flaws until they're borderline unrecognizable, the other adds on to their character in a realistic way.

Flanders becoming a caricature of a devout Christian from being Gallant to Homer's Goofus is hardly any meaningful development. What happened is that writing Flanders as next to perfect and being funny with it is was beyond the writers' capabilities so they started taking potshots at christianity.

Just like they changed Skinner from being a badass square to a hen-pecked momma's boy.

And most of all making everyone a sociopath because it's easy to do.

The latter implies one trait being exaggerated to the point of being someone's defining feature. In Ned's case mutating him from just a christian into a balls-out biblehumper.

It's not inherently bad - the KotH cast got flanderized as the series went on, arguably making them more entertaining - but mostly doesn't work out.

Well, back then he was the perfect neighbour, friendly to all, goes to church, etc. Now he's pretty much just a caricature straight outta /r/atheism that can't stay one second without mentioning the Bible

The worst offense is the last seasons for that with Hank telling Khan to throw out his medication and everyone else recognizing manic-depressive disorder from Khan's description of why he takes medication? That's not in character for him at all.

Hank didn't know what the medicine was for at the time. He just heard Kahn tell him he didn't really need it and basically said "if you don't need it why take it?"

Because he went from the wholesome neighbor that Homer irrationally hates to FIDDLY DIDDLY IDDLY I'M LEFT HANDED.

>Just like they changed Skinner from being a badass square to a hen-pecked momma's boy

Skinner's Vietnam flashbacks no longer being a running joke is zombie Simpson's worst crime

I'm not even talking about that. I'm talking about Skinner kicking lawyer ass when Disney tried to shut down his school fair. I'm talking Skinner chasing Bart down after he played hooky.

His character probably soured the most first. Come to think of it.

I think Homer got it worse. He went from loveable oaf family man to a jerkass who openly whined about how much he hated his family and was only a good person when you drilled fifty miles down.

Oh forgot to mention that they dropped his intelligence down to (forgive me for using a TV Tropes term) Too Dumb to Live.

Trips don't lie.
Strangely enough, even the depths of Jerk Ass Homer doesn't compare to how much of a piece of shit Peter Griffin is. Or even Brian Griffin for that matter.

Because Simpsons isn't THAT malicious or edgy. The closest is probably the dream where Homer callously smothers his dad after being injured in a car accident.
Family Guy gets off on being edgy and they don't care about how big of pieces of shit the family is because it doesn't matter but Simpsons still cares about wrapping things up in a tidy status quo bow.

thats what bothers me most, he used to be a family man now he hates his kids like some peter griffin ripoff

The trope Flanderization became associated with Flanders' name due to the fact that, during the Bush II years, Flanders became an outlet for the Simpsons writers to shit on the religious right in the 00s.

It was done casually and in a bye-the-bye fashion, because Matt Groening actually LIKES Flanders and considers him the moral center of the Simpsons universe due to the fact that Ned is 100% altruistic and pure of heart in terms of being a good person. So you had the character being written pretty much as if he was two different people: the Flanders spotlight episodes portraying him as a great guy ala Groening's vision of him, but in regular normal episodes, Flanders was a petty, bigoted Fundamentalist who represented everything vile and evil about the religious right.

It's so weird remembering how The Simpsons used to be "edgy" when nowadays it's super tame compared to a lot of the shows it inspired.

Even Bob's Burgers is raunchier than The Simpsons ever was.

You know, I always thought Rev. Lovejoy made a better comment on religion and it's faults than Flanders. Lovejoy was a jerk/hypocrite/etc a lot of times.

Lovejoy more or less serves as a metaphor for the put upon, jaded minister who used to care and was full of faith and passion, but who basically got broke down (in part due to Ned being so needy and clingy, as the show established) by the fact that nothing he does really makes a difference.

Sometimes he can revive his passion in emergencies, but he's sort of resigned himself to seeing being a minister as nothing more than a public speaker/lecturer and that only inertia and longstanding routine, keeping his parishioners coming back week after week.

At least in the movie they showed that Homer didn't give a shit about anyone in the town other than his family.

wildly inconsistent characterization between writers is not a benefit

That's what made the Simpson's edgy when it first came out. All the typical figures of authority were portrayed not as moral paragons (as most sitcoms dead) but were rather corrupt public officials, passionless teachers, dead inside ministers, idiotic and easy to manipulate citizens, or outright malicious business owners.

Skinner definitely had it worst. I mean, he had an entire episode dedicated to ruining his character.

>there are people that think Jerkass Homer is still relevant
The term "jerkass homer" specifically referred to Homer willfully being an asshole during the Scully era. He still has his jerkish moments in modern simpsons, but its portrayed more as a child who doesn't think now, rather than as someone with malicious intent.

>modern simpsons
>implying I watch modern simpsons

>tfw every time I have the misfortune of seeing a new episode of the Simpsons, Homer is some cynical miserable asshole spouting off shit that some depressed quippy millennial probably wrote about hating his kids or his life or some depression-related shit in the same vein as every fucking show on TV these days

I'd honestly prefer him being Flanderized to be a pant-shitting retard tier idiot who was still a sweet guy instead of this.

So why don't we call it skinerisazation if it happened to him first?

>millennial
The youngest of the newer Simpsons writers were born in the 70s.

Shit that makes a lot of sense. It always seemed like the initial reactions didn't make sense until I read this post.

remember when people used to gush how realistic mortal kombat's fatalities were?

hilariously cheesy by today's standards.

somehow i still think Bart got it the worst of the entire simspons cast
he was a little kid in the early seasons who had trouble in school and was a bit of a troublemaker, but he was still relatable, he still had flaws and aspirations to become better, he acted like a 10 year old boy, now hes just a punchingbag with a catchphrase like jerkass homer

Season 1-3 ned had him as a regular guy that was a dedicated christian, seasons 4-9 ned had him as a really boring but really nice neighbor that really loved religion, seasons 10 till now have him nothing more than an antaongist to be used as designed christian conservative villain who demonizes evolution and constantly atangonizes apu and others he deems too sinful