The Simpsons: Ned FlandersBy Wikipedia
Ned (short for "Nedward") Flanders is a
character on The Simpsons, voiced by Harry Shearer. Ned, along with
the rest of his family, is a devout Christian,
and is often used to satirize how the ostensible niceness of doggedly
upbeat born-again evangelicals can disguise intolerance and a callous
disregard for those who do not share their beliefs. Homer once said that
Ned is even holier than Jesus. Ned Flanders is named after Flanders St. in
Portland, Oregon. Simspons creator Matt
Groening is originally from Oregon.
Ned has the habit of attaching "diddly" and other nonsense
phrases to sentences ("Hi-diddly-ho"). He quit his earlier
career as a pharmacist to open a store in the mall called The Leftorium,
which specializes in products for left-handed people. Ned presumably named
his sons Rod and Todd because both names rhyme with God. (An alternate
theory on their names is that they are meant to rhyme with Maude, their
mother whose name also rhymes with God, whom Ned worships to the point of
idolatry.) Despite an outward appearance of exceeding meekness, Ned has an
exceptionally well-built physique under his sweater-vest. This is even
more impressive upon considering that Ned is actually a very young-looking
senior citizen at the age of 60 as evidenced in the season 10 episode Viva
Ned Flanders. He also possesses a large "package" as featured in
the shower scene of Homer's singles dating video made after Maude's death.
.gif) Ned
was raised in New York City by two nihilistic beatniks whose terrible
parenting skills made him a childhood terror. He was eventually put on an
experimental eight-month spanking therapy program (the University of
Minnesota Spankological Protocol) which taught him to suppress all
feelings of anger. Also, all of the family's board games contain no dice,
as Ned believes that dice are "wicked". Rod says that they just
move one space at a time, as it is "less fun that way".
Despite his firm religious beliefs, Ned is quite timid and often
insecure. He is obsessed with following the Bible as literally as
possible, "even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff" and
is easily shocked when someone challenges his beliefs. This leads to his
frequent calls to Reverend Lovejoy ("I... I think I'm coveting my own
wife!") who gets increasingly frustrated with Flanders ("Ned,
have you tried any of the other major religions? They're pretty much the
same"). His sons are very sheltered and raised in an extremely strict
climate of Christian morality. Most entertainment enjoyed by the family
involves religion in some way. For instance, the family has at least five
different Trivial Pursuit sets relating to different versions of the
Bible. One of his children's' stories concludes "And Harry Potter and
all his wizard friends went straight to hell, for practicing
witchcraft." Also, though they have satellite TV, nearly all of the
channels are blocked out. Despite all this, Ned still holds a special
reverence for the Beatles, remarking to Homer: "Of course I was into
the Beatles. They were bigger than Jesus!". He has collected many
Beatles-related items, including vintage records, Beatles-themed soda pop,
Beatles bobble-heads, and a cardboard yellow submarine.
Despite being timid, Ned Flanders can sometimes fight for what he
believes in, e.g. when Homer and Bart became Roman-Catholic, which makes
him also religiously intolerant: after having shaken a Catholic priest's
hand in Episode 1621 (The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star)
he made a "note to self" to get his hand "re-blessed".
In the same episode, Bart also tells he wants to convert to Judaism, and
Ned took out a bottle of chlorophorm. He also showed his "soft
anti-Semitism" in the episode "A Star is Born-Again",
in a day-dream about Hollywood's wickedness: Rod and Todd are in a
Mercedes with two gorgeous women and say that they're movie producers ...and
Jewish.
Flanders' religious denomination (along with that of Rev.
Lovejoy) is a matter of much speculation among fans. In Simpsons
Episode 6x21 (Where Bart and Homer become Catholic) Rev. Lovejoy states
that they will bring Bart and Homer back to the One True Faith: "The
Western Branch of American Reform Presbalutherinism".
There was a relative of Flanders who served in World War II. He was a
superior to Sgt. Abe Simpson. (Note: When Abe
threatened to report Pvt. Burns to Flanders, Abe indicates that his rank
was commander, which is not a rank in the United States army)
Inspired by the character, Brianists use the term "Ned" to
refer to Christians in general and Protestants in particular. A "Head
Ned" is a pastor or priest.
Ned is widowed from Maude Flanders and is currently married to a Las
Vegas waitress named Ginger.
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