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Sam Simon and Gross National Happiness

by Richard Ristow

Simon.jpgChalk this up as something weird and quirky. Bhutan is a small country near South Asia, in the Himalayan mountains. It’s a monarchy, and the King of Bhutan has often remarked that his less concerned with the heartless economics, and is more concerned with “Gross National Happiness.” The “gross” part is a play on economic jargon, as in “Gross National Product.” Simpsons Producer Sam Simon, traveling abroad, has visited Bhutan, as a news update from The Hindu states:

Thimphu (PTI): Bhutan’s guiding development philosophy — gross national happiness — will make a great Simpsons’ episode, co-creator of the popular cartoon series Sam Simon has said. One of the original developers of America’s most successful and longest running animated TV programme, Simon said he would like to see the idea of gross national happiness implemented in the US.

“Gross national happiness will make a great Simpsons’ episode,” said Simon, who was on a trip to the Himalayan nation. According to him, the inspiration for The Simpsons was originally just about about a dysfunctional family that wanted to be functional but as time passed by it became a satirical look at America.

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Posted in General on November 20th, 2007

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