30 years later: Why is Lisa Simpson still our heroine
On December 17, 1989, the first Simpsons series aired. Technically, her characters are a bit older than their own show: they first appeared on the screen on April 19, 1987 in a 30-second sketch in the Tracy Ulman show. After three successful season of short clips, the heroes were given a separate half-hour slot - this is how the animated series appeared, which we know well. Of course, the Simpsons today and the Simpsons in the nineties are completely different programs. The “golden years” of the series are long gone, and now it is rightly criticized for its inappropriate images and ideas in 2018. For example, in the fall there were rumors that the show runners could remove the owner of the Apu supermarket from the Simpsons - the character has long been scolded for racist and stereotypical ideas about Americans of Indian origin (attempts to answer criticism also raise many questions). But there is a heroine in the series, which today is no less important than twenty years ago - of course, this is Lisa Simpson. We decided not to wait for the thirtieth anniversary of the series and talk about it right now.
ALEXANDRA SAVINA
It’s hard to imagine a person who is completely unfamiliar with the heroes of the Simpsons, but just in case we recall that it’s about a family of the same name: Father Homer, a safety expert at a nuclear power plant who is clearly not qualified for his position, housewife Marge, ten years old schoolboy hooligans Barthe and his younger sister-pupil Lisa and younger daughter Maggie. And if a huge part of the jokes is built on the tricks of Bart or on the wrangles that Homer falls into, then for many seasons Lisa Simpson has remained the moral compass of the family and the series as a whole and today inspires no less than in the nineties and zero.
Lisa Simpson became an icon of feminism long before feminism penetrated pop culture as deeply as it is today. An ambitious student of excellence, a feminist, a Buddhist, a vegetarian, protecting nature, advocating for the liberation of Tibet and against any kind of discrimination - that’s all. At the same time, a second-grader from Springfield cannot be called a one-dimensional, clearly positive heroine: she is smart, but she often seems to others to be scandalous and therefore remains lonely, opposes sexism, but worries because of her appearance and is afraid not to fit into the standards of beauty, jealous, angry, offended and periodically fights with brother. In general, it is at the same time as we and the one we would like to be like.
An ambitious student of excellence, a feminist, a Buddhist, a vegetarian who protects nature, she is the same as we are and the one we would like to be like
Perhaps the most famous feminist moment of the Simpsons is the “Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy” series from the fifth season, which was released in 1994. Lisa, like almost any girl of her age, loves the doll Malibu Stacy (springfield analogue of Barbie). Once a toy company (whose board of directors consists exclusively of men) releases a talking version of the doll, and Lisa realizes with horror that Malibu Stacy broadcasts sexist stereotypes. Stacy speaks with phrases like "Let's buy cosmetics to please the boys!" or "Do not ask me - I'm just a girl!". But the most terrible discovery for Liza is that her mother, Marge, who, like Stacy, offers to “forget about all the problems behind a large bowl of strawberry ice cream” grew up on the same stereotypes. Joining together with the creator of Malibu Stacy, Stacy Lovell, Lisa comes up with her talking doll - Lisa the Lionheart, which should teach girls not to be afraid of anything and follow the dream. Both of them end up losing to corporations anyway: the company produces the “new” Malibu Stacy doll, which differs from the old one in that it has a cap - but the fans do not care. Nevertheless, Lisa the Lionheart inspires one little girl, and Liza is very pleased (though, as Stacy Lovell notes, one girl will not be able to cover the debts for the release of the doll).
This is not the only series in which The Simpsons deal with sexist stereotypes. For example, in a much later twenty-first season (2010), Lisa becomes a brunette, because in competition-debates she is not taken seriously because of her light-colored hair — and then defeats her opponent, revealing that she is actually blonde. Even in the fourth season, Lisa is worried about her appearance when an unpleasant caricature is painted on her - as a result, Homer enters her into the beauty contest “Little Miss Springfield” so that she feels more confident. Instead of a success story, the critique of the beauty industry as a whole is obtained. Lisa takes second place, but then gets the opportunity to become Little Miss Springfield, when her rival at one of the events strikes lightning. Simpson hopes to be able to talk about new things in the new post, but quickly becomes disillusioned with what is happening and loses his position because he does not want to advertise the brand of cigarettes sponsoring the contest.
Lisa becomes a brunette because in debate competitions she is not taken seriously because of her blond-colored hair - and then her opponent wins, revealing the truth
From the very beginning, Lisa Simpson talked about what was truly important to her and was not afraid of it. With all the insecurity she never doubted that she could change the world - in the eleventh season we learn that in 2030 Lisa will have to become president (and deal with budget problems after the presidency of Donald Trump). It is not surprising given the complex relations of Liza with the authorities and authorities in general: she acts, even if she knows that this will make her even more unpopular. One of the series of the show is even called “Liza - skeptic” - the heroine in her is the only one of all Springfield who does not want to believe that archaeologists have found the skeleton of an angel, and it turns out to be right: it turns out that the “miracle” is actually a supermarket chain stunt. In the same season, when the Simpsons family is involved in a dangerous religious movement, she refuses to take on faith what she is told in class (the answer to any question, everything was supposedly invented by the spiritual leader of the movement), it is true, then she has to obey. She becomes a vegetarian, although the whole family sings that “you can’t make friends with salad”, and in the later episodes she organizes a protest action in defense of the oldest redwood tree in Springfield. She even questions the half-century history of her native city when she finds out that the founder of Springfield was in fact a pirate and robber, not an honest person - but hesitates to tell others about it because she understands how important inspires.
In this case, Lisa is not ready to give up what is really important to her. In the Lisa's Wedding series, the fortune teller predicts that the second-grader Simpson will find love in the future, but will be forced to sever the ideal relationship, as the groom will ask her to give up her own family for their sake. Because of her integrity and earnestness, Lisa is often lonely - even in the headband she cannot fit into the performance of the school orchestra, because she wants to play by her own rules. She has few friends: occasionally she communicates with one of her classmates, and the only serious friendship she makes happens during the summer holidays - but, alas, we don’t hear anything more about these friends of Lisa, as it should be for summer friendship. Even the catchphrase separates her from other heroes: "If you need me, I'll be in my room." In fact, Lisa is the very female voice that so often is not heard in the general noise, because people are not used to listening to him and are not expected to receive anything important from him. What can I say, even in her own show she was not taken seriously for a long time: in an advertisement for one of the most important episodes about Lisa, "Lisa's Substitute", they focused on Bart.
Nevertheless, today the importance of the heroine is recognized both by the audience and the creators of the series. “I think she is sad all the time because she doesn’t fit into the surrounding reality and doesn’t know if the time will come when she can fit in,” says El Jin, executive producer and showrunner. whoever strives for something more, but until he succeeds, it gives hope that someday everything will come to pass. "
In 1994, in an interview with the magazine Ms., where she was the heroine of the material on Many Faces of Feminism, Lisa admitted that after twenty years she sees herself as a second-grader at a Springfield elementary school. But all the others she urges to strive for more: "Go to the third class! Move even further! I count on you."
PHOTO: 20th Century Fox
