In the Simpsons episode “Homer the Great”, first broadcast in 1995, Homer learns that, through his father Abe, he is eligible for membership in an ancient secret society called the Stonecutters. The fraternity’s members, as it turns out, include almost every man in Springfield, all bestowed with numerous privileges invisible to the layman, from free Buzz Cola to more comfortable office chairs. When Homer is revealed to be the group’s chosen one due to a birthmark on his back, he revels in abusing the perks of status. He soon learns, however, that belonging is a double-edged sword: alienated from his flock and bored by their sycophantic flattery, Homer attempts to reform the Stonecutters, encouraging volunteer work and community engagement. In a cutting analysis of the conservative impulses that can undergird the communal form, Homer’s reforms trigger an identity crisis among the group, whose absurd indulgences and pointless traditions are nonetheless integral to their sense of unity. Homer is soon banished from the Stonecutters and a new community, the No Homers Club, is established. Homer recalls a similar experience from his childhood when he was barred from entering a friend’s treehouse, and met with a “No Homers Club” sign. “But you let in Homer Glumplich!” he says, aghast. “It says no Homers,” responds his friend, emphasising the plural. “We’re allowed to have one.”

Homer’s wish to be one of the Stonecutters has less to do with their ideology than his desire to be part of an elite circle, with its ancient lore, special costumes and brotherly camaraderie. If anything, it is the mere concept of membership, communicated through sly glances between Stonecutters in public spaces, that brings satisfaction. When the No Homers Club is established, the cycle of desire starts anew. In spite of the fact that the group is built explicitly around his exclusion, this very rejection spurs Homer’s longing to join it. Wanting to be part of something, even if it is a “crappy club for jerks”, speaks to the profoundly human yearning for belonging at the cost of dignity and sense. No Homers Club now lends its name to the internet’s largest message board for discussion of The Simpsons, a thriving community and one that Homer, at last, can be part of.  Matteo Pini