Now the main thing about him that i love, i think is pretty obvious, he's funny, he's really funny, even to this day, whenever i watch one of the new episodes of The Simpsons, Homer is the best part. Weirdly enough, it's quite hard to explain what makes him so funny, simply because what he does is what everyone else does, he's the slobbish, doppy head of the nuclear family, he makes mistakes constantly and is always made the fool, it's a formula that has been done a million times, and while The Simpsons wasn't the first to use it, they still did it the best, and after seeing what type of character Homer is, everyone wanted to be a Homer. So while the comedy style isn't unique, it's still a stand out from the rest and changed everyone's perception on the nuclear family man.
But him inspiring other people doesn't make him one of my favourite characters, how he inspires me comedically is what makes that happen. As a kid, all i ever did was quote Homer Simpson, he made me laugh the hardest so i wanted to be like him, true, not the best role model, but hey, it gets a laugh. And it's still kinda like that, my blunt and childlike delivery is just me channelling my inner Homer Simpson, it's not always the best way, but it's what works for me, and it works for a lot of people.
And you can't forget, Homer was created as a reflection of the middle-class family of America, so it's important to look at that aspect of him as well, and honestly, this is one of the reasons why the Simpsons doesn't work anymore. The nuclear family system, while not dead, is not nearly as relevant or as satirically charged as other forms of society, which is why a character like Homer is different now then who he was a decade ago, because what he reflected, doesn't exist. But at the time, his satire of the American dream was one of the best representations there was, regardless on whether or not you were the class he was satirising, you laughed with him, you understood him and deep down, you knew you could see a part of yourself inside of him. Homer Simpson is that guy we could all relate to at one point and we find him charming and likeable for it, despite his numerous flaws.
Finally there's a point which on the outside you could see as a negative, but his relationship with his family i find to be incredibly touching. Now again, this seems really weird to say, his wife does all the work, he strangles his son and doesn't have much in common with either of his daughters, but really taking a deeper look at it, there is more to it. Remember, the Simpsons are an exaggeration of the American family, encompassing both the good and the bad. Homer may not be the best family man, but he's a man who loves his family. He puts up with a crappy job that he hates so he can provide for Maggie, he connects to Bart through their rebellious natures and help make the other a better person, and he and Marge are so in love that they are there for each other through thick & thin. But the best relationship in my opinion is him & Lisa, yeah they don't have much in common but they never stop trying. Homer sees Lisa as his crowning achievement, the one thing he's always been proud of, even though he knows he isn't responsible for her success, but tries as hard as he can to always be there for her, and in return she makes him a better person for it.
While he may not always be the best at showing it, Homer cares for his family, and always tries to be there for them and even at their worst, even when they could tear each other apart, they're there for each other, but none of them have as strong of a relationship as they do with Homer.
-Danny
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