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Matt Groening Reveals Springfield Is In His Home State of Oregon

Posted by samzenpus on from the where's-Shelbyville? dept.

First time accepted submitter TheSeventh writes "Simpsons creator Matt Groening has revealed the location of the real Springfield: It's in Oregon. In an interview with Smithsonian magazine, Groening credits the name to the hit TV show Father Knows Best. The show 'took place in the town of Springfield, and I was thrilled because I imagined that it was the town next to Portland, my hometown,' he says. 'When I grew up, I realized it was just a fictitious name. I also figured out that Springfield was one of the most common names for a city in the U.S. In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do.'"

15 of 148 comments (clear)

  1. Funny... by Hartree · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always thought it was inside my television.

  2. Wrong by readandburn · · Score: 5, Informative

    From Wikipedia... Due to the many contradictory statements regarding Springfield, it is impossible for the town to exist in any specific U.S. state. For example, in The Simpsons Movie, Ned Flanders tells Bart that Ohio, Nevada, Maine, and Kentucky all border Springfield's state. The city's unknown and unknowable geography is a recurring joke in the series; despite the "riddle wrapped in an enigma that is Springfield's location", Lisa Simpson states that "it's a bit of a mystery, yes. But if you look at the clues, you can figure it out." Episodes frequently make fun of the fact that Springfield's state is unidentifiable by adding further conflicting descriptions, obscuring onscreen map representations, and interrupting conversational references. The telephone area codes for Springfield are 636 (St. Charles County - Western St. Louis County, Missouri) and 939 (Puerto Rico). David Silverman has claimed that Springfield is in the fictional state of "North Takoma". This is substantiated by the state abbreviations NT and TA used within the show. However, this has never been officially confirmed in any canonical episode of The Simpsons or by other Simpsons producers.

    1. Re:Wrong by readandburn · · Score: 5, Funny

      I didn't realize the CREATOR of the show could make Oregon border Ohio, Maine, and Kentucky. I stand corrected.

    2. Re:Wrong by 91degrees · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sure, but according to the principle of the Death of the Author (warning - TVTropes link), unless it's made clear in the text, the author's opinion has no weight when it comes to an interpretation.

      Based entirely on the work it seems quite clear that Springfield is nowhere, or anywhere depending on how you want to look at it, this allowing the viewer to consider it to be somewhere relevant to himself.

    3. Re:Wrong by Chris+Burke · · Score: 3, Funny

      You didn't realize that the creator of a cartoon can make their cartoon city in any place they want, and make it bordered by any other place they want?

      Really?

      I'm surprised you also didn't point out that the real Springfield, OR isn't occupied by 2-dimensional 4-fingered cartoons, hasn't ever been taken over by aliens, never had the sun blocked out by the nuclear plant owner's giant sunshade, or damaged to the tune of millions of dollars on a regular basis by the town's lovable buffoon.

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
    4. Re:Wrong by Penguinisto · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not to be a jerk or anything, but what in the hell is a "fictional fact"?

      No, really, that's just wrong. Way wrong. Please don't do that again.

      ==

      I do agree with you that once a canon of sorts is established, especially in a long-running fictional/storybook 'universe', the details of it do fill out, and fans expect the author to try and stay within them, especially as the storylines get more complex. On the other hand, it all too often happens that a new and interesting story may well break the fabric of what you the fan may have come to expect, and something is going to have to explain that.

      Maybe Groening will come up with such an explanation in the future? After all, it wasn't unheard of for weird crap to occur in Start Trek:TNG (and others) to start popping out of the writers' collective arse to explain a particular story or situation (accidental time travel, getting sucked into alternate universes, the all-too-rambunctious dilithium crystals, etc.)

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    5. Re:Wrong by Obfuscant · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Maybe Groening failed geography.

      Dakota Channing was named after North Dakota. Does that mean she lives in North Dakota? No. She was born in Georgia. Georgia O'Keefe, named after Georgia, was born in Wisconsin and probably never got to Georgia, even though she did work in South Carolina.

      Caroline Kennedy was named after South Carolina. Does she live there? No, she lives in New York. Dick York (first and really only true husband to Samantha, for those who care abouts such things), named after that vernerable city (and state!) doesn't live in New York (city OR state), he lived in Grand Rapids Michigan until he died in 1992.

      Speedy Gonzalez (rapido == speedy) never went to Michigan, although he was named after Grand Rapids. (Little known fact: his full name was Super Speedy Gonzalez, or "La Grando Rapido".)

      And Morey Amsterdam was named after what New York used to be called -- New Amsterdam. Ok, he did live in New York. Forget about him.

      Short version: "named after" is not "is in".

    6. Re:Wrong by gl4ss · · Score: 4, Funny

      grasping at straws really, the interviewer and the guy who submitted the article.

      he says he got the idea to springfield name from the old show which had springfield in it and that he thought it was their springfield, so he decided to use the same trick. being named after something like that is a far fetch from actually _being_ that springfield, which the article headline says.

      simpsons isn't a documentary filmed in real time, Highlander is.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  3. A more accurate headline by crazyjj · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Matt Groening Reveals that 'Springfield' Name Came From 'Father Knows Best'"

    The Springfield of the show is, of course, fiction. It can't exist. It's everywhere in the U.S. all at once. It's in the desert, near the ocean, it was founded by colonial settlers, it's close to both Mexico and Canada, it's home to every type of U.S. wildlife (except for bears, of course--the Bear Patrol keeps those out).

    About the only things you won't find there these days are decent writing or a sense of pride.

    --
    What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    1. Re:A more accurate headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      About the only things you won't find there these days are decent writing or a sense of pride.

      Yeah, for that you need to go to Shelbyville.

  4. No he doesn't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    From TFA: "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon"

    That doesn't mean it IS Springfield, Oregon.

  5. aw man... by BattleApple · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do.'

    Well, not anymore.

  6. Re:More important by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Eugene.

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  7. Can't possibly be in Oregon by danwesnor · · Score: 5, Funny

    The characters aren't weird enough.

  8. Bogus story by 1u3hr · · Score: 3, Informative

    In the interview, Groening says "Springfield was named after Springfield, Oregon". He doesn't say that the Simpsons' Springfield is in Oregon.