The Simpsons
Summary
WhileThe Simpsonshasn’t always prioritized Lisa ’s character development , one enceinte Golden Age sequence render what her present-day incarnation is missing . WhileThe Simpsonsseason 36might change this , the long - range animated serial has n’t focused on Bart and Lisa too much in late junket . The pair received a total of six episode that in the first place focus on them in time of year 35 , compare to 12 episodes that focus on Homer and Marge . SinceThe Simpsons never age , the show has plenty of meter to turn to this instability . However , there is also a panoptic inherent issue for the series to front .
Lisa and Bart ’s grapheme have change over the years , but Lisa ’s personality shift has been peculiarly controversial . EvenGolden Age episodes ofThe Simpsonsbetrayed Bartand Lisa ’s dynamic , create Bart too thoughtless or Lisa too unhumorous . However , in recent age , many viewers online have complained that Lisa is a reefer in the clay and a lactating blanket . Lisa has been accused of do as the voice of reason within the family and as a mouthpiece for the views of the show ’s creators in episode that tackle broader social and political issues . Notably , this was n’t always the vitrine .
The Simpsons never explain one of the most infamously disgustful moments in the show ’s long history , give the meme - inspiring scene a mystery .
“Lisa The Skeptic” Humanized The Simpsons Heroine
Lisa’s Intelligence Doesn’t Make Her Superior
Despite what her detractors may claim , Lisa was n’t always smug or self - righteous . Unlike Sherlock or Sheldon Cooper , Lisa ’s intelligence was n’t used as a cudgel to beat out other type in the show ’s near stories . If anything , Lisa was often alienated as a resultant role of her intellect . This is good epitomized in time of year 9 , installment 8 , “ Lisa the Skeptic , ” when she refuses to believe in an “ Angel skeleton ” unearth beneath the Springfield Mall . While the outing involves some wise argumentation about religion and science , this remains akid - friendly episode ofThe Simpsonsas Lisa ’s position is centered throughout the story .
“ Lisa the Skeptic ” is astonishingly unapologetic in its depictions of Lisa ’s belittled - given little town resist her with vitriol .
“ Lisa the Skeptic ” sees Lisa take on much of Springfield and even her own female parent Marge by denying the being of angels . She claims the manifest discovery of an holy man skeleton is merely a dupery or an computer error and faces societal closing off as a issue , leading her to desperately research for proof of her supposition . Much like season 8 , episode 16 , “ Lisa the Iconoclast , ” “ Lisa the Skeptic ” is surprisingly unapologetic in its depictions of Lisa ’s small - minded minuscule township rejecting her with vitriol despite her age . Crucially , though , Lisa does n’t simply turn out to be correct in the installment ’s surprising ending .
Lisa’s Best The Simpsons Episode Originally Ended Terribly
Marge and Lisa’s Conflict Almost Had A Very Different Conclusion
When the skeleton run miss , the townspeople form a rout and arrest Lisa for destroying it . The underframe reappears with a word of advice of “ The End ” and the townspeople gather around as sundown approaches . Lisa mock them for retrieve something would happen , but it is before long silenced by the angel ’s thriving voice annunciate “ The ending … Of gamy prices ! ” The entire amour is reveal to be a publicity stunt for a rival shopping centre and the clueless denizens of Springfield peck to this new issue for downhearted prices . Rather thanThe Simpsonssidelining Lisa , the show then lend a polar concluding turn .
According to the instalment ’s author , David X. Cohen , the characters originally found out Marge was amiss , Lisa was correct , and that was it .
Lisa luff out that she was right , butMarge bank bill that she was as frightened as everyone else when the angel appear to blab out . Lis sheepishly thanks her female parent for soothe her and test that , despite her intelligence , she is still an ordinary child underneath everything . fit in to the episode ’s writer , David X. Cohen , the persona in the beginning base out Marge was faulty , Lisa was right , and that was it . Lisa ’s genuine terror when the angel ostensibly talk highlight her exposure and humankind instead of underlining that she was simply smarter than everyone else . This made her character even more likable .
How “Lisa The Skeptic” Became A Classic The Simpsons Episode
The Outing By Philosophers and Educators To Interrogate Faith and Science
Over the decade since its freeing , “ Lisa the Skeptic ” has go on to become a pillar in classrooms and philosophical texts thanks to its attentive takes on science , religious belief , and the blank between them . Philosopher Danial O’Brien speak about the episode in terms of agnosticism and religion , while William Irwin , Mark T. Conard , and Aeon J. Skoble brought up the instalment in sex act to the religious faith of Ned Flanders and Homer ’s heterodoxy . Like season 4 , episode 4,“Lisa the Beauty Queen,“the outing became a classic not because Lisa was properly all along , but because this did n’t make her gross .
Lisa ’s power to stand up to an full town could amount across as preachy , idealized , and unrelatable , but her entree that she does n’t sleep together everything humanise her .
Various educational institutions have used “ Lisa the Skeptic ” in spiritual education classes , and it is hard to visualise many schools doing so if it were n’t for the revise end . In “ Lisa the Beauty Queen , ” Lisa ’s admirable self-assurance in uprooting corruption is contrasted with her relatable lack of self - regard . In “ Lisa the Skeptic , ” Lisa ’s ability to stand up to an entire town could come across as preachy , idealized , and unrelatable , but her admission that she does n’t have it away everything humanizes her and makes her a more lovable character . The instalment would n’t be a classroom staple if its heroine was n’t believably flawed .
“Lisa The Skeptic” Has A Classic The Simpsons Twist
The Simpsons’ Underlying Cynicism Shines Through In The End
While “ Lisa the Skeptic ” does have a heartwarming moment share between Marge and Lisa , the installment ending more loosely can be see as a Graeco-Roman guinea pig ofThe Simpsonsdoubling down on its cynicism . Not only was the angel skeleton just a selling doojigger for a new shopping centre , but the local anesthetic do n’t even give care about the deception other than Lisa . To make subject worse , renowned scientist Stephen Jay Gould admits with a shrug that he just never gravel to do the all - important test that would have square up the skeleton ’s veracity . This underlines a fundamental element of the show ’s cease appealingness .
The Simpsonscan be brutally cynical . Despite Lisa being criticized as the show ’s most to a fault witting character , she is n’t safe from this . In season 7 , episode 9 , " Sideshow Bob ’s Last glimmer , " she excitedly announced that she wanted to meet the first female stealth zep buffer since “ She destroyed 70 mosques , and her name is Lisa , too ! ” Even the most ostensibly moral character is n’t immune to the show ’s bone - deep cynicism , and this makes Lisa experience more like her family than detractors are often unforced to admit . During the Golden Age , Lisa fit within the populace ofThe Simpsons , despite how imperfect this made her .
