Lisa Simpson: The Burden Of Being Smart
The Simpsons is perhaps the most popular animated situation comedy in history. Almost everyone has seen at least one episode of this series. But what is behind the jokes they make in the program? In this article, we reflect on the program’s social prejudices through the character Lisa Simpson.
The Simpsons is an animated situation comedy made by Matt Groening for Fox Broadcasting Company . It debuted in 1989 and has since been broadcast on television. It is one of the most iconic American television programs.
The series is about the Simpson family, a parody of Groening’s own family. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and little Maggie make up the Simpson family. This family lives in the fictional town of Springfield, which symbolizes the small and remote villages of the United States.
This animated situation comedy is mainly a parody of American culture, its society and its customs. However, it is also a satirical representation of the human condition. Some fans even claim that The Simpsons is a new way of presenting philosophy, as well as ethical and moral debates.
The character Homer, for example, represents a white working class man. Homer’s hobbies are food and television. His wife Marge is a housewife who is responsible for taking care of their children and home. The eldest son, Bart, is an exact copy of his father and has no academic or professional ambitions. Lisa is a 9 year old little adult and extremely intelligent girl. Finally, there’s baby Maggie.
After the golden age
During the year 2018, The Simpsons ended its 29th season. The series is not as it once was. Many of the most devoted fans of the series explain that The Simpsons had a “golden age” that consisted of the first 13 seasons, more or less. During this golden age, the tone of situation comedy was much lighter.
For this group of fans, the character development in The Simpsons took a remarkable turn after the golden age. This means that each character became easier to understand. They came to the conclusion that the writers should get rid of all the “silly” humor to improve the actions.
Lisa Simpson: The family’s black sheep
Interestingly, the character Lisa Simpson changed after the 10th season. The changes were subtle, but became more noticeable over time. The producers of the series began to punish this character in unfair and unnecessary ways.
The other characters are usually rewarded after small penalties. These rewards range from personal growth, love and devotion to community approval. However, we see how no one rewards the pain and suffering of Lisa Simpson.
Lisa Simpson is a desperate and lonely character. Lisa rarely finds comfort in anything, and she even shows signs of depressive behavior. Because of her intelligence and interest in learning, people categorize Lisa as a “knower” and bully her for it.
Living in a society that looks down on intelligence
Lisa Simpson is clearly different from the other members of her family. She knows a lot about music and literature, as well as science. She is cunning, wants to learn more about the world and, more importantly, does not want to settle for a simple village life.
Her intelligence makes her different from the rest. But it also seems to be the reason she can never find happiness. In several episodes, The Simpsons emphasizes the idea that Lisa will never have real friends. There are few episodes where Lisa finds people she gets along with. Unfortunately, these friends always disappear somehow.
The Simpsons, a satire on everyday life, seems to push the idea that exceptional people can not be happy. It is as if intelligence is moving towards everyday satisfaction.
There is no real reason why an intelligent person can not be happy. There’s a myth out there that catalogs ignorance as a blessing. Although not understanding something or not knowing something is not necessarily a bad thing, being able to understand the world is a virtue that must be praised.
The importance of being strong
Western societies often ridicule those who like to learn about different things. Despite this, it is important to remember that happiness is a decision. It can be difficult to resist direct and indirect attacks when you feel that you are part of the minority. However, there will always be other people with the same tastes and interests as you. If you feel you can identify with Lisa Simpson, just keep looking until you find a group of friends to share your knowledge with.
