The Simpsons voice actor Yeardley Smith reveals one of the long-running writing secrets behind her character Lisa Simpson. The animated sitcom, which just finished airing season 33 on Fox this May, is the longest-running scripted prime-time series in America, having started airing in 1989 after originating as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. The series, which now comprises a sprawling 728 episodes, is a subversive parody of the family sitcom, following the adventures of the Simpson family, including the pacifier-sucking baby Maggie Simpson, the bratty eldest son Bart Simpson, the level-headed, blue-haired mom Marge Simpson, and the beer-swilling, oafish dad Homer Simpson.
The family is rounded out by Lisa Simpson, voiced by Smith. Lisa is the middle child of the Simpson family, and even though she is only in second grade, she is one of the smartest characters on the series. She is passionate about the causes she cares about, especially left-wing ideals, the environment, and feminism, though she can sometimes be self-righteous and is often shrugged off by the various Springfield citizens around her.
On a recent episode of the Allison Interviews podcast (via Good Men Project), host Allison Kugel sat down with Smith to discuss her history as Lisa Simpson. She tells an amusing story about how she was so impressed with the writers that she decided to sit in on a session in one of the show's two writers rooms, though they were so uncomfortable being observed that she quickly had to leave. However, she reveals she was able to glean one important bit of information about how the writers view her character, saying "they’ve all worked out all of their own childhood angst through Lisa Simpson." Read her full quote below:
I once went a few years ago to visit the writers’ room, just to see, because I admire them so much. There are always two writers’ rooms going at once. I asked if I could come and sit in and they said, ‘Yes, of course.’ I went and sat down, and I could hear them working before I got into the room. The door was closed, but I could hear laughter and lots of conversation.
I walked in and everything just went [silent]. Everyone just gulped. I thought, ‘No, no, no. I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to admire you. I just want to see how you do your thing.’ I sat there for about ten minutes thinking, ‘Clearly, this is not going to work,’ so I respectfully excused myself. The only thing I will say is that the writers, themselves, have said that they’ve all worked out all of their own childhood angst through Lisa Simpson.
Lisa certainly experiences her fair share of angst over the course of the long run of The Simpsons. Naturally, most of it comes from the fact that the things she cares most passionately about are perpetually put down. However, she is also at an age where she is beginning to feel romantic feelings for classmates and other people her age, which is a confusing and terrifying time for a young woman who views herself as being completely in charge of her faculties.
It makes perfect sense that Lisa would be the conduit for the The Simpsons writers' angst. Although it is likely that not every writer shares her specific concerns about the world around her, she is nevertheless relatable to most smart and funny people. As kids, they likely all struggled with the fact that they had something to share with the world that the adults around them persistently ignored, allowing Lisa to become an extremely cathartic character to write for.
Source: Allison Interviews