The characters on The Simpsons have had to evolve over the years. The creators have had to analyze former characters and concepts as popular opinion has changed. But one of the show's most controversial -- and iconic -- running gags has really fallen out of vogue with changing views on parenting.

It's long past time for The Simpsons to stop showing Homer strangle Bart -- which is something the show has even recognized but never eliminated.

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The Simpsons have aired for over thirty years, and across the history of the series, it has addressed many wany ways that the world has changed. Many problematic elements of the show have been approached and reexamined over the years, such as the show's portrayal of the Indian-American immigrant character, Apu. Other controversial characters remain, such as the interestingly problematic Chief Wiggum. But there's one element of the franchise that's been around since the beginning of the series and has carried on to the modern-day: Homer's habit of choking his son.

The act became a recurring bit for the franchise back when it was still just a series of animated shorts on the Tracey Ullman Show. The joke would usually follow a formula: Bart would enrage Homer with some insult or joke, and Homer would fly into a rage -- often crying out "why you little --" before grabbing Bart by the neck and choking him. Although there have been variants of this gag over the years -- including instances where Bart attacks his father right-back -- it's still a shocking piece of comedy. It's the sort of joke that wouldn't translate to live-action, as it would come across as egregious physical abuse on the part of Homer towards his young (and largely defenseless) son.

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The Simpsons Homer Bart Choking

The Simpsons seems aware of how terrifying the act is and has even commented on it multiple times throughout the series. Season 11's mockumentary-style episode "Behind the Laughter" casually referred to it as child abuse, with Homer choking Bart in front of a film crew eliciting laughter and leading to a boom in merchandise. Season 24's "Love is a Many-Splintered Thing" had Homer choke out Bart in front of Milhouse, who is shown hiding behind Bart's bed and cowering in fear at the act. Season 22's "Love is a Many-Strangled Thing" even addresses the abuse head-on, with Homer revealing to a number of other fathers from around town that he strangles Bart -- leaving them all horrified at his actions.

The show has even flirted with leaving the act behind in Season 26's "Bart's New Friend." In the episode, Homer is hypnotized by a circus act. Now mentally ten-years-old, Homer actually develops a surprisingly close friendship with Bart. Even after Homer has his normal mind restored and his memory of the last few days erased, Homer notes a new tenderness with his son and comments that he doesn't think he can really choke Bart anymore.

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Even though The Simpsons exists in a cartoony universe and the injuries are usually played for laughs, it's still a horrifying bit to see played out. It's been suggested that Bart suffers lasting injuries from these strangulations, and it's been noted multiple times that it's an evolution of the physical abuse Homer's own father committed against him -- with Abe still occasionally strangling Homer and even Bart in the present-day. It's an act of genuine abuse in a series that typically plays everything for laughs, and in the few moments the show has reflected on it, it's been in surprising and stark terms -- with "Love is a Many-Strangled Thing" even suggesting that without something akin to strangling Bart, Homer would become a push-over to his son.

Given the changes in acceptable parenting behaviors over the years, especially with attitudes about physical punishment, it would make sense for the show to abandon the running gag and replace it. But despite recognizing the problematic aspects of it the joke, even as recently as 2019's Season 30 was still featuring episodes where Homer chocked out his ten-year-old son. It's arguably one of the worst aspects of Homer as a person, and the fact that he regularly hurts his children sometimes makes it harder to root for the character. The joke should be retired, especially with respect to people who've suffered similar abuse over the years. There are plenty of other forms of outlandish comedy that wouldn't make Bart an outright victim of abuse.

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