Reply #17: It depends how you define 'confuse' ...

[earthman dave]

Part of Fox's game is to blur the distinction between reality and fantasy, with various techniques of association, to train their viewers so they can do the nod-and-wink style 'fair and balanced' shit, and so the viewers just accept it unconsciously, code phrases and the like. Having the simpsons parody their style probably would make it less effective, and in a very broad sense, 'confuse' the viewers (if by ' confuse' you mean jar them out of the pleasant happy trance that our friend Mr Murdoch likes them to be in)