Review: The Simpsons “Seperance”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Homer’s enthusiastic skills land him a job at a secretive company with a mind-altering agenda.

Our Take:
Following the stunt double scenario with Bumblebee Man, Homer has already got himself another part-time job in this week’s episode.  It’s kind of a weird way to commence the new year, but then again, the series is already bizarre with how much ridiculous stuff the family’s been encountering in their everyday lives.  This time, Homer is working at an advertising company when Duffman catches Homer expressing his fake enthusiasm during a state park family trip.  This does seem like a harmless job at first, with Homer using his fake enthusiasm to market the items made by the company “Enthusiasm on Demand”.  However, since this is “The Simpsons”, this mysterious company is far from normal, as it also offers a “seperance” treatment that makes its workers highly enthusiastic when promoting items.
The episode uses this bizarre premise to explore marketing and even people’s “enthusiasm” in promoting.  They may seem excited to share the new products with the rest of the world, but behind the scenes, their enthusiasm is actually one of the tools to ensure a successful marketing campaign.  Additionally, they can be used to satisfy family needs, as evidenced by Homer’s fake joy on the state park trip and the parents’ false delight in their kids’ accomplishments.  In other words, phony enthusiasm is what sells the products and makes families happy.  However, “Seperance” didn’t leave me with much enthusiasm, given its humor, plot, and somewhat unsatisfying conclusion, even with Julianne Moore as the leader of the seemingly normal advertising company.  While it offers some amusement in Homer expressing his false enthusiasm for stress balls, the episode ended up making me want to separate myself from this piece of marketing.