Why Lisa Simpson matters

There's an episode of The Simpsons where Homer finds out that the reason for his unintelligence is a crayon that was lodged in his brain when he was six years old. He has the crayon removed and turns out to be more intelligent than the average person. He soon learns that being more intelligent than the people around you can actually be very painful and difficult. He's finally able to form a bond with Lisa, but otherwise his sudden intelligence turns out to be a disaster.

The second best moment of the episode is when Homer goes to the movies and realizes that he has no idea why everybody around him is laughing at incredibly stupid jokes. (That's actually what my life is like almost every second of every day.) He's eventually thrown out of the cinema, and he decides to have the crayon put back into his brain in order to become a moron again.

What follows is the best moment of the episode: Lisa is initially saddened that she and her father have lost the new connection they shared, but cheers up when she finds a note written by Homer before the operation, explaining that while he is taking the "coward's way out," he has greater appreciation for Lisa after realizing what it is like to be smart like she is.

It's stuff like this that makes me love The Simpsons.

...do I love The Simpsons? I guess so. I mean, for a couple of years now I haven't really had a life so I've watched the show almost daily.

This is something that a lot of people don't understand: Lisa Simpson is the most important character in the whole series. She's the dramatic centre that makes things happen. Lisa Simpson is the deeper, more complex, politically and psychologically aware level that makes The Simpsons interesting. She's also the stirring element of the series, a surprisingly tragic character that creates most of the moments that actually move you. Sometimes she breaks my heart. Her life is not easy, and I know how it feels.

Bart Simpson is a very conventional character. There's nothing revolutionary about him. He's not the rebel in the family. Lisa is.

(Unfortunately, something has changed. I'm not sure why, but the latest seasons of the Simpsons are fucking awful. All the characters are dead. They've become soulless zombies. Including Lisa - she's become unrecogizable. Nowadays the only sign of Lisa's political side is that when she sees meat, she faints. What?

Another great loss: they've ruined Marge. Marge used to be this strangely amusing, almost surreal character, The Naivest Woman on Earth, and now her only role is to be the Nagging Wife. Probably 80 % of the humour in the newer episodes is about 'THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES' - what? Where did this come from? It's painfully unfunny, old-fashioned and boring. This is not The Simpsons. I guess 'the battle of the sexes' thing is a sign that the series has been running for too long. Maybe it's time to go.)



Anyway. I've noticed that there are many people who hate Lisa Simpson. That's understandable, in a way. She's the smart kid, and people who are not smart rarely like those who are. She has something to say, and those who don't have anything to say usually hate those who do.

If you hate Lisa Simpson, you'll probably hate me. I virtually am Lisa Simpson. But I'm asking you to give me a chance. If we met in the street, you might like me. I have kind eyes.