Did TV show have Ukraine’s president in mind?
The American animated sitcom “The Simpsons” premiered its new season with an episode starring a Ukrainian gangster named Viktor, setting commentators on websites chattering about similarities with President Viktor Yanukovych.
The episode of the long-running comedy series called “The Falcon and the Dohman” was broadcast on Fox TV channel on Sept. 25.
The plot of the episode involved Homer Simpson, the main character, befriending a new co-worker, Wayne, a former CIA agent who worked in Ukraine. Wayne rescues Homer from a local bandit at Moe’s Tavern and appears on the local news.
The show transports the viewer to Ukraine, where we see Viktor, a big guy with a golden necklace – a favorite accessory of bandits in post-Soviet countries. Yanukovych, who is backed by oligarchs who got wealthy during Ukraine’s crony capitalist 1990s, spent two terms in prison in the 1960s for theft and assault.
The Simpson’s Viktor speaks English with a strong accent and sits in an office with armed bodyguards at the entrance.
After failing to spell Ukraine correctly in two attempts, a typist on “The Simpsons” TV show decides to search for Kyiv.
When checking his email, Viktor discovers a confirmation letter from singer Beyonce to perform at his daughter’s Sweet 16 birthday party. While the choice may be a coincidental reference, Beyonce opened the Donbas Arena in 2009 for billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, who is close to the president.
The show makes fun of poor spelling and ignorance of geography. Ukraine is written “Ukrane” and “Ukreign” before the typist asks on the screen: “C’mon, how many Kievs are there?” Gaffe-prone Yanukovych is known for spelling his qualification as “proffessor” on his 2004 application to run for the presidency.
Ukraine is introduced with a picture of Kyiv’s churches and monuments. The Simpsons’ character Viktor comes across news about ex-CIA agent Wayne on YouTube.
While working in Ukraine, Wayne accidentally killed Viktor’s wife at a ball, held at a place that resembles Kyiv’s Mariyinsky Palace. In one scene, Viktor’s wife opens the door during a shootout, only to be told by her husband: “I told you to sit in your room.”
It’s hard to say whether the sitcom’s creators wanted to draw any parallels with the president’s relationship with First Lady Lyudmila Yanukovych, who largely stays out of public sight.
I love The Simpsons. … I think that Viktor is the stereotype that portrays our president in the West. Viktor’s image represents Ukraine’s stereotype in the West with authorities and a president having criminal connections,.
– Serhiy Taran, director of the Kyiv-based International Democracy Institute
When he learns of Wayne’s location, Viktor goes to America seeking revenge by kidnapping Homer to reach Wayne. In an attempt to rescue Homer, Wayne goes to a Ukrainian diaspora neighborhood called “Little Ukraine,” where Homer is being held hostage.
Little Ukraine is represented by places such as “Tsarbucks” coffee shop, “Insane in the Ukraine” hospital, “Cossacks Fifth avenue” boutique and a “Hot to Trotsky’s ice skating rink.”
The only person on the street of this neighborhood is an old woman with a squeaking rolling bag, common to Kyiv’s streets.
Wayne finds Homer and kills Viktor and other mafiosi in the show. The happy ending shows the Simpsons family saying goodbye to Wayne, who leaves in search of a new job.
Serhiy Taran, director of the Kyiv-based International Democracy Institute, said he is a big fan of The Simpsons and claims that the Viktor character in the episode at hand clearly resembles Yanukovych.
“I love The Simpsons. … I think that Viktor is the stereotype that portrays our president in the West. Viktor’s image represents Ukraine’s stereotype in the West with authorities and a president having criminal connections,” Taran added.
One spokeswoman for the president said she had no immediate comment. Another official in the presidential office challenged the view that the Viktor character in the episode was meant to resemble Ukraine’s president.
In Ukraine, The Simpsons is broadcast on 2+2 TV channel. In 2009, the Ukrainian State Commission of Morals tried to have the cartoon banned, arguing that the TV show was violating moral principles. Channel 2+2 said the person responsible for The Simpsons was not available to comment on when the episode would be broadcast in Ukraine.
Kyiv Post staff writer Maryna Irkliyenko can be reached at [email protected].
