Embiggening the Smallest Man:
"Lisa the Iconoclast" & Post-Irony
From the opening couch gag, a Brady Bunch intro homage, “Lisa the Iconoclast” is an episode that knows its place in and its relation to history and TV and traditionalism. This episode tackles the cliché of civic pride with refreshing honesty and levelheadedness. So often a paragon of ironic detachment, many find it odd or distasteful that The Simpsons trifle with such fuddy-duddy- Andy Griffith-y themes. However, the yellow family is the perfect vehicle for the 90’s era post-post-modern to rediscover these themes. Just like the phony, skipping anachronism that is the educational film reel that opens the episode, these themes need revitalization and a fresh look.
Lisa-oriented episodes are notable for their departure from the outrageous, even cartoonish, plots of Bart or Homer centered episodes. Lisa episodes allow the for a certain degree of sincerity and introspection, a realism of emotion that is never sniffed by lesser imitations such as Family Guy etc. Consequently, Lisa episodes are often controversial amongst critics and viewers (Lisa the Vegetarian). This episode is no different. The historical intrigue adventure Lisa takes us on is equal parts Dan Brown and Nancy Drew. Lisa is unapologetically nerdy but is driven by a genuine love for her town’s history and its myths. She is faced with the realization that myth and history are often incompatible as she discovers the unsavory truth of town founder Jebehiah Springfield and his real identity: Hans Sprungfield, murderous pirate.
Lisa’s demystification of Jebediah is met almost universally with scorn and ridicule. From Hollis Hurlbut (a brilliantly subtle performance by Donald Sutherland) to her school teacher Ms. Hoover, Lisa is dismissed as a rabble rouser and a sacrilege. Even the generally repulsive and unsentimental bartender Moe Szyslak who “supports pretty much any prejudice you can name” has no place for Lisa’s “hero-phobia”, it sickens him. Most unsettling though, is Ms. Hoover’s misogynistic accusation of Lisa as a “P.C thug”: “it’s women like you that keep the rest of us from landing a husband.” Lisa is met with a great deal of scorn and vitriol from those unwilling to hear compromising accusations of their beloved hero. The episode is a literal and figurative digging up of bones. As Jebediah’s coffin is unearthed, Springfield is forced to see the reality that lies behind the myths that often are the only things that tie us together as citizens. That’s a really tough realization for anybody to make and it’s ultimately eight year old Lisa Simpson who sees through to the real truth.
The episode’s controversy is centered on the controversial climax wherein Lisa declines to reveal the truth about Jebediah. Looking out on the crowd, Lisa sees all our favorite springfieldians gathered for the sake of celebrating their town’s bicentennial with pride and a sense common heritage. What changes her mind when she looks out on the crowd is the hope, and optimism, and pride, and dignity, and love, and all the other sappy affective things that bind their crappy little town together. Ironically, all of this ends up actually revitalizing all the claims the “Young Jebediah Springfield” film so hopelessly fails to communicate. Lisa proves that she doesn’t always have to be right and she does it in a way that shows determination, courage, and integrity in the face of a lot of criticism from a lot of authority figures
The writers and producers of this episode exhibit much of the same resilience and courage that Lisa shows in this episode. In the face of a lot of criticism from Comicbook Guyesque armchair critics who slammed the episode (“not only predictable…but also bad”, snpp.com/episodes/F313), the writers maintain their artistic integrity in the same way that Lisa sticks by what she realizes is truly important.
The Simpsons’ refusal to be co-opted by the post-postmodern hangover of the late 90’s shows its true counterculture spirit. In fact, the only thing iconoclastic about this episode is the subordination of the ray, sardonic, sarcastic, cartoon sitcom which even at that time had become a predictable trope. The Simpsons have been able to maintain relevance for such an incredible run of time simply because of this oppositional freshness that is at the heart of every decent episode. Able to rise above the empty cynicism and aimless, banal irony that predominated the age, The Simpsons, cartoon laureates, if you will, distinguish themselves as truly authentic cultural bearers for our generation.
