Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington
Encyclopedia
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" is the second episode of The Simpsons
' third season
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. In the episode, Lisa
enters in an essay contest to write an essay about America's greatness. When she successfully wins it, she and the family travel to Washington, D.C.
where the finals are to be held. Lisa is dismayed after witnessing a bribery scandal in the Senate
. In her final essay, she disdains and condemns the government system
, which leads to the arrest of the corrupt congressman
who accepted the bribe. While Lisa fails to win the contest, her faith in government is restored.
The episode was written by George Meyer
and directed by Wes Archer
, and it was the first episode for which Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
served as show runner
s. It features multiple references to the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
, including the scene in which Lisa appeals to Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln Memorial
for advice. Other Washington landmarks referenced in the episode include the Jefferson Memorial
, the Watergate Hotel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House
, the National Air and Space Museum
, and the Washington Monument
.
The episode acquired a Nielsen rating
of 12.9, and was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. It received mostly positive reviews from television critics, who praised the episode for its satire on American politics. However, the timber industry criticized the scene in which Lisa witnesses a timber industry lobbyist offering a bribe to the congressman in order to demolish the Springfield Forest. The scene was described as "an easy shot at hard-working people whose only crime is to have been born in a timber town."
takes an interest in the Reading Digest
magazine after a copy is sent to the Simpson family
's residence. In the magazine, he notices an ad for a children's contest in which an essay must be written about what makes America great. Lisa
chooses to enter, takes a trip to Springfield Forest, and is inspired to write her essay when she sees the forest's natural beauty and when a bald eagle
lands right by the branch she is sitting under. Lisa's article is approved for entry in the national finals in Washington, D.C.
after the contest judge observes Homer's poor vocabulary and realizes that he could not have written Lisa's essay for her.
While Bart
and Homer abuse the all expense-paid perks of their trip, Lisa visits famous monuments for inspiration. At one particular monument, she overhears a corrupt congressman taking a bribe to demolish Springfield Forest. Heartbroken and disillusioned by the dishonesty of government officials, Lisa tears up her essay and writes a more painful yet truthful essay to show the patriotic judges. The new essay, entitled "Cesspool on the Potomac
", disdains and condemns the government system, and mentions the names of those involved in the bribery. Lisa's essay causes a ruckus and elicits a hostile reaction from the judges and audience. Messages are quickly sent around the capital regarding Lisa's speech and the corrupt congressman is arrested. Lisa's essay does not win because of its content, but with the congressman arrested, her faith in government is restored. The episode ends with Bart slingshotting the annoying pianist that performed at the contest.
. It is one of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
's favorite episodes of the earlier seasons because he thought it took the show to another level. Meyer said he has a "deep suspicion of social institutions and tradition in general," which affected the way he wrote the episode. Al Jean
and Mike Reiss
, who had written for The Simpsons since the start of the show, took over as show runner
s for the third season. Their first episode as show runners was "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and they felt a lot of pressure about running the show. Jean and Reiss were so pressured that they did six to seven rewrites of the script to make it funnier. Jean said "one reason for doing all these rewrites is because I kept thinking 'It's not good enough. It's not good enough'," and Reiss added that "we were definitely scared. We had never run anything before, and they dumped us on this."
Wes Archer
directed "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", which was one of the first episodes to feature the Simpson family traveling to a real-life location. Because much of the episode takes place outside of Springfield, new background and character designs had to be animated. The Simpson family visits several real-life landmarks in Washington, which the animators were able to draw with the help of photographs from the animation studio's library. The Simpsons director David Silverman
grew up in the Washington area so he was able to help out with the designs. Marge
's voice actor, Julie Kavner
, said she loved the charm of the family "just being on a trip and experiencing the hotel room they're staying at, and the integrity of Bart's character. You know, you just want to kill him for doing all those tricks and pranks." Jean believes this is one of the secrets of show's success, the fact that it is about a family and the writers can use experiences from their own or their family's life as an inspiration in their writing. He thought "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" was a perfectly constructed episode in that sense.
The title and plot of the episode is a parody of the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
, in which the character Jefferson Smith comes to Washington with patriotic enthusiasm, but is shocked to see evidence of corruption in the government. The Tampa Tribune
s Curtis Ross called this reference one of the best film references in The Simpsons' history. Lisa's visit to the Lincoln Memorial
is a direct reference to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which Smith appeals to Lincoln's statue
for inspiration like Lisa did in the episode. In his book Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era, Barry Schwartz writes that the scene with Lisa at the crowded monument shows how "thoroughly Lincoln's moral and emotional significance has waned." Mark Reinhart writes in the book Abraham Lincoln on Screen that the scene sums up "with brilliant wit" the American society's "annoying and ultimately useless tendency to ask [themselves] 'What would Lincoln have done?' whenever [they] face a political or social dilemma." Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was once again referenced on The Simpsons in the season fourteen
episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
".
In addition to the Lincoln Memorial, other Washington, D.C. landmarks visited include the Jefferson Memorial
, the Watergate Hotel (where the family stays), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House
, the National Air and Space Museum
, and the Washington Monument
. When the family visits the White House, they encounter former First Lady
Barbara Bush
in the bathtub of one of the many bathrooms. Another American landmark mentioned in the episode is Mount Rushmore
. In addition, Lisa proposes that the family attend the memorial of the fictional Winifred Beecher Howe, an early crusader for women's rights who later appeared on the unpopular 75-cent coins according to Lisa. This is a reference to the Susan B. Anthony dollar
coin, which was only minted for three years and never became popular.
The episode makes references to several real-life persons. The piano-playing satirist who annoys Bart is a reference to Mark Russell
. Bob Arnold, the corrupt congressman, tells Lisa that there are quite a few women senators, but Lisa asserts that there are only two. At the time of airing there were indeed only two female senators: Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas
and Barbara Mikulski
of Maryland
. Then-President George H. W. Bush
is featured briefly in the episode. Shortly after it aired, Bush disparaged The Simpsons in a speech during his re-election campaign on January 27, 1992. At that point family values were the cornerstone of Bush's campaign platform, so he gave the following speech at the National Religious Broadcasters
' convention in Washington: "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons
and a lot less like the Simpsons." As a result, Bush appeared in future episodes in a more negative light.
." Bitzer also wrote that The Simpsons, through "skillful" use of satire, demonstrates with this episode "insights into the underlying political culture and public opinion of the United States' governing system (and, more broadly, society at large)." In his book Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization, Paul Arthur Cantor said he was amazed by how far the episode "willing to take its corrosive satire of national politics." He said it "attacks the federal government at its foundation, the patriotic myths upon which its legitimacy lies. It makes fun of the very process by which patriotism is inculcated in the nation's youth, the hokey contests that lead children to outdo each other in progovernment effusions." When the corrupt congressman is arrested, Lisa proclaims "The system works!" Benedict Anderson wrote in the book The Spectre of Comparisons that series creator Matt Groening "assumes that his tickled audience is confident that the system barely works [...] So why does he need to show a patriot at all, especially one who is a deluded little female block-head? Probably because he, too, wishes to be seen as giving America another chance. Mr. Lisa guarantees his good intentions."
Günter Beck, a lecturer for the German Academic Exchange Service
(DAAD) at the Haifa Center for German and European Studies at the University of Haifa
in Israel, compared Lisa's role in the episode to the nineteenth century American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau
. He writes that Lisa stands up against the public's indifference towards the political system that Thoreau criticized, and comments that the emphasis should be "on the brave moral decision to stand up for principles and against the broad public. By this courageous act, 'to do what is right', an individual could save the well-being of the whole community. And indeed, Lisa’s bravery is the impulse for the state’s representatives to carry out their democratic obligations, so she can gladly notice 'The system works!' — her trust in democracy and its institutions is restored. Thoreau on the other hand, had no lasting trust in the system but only in the people themselves and in the individual’s capacity to realize development and democracy."
of 12.9, equivalent to approximately 11.9 million viewing households. The Simpsons was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Married... with Children
and In Living Color
. "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and the episode "When Flanders Failed
" were released on videocassette in 1999, entitled The Best of the Simpsons. The episode was later included on the Simpsons season three DVD set that was released on August 26, 2003. Wes Archer, David Silverman, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, and Julie Kavner participated in the DVD's audio commentary
of the episode.
Since airing, the episode has received mostly positive reviews from television critics. It was named the third best episode of The Simpsons by Sarah Culp of The Quindecim, and one of the ten best episodes by Jim Schembri of The Age
. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised the episode for being one of the best Lisa-centric episodes, and called Lisa's talk with Thomas Jefferson
and her nightmare vision of politicians as pigs "especially worthy of note." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 4.5 rating and said it is one of the best episodes featuring Lisa, "complete with poignant observations about politics." He particularly enjoyed the appearance of Barbara Bush at the White House. The Austin American-Statesman
' s Steven Stein said this was the first episode of The Simpsons he saw. Even though he did not understand half of the pop culture references, by the end of the episode he was a "Simpsons convert." He thought there was "something exotic about an issue as serious as political corruption being dealt with in a cartoon and being interrupted by jokes about beer and, yes, doughnuts."
The episode was praised for its political satire. Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict called the episode a "biting political satire in the guise of a children's oratory contest", that "signifies that this season of the series will be all over the map, both emotionally and logically." Gibron added: "Everything, from the Reader's Digest rants to the formulaic speeches of the youths, has a resounding ring of truth. And once the story moves to Washington D.C, our nation's capital is in for a royal reaming as well." Bryce Wilson of Cinema Blend
said the episode solidified the series' politically satirical voice as it "bitch slapped the Bush administration" that would later badmouth The Simpsons. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, however, gave the episode a more negative review, stating that it "has its moments but never seems like one of the series’ better programs. Part of that stems from its somewhat icky ending. The show exhibits a tone that feels more appropriate to a less biting and cynical series. It starts well with Homer’s obsession with Reading Digest. After that, the show seems more erratic, and it remains pretty average overall."
' s Rodney Ferguson, the timber industry was insulted by the scene in which a timber industry lobbyist offers a bribe to the corrupt congressman so that he can demolish Springfield Forest. The Oregon Lands Coalition, a pro-timber group in Salem, Oregon
, "bombarded" the producers of the show with phone calls and mail protesting the episode. The coalition said it portrayed loggers unfairly and is "allowing itself to be used by environmental extremists." In an open letter to The Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks
, the coalition wrote: "Rather than approach this issue with genuine concern for Mother Earth, you took an easy shot at hard-working people whose only crime is to have been born in a timber town." Karen Clark, a payroll clerk for a timber company in Stayton, Oregon
, said: "The Simpsons portrayed us as greedy, bribery-type people. It didn't portray us as the everyday people—mothers, fathers, good members of society—that we are." Luke Popovich, vice president of the American Forest Council, wrote a letter to the show's producer to protest "the fuzzy-headed characterizations that pass for political correctness, the thinking in Hollywood where people are not very serious about these issues, but interested in pushing the right hot buttons, scoring the right points with audiences."
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening responded to the criticism in an interview with TV Guide
, in which he said he did "research on the ecological damage caused by clear-cutting and over-logging [and] it's really appalling." Jackie Lang, a timber industry activist in Salem who helped lead the protest against the Fox network and Groening, said she was appalled by Groening's response, and "he will be sorry he ever made it." Jake Hogan, supervising producer of the show, defended Groening: "[The episodes] are just little stories, little comedies—stories that make people laugh." On October 15, 1991, Groening issued another statement the public, in which he said: "So now a few lumber companies have joined the nuclear power industry, right-wing preachers and high-ranking Republicans in attacking The Simpsons. We must be doing something right. I must point out The Simpsons is a cartoon show—not 60 Minutes
. Later in the show, the same lobbyist proposed drilling for oil in Teddy Roosevelt's head at Mount Rushmore. Please don't tell the oil companies about this."
David Reinhard of The Oregonian
commented on the criticism: "Hollywood sharpsters can always make a group from the great American hinterland look ridiculous when it zeroes in on one show, particularly if that show is a cartoon. And the Oregon Lands Coalition's protest was a bit of an overreaction. But the environmental sloganeering of The Simpsons as well as Groening's cartoon commentary are symptomatic of a Hollywood and a popular culture that are hostile to the concerns and values of most Americans." After the episode aired, media researchers Robert Lichter and Linda S. Lichter found in a study of prime-time television that when shows dealt with business themes, 89 percent portrayed businessmen as swindlers or liars.
The same day Groening released his second statement, The Simpsons publicist Antonia Coffman was invited by Wayne Giesy, sales manager of Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. in Bellfountain, Oregon
, to visit Oregon and see "responsible timber management." Giesy said they wanted to show the producers "how we log, how we manufacture, what goods we produce for everyone and how we replant for future generations. What most timber companies are interested in is a balanced program."
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
The Simpsons (season 3)
The Simpsons third season originally aired on the Fox network between September 19, 1991 and May 7, 1992. The show runners for the third production season were Al Jean and Mike Reiss who executive produced 22 episodes the season, while two other episodes were produced by James L. Brooks, Matt...
. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. In the episode, Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
enters in an essay contest to write an essay about America's greatness. When she successfully wins it, she and the family travel to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where the finals are to be held. Lisa is dismayed after witnessing a bribery scandal in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. In her final essay, she disdains and condemns the government system
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, which leads to the arrest of the corrupt congressman
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
who accepted the bribe. While Lisa fails to win the contest, her faith in government is restored.
The episode was written by George Meyer
George Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
and directed by Wes Archer
Wes Archer
Wesley Meyer Archer is a television animation director. He was one of the original three animators on The Simpsons' Tracey Ullman shorts and subsequently directed a number of The Simpsons episodes before becoming supervising director at King of the Hill. A...
, and it was the first episode for which Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
served as show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s. It features multiple references to the 1939 film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
, including the scene in which Lisa appeals to Lincoln's statue at the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
for advice. Other Washington landmarks referenced in the episode include the Jefferson Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
, the Watergate Hotel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, and the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
.
The episode acquired a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.9, and was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network the week it aired. It received mostly positive reviews from television critics, who praised the episode for its satire on American politics. However, the timber industry criticized the scene in which Lisa witnesses a timber industry lobbyist offering a bribe to the congressman in order to demolish the Springfield Forest. The scene was described as "an easy shot at hard-working people whose only crime is to have been born in a timber town."
Plot
HomerHomer Simpson
Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
takes an interest in the Reading Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
magazine after a copy is sent to the Simpson family
Simpson family
The Simpson family is a family of fictional characters featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. The Simpsons are a nuclear family consisting of the married couple Homer and Marge and their three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. They live at 742 Evergreen Terrace in the fictional town...
's residence. In the magazine, he notices an ad for a children's contest in which an essay must be written about what makes America great. Lisa
Lisa Simpson
Lisa Marie Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons. She is the middle child of the Simpson family. Voiced by Yeardley Smith, Lisa first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987. Cartoonist Matt Groening...
chooses to enter, takes a trip to Springfield Forest, and is inspired to write her essay when she sees the forest's natural beauty and when a bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
lands right by the branch she is sitting under. Lisa's article is approved for entry in the national finals in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
after the contest judge observes Homer's poor vocabulary and realizes that he could not have written Lisa's essay for her.
While Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
and Homer abuse the all expense-paid perks of their trip, Lisa visits famous monuments for inspiration. At one particular monument, she overhears a corrupt congressman taking a bribe to demolish Springfield Forest. Heartbroken and disillusioned by the dishonesty of government officials, Lisa tears up her essay and writes a more painful yet truthful essay to show the patriotic judges. The new essay, entitled "Cesspool on the Potomac
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
", disdains and condemns the government system, and mentions the names of those involved in the bribery. Lisa's essay causes a ruckus and elicits a hostile reaction from the judges and audience. Messages are quickly sent around the capital regarding Lisa's speech and the corrupt congressman is arrested. Lisa's essay does not win because of its content, but with the congressman arrested, her faith in government is restored. The episode ends with Bart slingshotting the annoying pianist that performed at the contest.
Production
The episode was written by George MeyerGeorge Meyer
George A. Meyer is an American producer and writer. Raised in Tucson, Arizona in a Roman Catholic family, Meyer attended Harvard University. There, after becoming president of the Harvard Lampoon, he graduated in 1978 with a degree in biochemistry. Abandoning plans to attend medical school, Meyer...
. It is one of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
's favorite episodes of the earlier seasons because he thought it took the show to another level. Meyer said he has a "deep suspicion of social institutions and tradition in general," which affected the way he wrote the episode. Al Jean
Al Jean
Al Jean is an award-winning American screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on The Simpsons. He was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Harvard University in 1981. Jean began his writing career in the 1980s with fellow Harvard alum Mike Reiss...
and Mike Reiss
Mike Reiss
Michael "Mike" Reiss is an American television comedy writer. He served as a show-runner, writer and producer for the animated series The Simpsons and co-created the animated series The Critic...
, who had written for The Simpsons since the start of the show, took over as show runner
Show runner
Showrunner is a term of art originating in the United States and Canadian television industry referring to the person who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of a television seriesalthough such persons generally are credited as an executive producer...
s for the third season. Their first episode as show runners was "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and they felt a lot of pressure about running the show. Jean and Reiss were so pressured that they did six to seven rewrites of the script to make it funnier. Jean said "one reason for doing all these rewrites is because I kept thinking 'It's not good enough. It's not good enough'," and Reiss added that "we were definitely scared. We had never run anything before, and they dumped us on this."
Wes Archer
Wes Archer
Wesley Meyer Archer is a television animation director. He was one of the original three animators on The Simpsons' Tracey Ullman shorts and subsequently directed a number of The Simpsons episodes before becoming supervising director at King of the Hill. A...
directed "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington", which was one of the first episodes to feature the Simpson family traveling to a real-life location. Because much of the episode takes place outside of Springfield, new background and character designs had to be animated. The Simpson family visits several real-life landmarks in Washington, which the animators were able to draw with the help of photographs from the animation studio's library. The Simpsons director David Silverman
David Silverman
David Silverman is an animator best known for directing numerous episodes of the animated TV series The Simpsons, as well as The Simpsons Movie...
grew up in the Washington area so he was able to help out with the designs. Marge
Marge Simpson
Marjorie "Marge" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the eponymous family. She is voiced by actress Julie Kavner and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
's voice actor, Julie Kavner
Julie Kavner
Julie Deborah Kavner is an American film and television actress, comedian and voice artist. Noted for her role as Marge Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons, she also voices other characters for the show, including Jacqueline Bouvier, and Patty and Selma Bouvier.Born in Los...
, said she loved the charm of the family "just being on a trip and experiencing the hotel room they're staying at, and the integrity of Bart's character. You know, you just want to kill him for doing all those tricks and pranks." Jean believes this is one of the secrets of show's success, the fact that it is about a family and the writers can use experiences from their own or their family's life as an inspiration in their writing. He thought "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" was a perfectly constructed episode in that sense.
Cultural references
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American drama film starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart about one man's effect on American politics. It was directed by Frank Capra and written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story. Mr...
, in which the character Jefferson Smith comes to Washington with patriotic enthusiasm, but is shocked to see evidence of corruption in the government. The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune, published in Tampa, Florida, is one of two major newspapers published in the Tampa Bay area, second in circulation and readership to the St. Petersburg Times. The paper's tagline is "Life...
s Curtis Ross called this reference one of the best film references in The Simpsons
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is an American memorial built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The architect was Henry Bacon, the sculptor of the main statue was Daniel Chester French, and the painter of the interior...
is a direct reference to Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, in which Smith appeals to Lincoln's statue
Abraham Lincoln (1920 statue)
Abraham Lincoln is a colossal seated figure of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln sculpted by Daniel Chester French and carved by the Piccirilli Brothers. It is situated in the Lincoln Memorial , on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., USA, and was unveiled in 1922...
for inspiration like Lisa did in the episode. In his book Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era, Barry Schwartz writes that the scene with Lisa at the crowded monument shows how "thoroughly Lincoln's moral and emotional significance has waned." Mark Reinhart writes in the book Abraham Lincoln on Screen that the scene sums up "with brilliant wit" the American society's "annoying and ultimately useless tendency to ask [themselves] 'What would Lincoln have done?' whenever [they] face a political or social dilemma." Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was once again referenced on The Simpsons in the season fourteen
The Simpsons (season 14)
The fourteenth season of the animated television series The Simpsons was originally broadcast on the Fox network in the United States between November 3, 2002 and May 18, 2003. The show runner for the fourteenth production season was Al Jean, who executive produced 21 of 22 episodes. The other...
episode "Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington
"Mr. Spritz Goes to Washington" is the fourteenth episode from The Simpsons 14th season which aired on March 9, 2003.-Plot:While watching a very late episode of The Three Stooges , the Simpsons feel the ground shaking. They discover an airplane flying dangerously close to their house...
".
Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial in Washington, D.C. that is dedicated to Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States....
, the Watergate Hotel (where the family stays), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, and the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
. When the family visits the White House, they encounter former First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She is the mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and of the 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush...
in the bathtub of one of the many bathrooms. Another American landmark mentioned in the episode is Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore near Keystone, South Dakota, in the United States...
. In addition, Lisa proposes that the family attend the memorial of the fictional Winifred Beecher Howe, an early crusader for women's rights who later appeared on the unpopular 75-cent coins according to Lisa. This is a reference to the Susan B. Anthony dollar
Susan B. Anthony dollar
The Susan B. Anthony dollar is a United States coin minted from 1979 to 1981, and again in 1999. It depicts women's suffrage campaigner Susan B. Anthony on a dollar coin. It was the first circulating U.S. coin with the portrait of an actual woman rather than an allegorical female figure such as...
coin, which was only minted for three years and never became popular.
The episode makes references to several real-life persons. The piano-playing satirist who annoys Bart is a reference to Mark Russell
Mark Russell
Mark Russell is an American political satirist/comedian. He also sings and plays the piano.-Biography:...
. Bob Arnold, the corrupt congressman, tells Lisa that there are quite a few women senators, but Lisa asserts that there are only two. At the time of airing there were indeed only two female senators: Nancy Landon Kassebaum of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
and Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. Then-President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
is featured briefly in the episode. Shortly after it aired, Bush disparaged The Simpsons in a speech during his re-election campaign on January 27, 1992. At that point family values were the cornerstone of Bush's campaign platform, so he gave the following speech at the National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters
National Religious Broadcasters is an American organization that represents Christian religious broadcasters on American television and radio, including several high-profile televangelists and Christian radio show hosts. It claims a membership of more than 1700 organizations...
' convention in Washington: "We are going to keep on trying to strengthen the American family, to make American families a lot more like the Waltons
The Waltons
The Waltons is an American television series created by Earl Hamner, Jr., based on his book Spencer's Mountain, and a 1963 film of the same name. The show centered on a family growing up in a rural Virginia community during the Great Depression and World War II. The series pilot was a television...
and a lot less like the Simpsons." As a result, Bush appeared in future episodes in a more negative light.
Themes and analysis
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" has been labeled as a satire on American politics. Michael Bitzer, in an edited book by Joseph Foy and Stanley Schultz entitled Homer Simpson Goes to Washington, said this episode "espouses the virtues, vices, and varieties of American political culture, public opinion, and ultimately the American DreamAmerican Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
." Bitzer also wrote that The Simpsons, through "skillful" use of satire, demonstrates with this episode "insights into the underlying political culture and public opinion of the United States' governing system (and, more broadly, society at large)." In his book Gilligan Unbound: Pop Culture in the Age of Globalization, Paul Arthur Cantor said he was amazed by how far the episode "willing to take its corrosive satire of national politics." He said it "attacks the federal government at its foundation, the patriotic myths upon which its legitimacy lies. It makes fun of the very process by which patriotism is inculcated in the nation's youth, the hokey contests that lead children to outdo each other in progovernment effusions." When the corrupt congressman is arrested, Lisa proclaims "The system works!" Benedict Anderson wrote in the book The Spectre of Comparisons that series creator Matt Groening "assumes that his tickled audience is confident that the system barely works [...] So why does he need to show a patriot at all, especially one who is a deluded little female block-head? Probably because he, too, wishes to be seen as giving America another chance. Mr. Lisa guarantees his good intentions."
Günter Beck, a lecturer for the German Academic Exchange Service
German Academic Exchange Service
The German Academic Exchange Service or DAAD is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation....
(DAAD) at the Haifa Center for German and European Studies at the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
in Israel, compared Lisa's role in the episode to the nineteenth century American poet and philosopher Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
. He writes that Lisa stands up against the public's indifference towards the political system that Thoreau criticized, and comments that the emphasis should be "on the brave moral decision to stand up for principles and against the broad public. By this courageous act, 'to do what is right', an individual could save the well-being of the whole community. And indeed, Lisa’s bravery is the impulse for the state’s representatives to carry out their democratic obligations, so she can gladly notice 'The system works!' — her trust in democracy and its institutions is restored. Thoreau on the other hand, had no lasting trust in the system but only in the people themselves and in the individual’s capacity to realize development and democracy."
Broadcast and re-releases
"Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 26, 1991. The episode finished 36th in the ratings for the week of September 23–29, 1991, with a Nielsen ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 12.9, equivalent to approximately 11.9 million viewing households. The Simpsons was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following Married... with Children
Married... with Children
Married... with Children is an American surrealistic sitcom that aired for 11 seasons that featured a dysfunctional family living in Chicago, Illinois. The show, notable for being the first prime time television series to air on Fox, ran from April 5, 1987, to June 9, 1997. The series was created...
and In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
. "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" and the episode "When Flanders Failed
When Flanders Failed
"When Flanders Failed" is the third episode of the The Simpsons third season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 3, 1991. In the episode, Homer makes a wish for Ned Flanders's new left-handed store to go out of business. The wish comes true and gets the Flanders...
" were released on videocassette in 1999, entitled The Best of the Simpsons. The episode was later included on the Simpsons season three DVD set that was released on August 26, 2003. Wes Archer, David Silverman, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Reiss, and Julie Kavner participated in the DVD's audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
of the episode.
Critical reviews
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
. The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, praised the episode for being one of the best Lisa-centric episodes, and called Lisa's talk with Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and her nightmare vision of politicians as pigs "especially worthy of note." Nate Meyers of Digitally Obsessed gave the episode a 4.5 rating and said it is one of the best episodes featuring Lisa, "complete with poignant observations about politics." He particularly enjoyed the appearance of Barbara Bush at the White House. The Austin American-Statesman
Austin American-Statesman
The Austin American-Statesman is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is an award-winning publication owned by Cox Enterprises. The Newspaper places focus on issues affecting Austin and the Central Texas region....
The episode was praised for its political satire. Bill Gibron of DVD Verdict called the episode a "biting political satire in the guise of a children's oratory contest", that "signifies that this season of the series will be all over the map, both emotionally and logically." Gibron added: "Everything, from the Reader's Digest rants to the formulaic speeches of the youths, has a resounding ring of truth. And once the story moves to Washington D.C, our nation's capital is in for a royal reaming as well." Bryce Wilson of Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend
Cinema Blend is a website founded and run by Josh Tyler dedicated to news and reviews of upcoming and currently playing films, movie projects, Television Shows, and a newly founded Music section which covers album reviews, band interviews and daily news from the industry. It combines gossip from...
said the episode solidified the series' politically satirical voice as it "bitch slapped the Bush administration" that would later badmouth The Simpsons. DVD Movie Guide's Colin Jacobson, however, gave the episode a more negative review, stating that it "has its moments but never seems like one of the series’ better programs. Part of that stems from its somewhat icky ending. The show exhibits a tone that feels more appropriate to a less biting and cynical series. It starts well with Homer’s obsession with Reading Digest. After that, the show seems more erratic, and it remains pretty average overall."
Response from the timber industry
According to The Plain DealerSalem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
, "bombarded" the producers of the show with phone calls and mail protesting the episode. The coalition said it portrayed loggers unfairly and is "allowing itself to be used by environmental extremists." In an open letter to The Simpsons executive producer James L. Brooks
James L. Brooks
James Lawrence Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at CBS, going on to write for the...
, the coalition wrote: "Rather than approach this issue with genuine concern for Mother Earth, you took an easy shot at hard-working people whose only crime is to have been born in a timber town." Karen Clark, a payroll clerk for a timber company in Stayton, Oregon
Stayton, Oregon
Stayton is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, located southeast of the state capital, Salem, on Oregon Route 22. It is south of Sublimity and east of Aumsville. Located on the North Santiam River, Stayton is a regional agricultural and light manufacturing center. The population was...
, said: "The Simpsons portrayed us as greedy, bribery-type people. It didn't portray us as the everyday people—mothers, fathers, good members of society—that we are." Luke Popovich, vice president of the American Forest Council, wrote a letter to the show's producer to protest "the fuzzy-headed characterizations that pass for political correctness, the thinking in Hollywood where people are not very serious about these issues, but interested in pushing the right hot buttons, scoring the right points with audiences."
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, in which he said he did "research on the ecological damage caused by clear-cutting and over-logging [and] it's really appalling." Jackie Lang, a timber industry activist in Salem who helped lead the protest against the Fox network and Groening, said she was appalled by Groening's response, and "he will be sorry he ever made it." Jake Hogan, supervising producer of the show, defended Groening: "[The episodes] are just little stories, little comedies—stories that make people laugh." On October 15, 1991, Groening issued another statement the public, in which he said: "So now a few lumber companies have joined the nuclear power industry, right-wing preachers and high-ranking Republicans in attacking The Simpsons. We must be doing something right. I must point out The Simpsons is a cartoon show—not 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
. Later in the show, the same lobbyist proposed drilling for oil in Teddy Roosevelt's head at Mount Rushmore. Please don't tell the oil companies about this."
David Reinhard of The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
commented on the criticism: "Hollywood sharpsters can always make a group from the great American hinterland look ridiculous when it zeroes in on one show, particularly if that show is a cartoon. And the Oregon Lands Coalition's protest was a bit of an overreaction. But the environmental sloganeering of The Simpsons as well as Groening's cartoon commentary are symptomatic of a Hollywood and a popular culture that are hostile to the concerns and values of most Americans." After the episode aired, media researchers Robert Lichter and Linda S. Lichter found in a study of prime-time television that when shows dealt with business themes, 89 percent portrayed businessmen as swindlers or liars.
The same day Groening released his second statement, The Simpsons publicist Antonia Coffman was invited by Wayne Giesy, sales manager of Hull-Oakes Lumber Co. in Bellfountain, Oregon
Bellfountain, Oregon
Bellfountain is an unincorporated community in Benton County, Oregon, United States. Bellfountain lies on Bellfountain Road north of Alpine and northwest of Monroe. The population was 75 at the 2010 census.-Early history:...
, to visit Oregon and see "responsible timber management." Giesy said they wanted to show the producers "how we log, how we manufacture, what goods we produce for everyone and how we replant for future generations. What most timber companies are interested in is a balanced program."
External links
- "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" at The Simpsons.com