Lisa the Skeptic
Encyclopedia
"Lisa the Skeptic" is the eighth episode of The Simpsons
' ninth season
, first aired on November 23, 1997. On an archaeological
dig with her class, Lisa
discovers a skeleton that resembles an angel
. All of the townspeople believe that the skeleton actually came from an angel, but skeptical
Lisa attempts to persuade them that there must be a rational scientific explanation.
Writer David S. Cohen
had the inspiration for the episode after visiting the American Museum of Natural History
, and decided to loosely parallel themes from the Scopes Monkey Trial
. The episode has been discussed in the context of concepts involving virtual reality
, ontology
, existentialism
, and skepticism. The episode received mixed reviews, but has since been used in Christian religious education classes to form a discussion about angels, skepticism, science, and faith.
attempts to claim a motorboat
from a "police raffle" that turns out to be a sting operation
, a new mall in Springfield is being built on an area where a large number of fossil
s were found. Lisa condemns and protests the building of the mall. Thanks to her protest, it prompts the school to conduct an archaeological dig. During the excavations, Lisa finds a human skeleton with wings. Springfield's residents are convinced it is an angel, and Homer cashes in by moving the skeleton into the family's garage. Lisa remains skeptical and—believing it may not actually be an angel—has Stephen Jay Gould
test a sample. When Dr. Gould appears at the Simpson house the next day to tell Lisa that the tests were inconclusive, Lisa goes on TV
to compare the belief in angels to the belief in unicorn
s and leprechaun
s (with Brockman stating that leprechauns are extinct). In response, Springfield's religious zealots go on a rampage to destroy all scientific institutions (including, in a side joke, the destruction of a Christian Science
library). Appalled by the violence, Lisa goes into the garage to destroy the skeleton, only to find that it has disappeared. The mob soon converges on the Simpson household, and Lisa is promptly arrested and put on trial for stealing the skeleton. However, before the trial can proceed, the courtroom's attention is diverted when the skeleton appears outside.
When the skeleton reappears, it carries a foreboding message that "The End
" will come at sundown. Meanwhile, Judge Snyder issues a restraining order
to keep science and religion 500 yards (457.2 m) apart at all times. Sundown approaches, and Springfield's citizens are frightened, but nothing catastrophic occurs. As Lisa starts to reprimand them, the skeleton suddenly silences her and yells "Prepare for the end... the end of high prices!" and is hoisted over to the entrance of the new discount mall that it was originally found under. Lisa realizes that the "end is near" saga was actually a publicity stunt for the mall as a way to exploit the deepest beliefs of people, and calls for a boycott
of the mall. She fails, and the bargain-hunting public go shopping. Dr. Gould subsequently confesses that he did not actually do any testing. In the end, Marge
points out to Lisa that, despite all her skepticism, for a few seconds while it was rising Lisa truly believed the angel was real. Lisa denies this, but thanks her mother for her support in her moment of fear.
, and directed by Neil Affleck
. Cohen was inspired to write the episode after a trip to Manhattan
's American Museum of Natural History
, where he decided to turn the visit into a "business trip", and think of a possible episode connection to the museum. He initially wanted Lisa to find a "missing link
" skeleton, and do an episode reminiscent of the Scopes Monkey Trial
. Writer George Meyer
convinced him to instead have the focus be on an angel skeleton, while keeping an emphasis on the conflict between religion and science
. Both Cohen and Meyer acknowledged how silly the "angel skeleton" idea was due to simple questions raised such as why an angel died and why bones were left behind, but they went forward with the idea anyway.
In an early draft of the script, the skeleton was made of baked pasty dough, baked by the mall's window dresser. Cohen had initially written Stephen Jay Gould's part as being a generic scientist or paleontologist
, not knowing that they would eventually get Gould. He had taken Gould's Introduction to Paleontology class at Harvard University
. The only phrase Gould had objected to in the script was a line that introduced him as the "world's most brilliant paleontologist." His original final line was "I didn't do the test. I had more important work to do" but was cut because the writers felt it would be better to give him a short final line. Also, some thought it was too mean. In an earlier version of the episode, Marge would have ended up apologizing to Lisa for not supporting her, letting the ending be more of a nod to Lisa's correct assumptions all along.
, in analyzing the effects of watching the television program Lost
on contemporary culture and our own perceptions of reality. Dan O'Brien cited the episode in a discussion of ontology
, skepticism, and religious faith, in his book An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. O'Brien leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not Lisa was justified in her skepticism. In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
, "Lisa the Skeptic" is cited as a prime example of why Lisa is seen as the epitome of a nerd
. The book also cited the episode in noting that Lisa is not infallible, for when the Angel appeared to speak at the end of the episode she became as frightened as everyone else. Lisa's frustration with the marketing gimmick used by the mall developers is seen by Turner
's Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
as yet another example of her conflict with corporation
s throughout the series. Like O'Brien, Turner also analyzed the episode in the context of Lisa's questions about existentialism
, self-absorption, and consumption
. In The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
, the authors discuss Lisa's level of anger displayed in the episode, noting that in this particular case her anger gave her the wherewithal to both confront social injustice
, and keep her mind clear for critical thinking
. Mark Demming of Allmovie noted that Lisa symbolically stood for the side of reason, while her mother Marge symbolized belief and spirituality in the episode.
Parvin's The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leader's Guide for Group Study is a group study guide companion to Pinsky's The Gospel According to the Simpsons. In the section pertaining to "Lisa the Skeptic," a skeptic is defined as: "a person who doubts, questions, or suspends judgment on ideas generally accepted by others. The study group is asked to debate the episode in the context of skepticism as related to other unexplained phenomena, including UFOs
, the Loch Ness Monster
, the Abominable Snowman
, the Bermuda Triangle
, Atlantis
, near-death experiences, reincarnation
, mediumship
, psychic
s, and fortune-telling
. In Pinsky's book itself, he noted that Lisa faced the difficult task of confronting religious hysteria
and blind faith
, and also attempted to reconcile science within her own belief system. He also wrote that when Lisa asks Stephen Jay Gould to estimate the age of the skeleton, the issue is never raised of why angels or other spiritual entities would even leave skeletons behind in the first place.
in Dayton, Tennessee
, which dealt with issues of separation of church and state
and the debate between creationism
and evolution
. The publicity stunt created by the mall developers in the episode has been compared to scientific hoax
es such as the Cardiff Giant
and the Piltdown Man
. When Lisa asks if the townspeople are outraged at the end of the episode for being fooled by a publicity stunt, Chief Wiggum is about to answer her but is distracted when he catches sight of a Pottery Barn
in the new Heavenly Hills mall. A shot of the diggers in silhouette
against the sunset
is modeled after Raiders of the Lost Ark
(1981).
of 9.5, equivalent to approximately 9.3 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
and King of the Hill
.
Donald Liebenson wrote for the Amazon.com
movie review that "Bart Sells His Soul
" and "Lisa the Skeptic" were among the best episodes of The Simpsons, however he also noted that: "Without being preachy (or particularly funny), this episode is pretty potent stuff," citing its theme of Apocalypse
towards the end of the episode. In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature
, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed the episode among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons". "Lisa the Skeptic" was utilized in a Salt Lake City, Utah
Episcopal Church Sunday School
class in 2003, to stimulate a discussion among fourteen-year olds about belief in angels, and the juxtaposition of science and faith. The episode was compared and contrasted with Proverbs
14:15.
The episode is used by the Farmington Trust
(UK
) for Christian religious education
, to teach children about skepticism. The episode is used as a tool, to involve the students in a debate about religion and science, as well as to discuss Lisa's own skepticism, and her respect towards others. A group of The Simpsons enthusiasts at Calvin College
have also analyzed the religious and philosophical aspects of the episode, including the issue of faith versus science. The episode has been compared with Gabriel García Márquez
's short story
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
" and utilized as a teaching tool in a Saugerties, New York
grade school
class. In an exam on the subject, students were asked to use details from both "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and "Lisa the Skeptic", in order to analyze the quotation "Appearances can be deceiving."
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 9)
The Simpsons ninth season originally aired between September 1997 and May 1998, beginning on Sunday, September 21, 1997 with "The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson". The show runner for the ninth production season was Mike Scully...
, first aired on November 23, 1997. On an archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
dig with her class, 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...
discovers a skeleton that resembles an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. All of the townspeople believe that the skeleton actually came from an angel, but skeptical
Skepticism
Skepticism has many definitions, but generally refers to any questioning attitude towards knowledge, facts, or opinions/beliefs stated as facts, or doubt regarding claims that are taken for granted elsewhere...
Lisa attempts to persuade them that there must be a rational scientific explanation.
Writer David S. Cohen
David X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
had the inspiration for the episode after visiting the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, and decided to loosely parallel themes from the Scopes Monkey Trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
. The episode has been discussed in the context of concepts involving virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
, ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
, existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, and skepticism. The episode received mixed reviews, but has since been used in Christian religious education classes to form a discussion about angels, skepticism, science, and faith.
Plot
As 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...
attempts to claim a motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
from a "police raffle" that turns out to be a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
, a new mall in Springfield is being built on an area where a large number of fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s were found. Lisa condemns and protests the building of the mall. Thanks to her protest, it prompts the school to conduct an archaeological dig. During the excavations, Lisa finds a human skeleton with wings. Springfield's residents are convinced it is an angel, and Homer cashes in by moving the skeleton into the family's garage. Lisa remains skeptical and—believing it may not actually be an angel—has Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
test a sample. When Dr. Gould appears at the Simpson house the next day to tell Lisa that the tests were inconclusive, Lisa goes on TV
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
to compare the belief in angels to the belief in unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
s and leprechaun
Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology...
s (with Brockman stating that leprechauns are extinct). In response, Springfield's religious zealots go on a rampage to destroy all scientific institutions (including, in a side joke, the destruction of a Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
library). Appalled by the violence, Lisa goes into the garage to destroy the skeleton, only to find that it has disappeared. The mob soon converges on the Simpson household, and Lisa is promptly arrested and put on trial for stealing the skeleton. However, before the trial can proceed, the courtroom's attention is diverted when the skeleton appears outside.
When the skeleton reappears, it carries a foreboding message that "The End
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
" will come at sundown. Meanwhile, Judge Snyder issues a restraining order
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
to keep science and religion 500 yards (457.2 m) apart at all times. Sundown approaches, and Springfield's citizens are frightened, but nothing catastrophic occurs. As Lisa starts to reprimand them, the skeleton suddenly silences her and yells "Prepare for the end... the end of high prices!" and is hoisted over to the entrance of the new discount mall that it was originally found under. Lisa realizes that the "end is near" saga was actually a publicity stunt for the mall as a way to exploit the deepest beliefs of people, and calls for a boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
of the mall. She fails, and the bargain-hunting public go shopping. Dr. Gould subsequently confesses that he did not actually do any testing. In the end, 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...
points out to Lisa that, despite all her skepticism, for a few seconds while it was rising Lisa truly believed the angel was real. Lisa denies this, but thanks her mother for her support in her moment of fear.
Production
"Lisa the Skeptic" was written by David S. CohenDavid X. Cohen
David Samuel Cohen , primarily known as David X. Cohen, is an American television writer. He has written for The Simpsons and he is the head writer and executive producer of Futurama.-Early life:...
, and directed by Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck
Neil Affleck is an actor, animator and director. Currently directing the children's cartoon, Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends on Nick Jr., he has worked on The Simpsons and Family Guy in the past....
. Cohen was inspired to write the episode after a trip to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, where he decided to turn the visit into a "business trip", and think of a possible episode connection to the museum. He initially wanted Lisa to find a "missing link
Transitional fossil
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a lifeform that exhibits characteristics of two distinct taxonomic groups. A transitional fossil is the fossil of an organism near the branching point where major individual lineages diverge...
" skeleton, and do an episode reminiscent of the Scopes Monkey Trial
Scopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
. Writer 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...
convinced him to instead have the focus be on an angel skeleton, while keeping an emphasis on the conflict between religion and science
Relationship between religion and science
The relationship between religion and science has been a focus of the demarcation problem. Somewhat related is the claim that science and religion may pursue knowledge using different methodologies. Whereas the scientific method basically relies on reason and empiricism, religion also seeks to...
. Both Cohen and Meyer acknowledged how silly the "angel skeleton" idea was due to simple questions raised such as why an angel died and why bones were left behind, but they went forward with the idea anyway.
In an early draft of the script, the skeleton was made of baked pasty dough, baked by the mall's window dresser. Cohen had initially written Stephen Jay Gould's part as being a generic scientist or paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
, not knowing that they would eventually get Gould. He had taken Gould's Introduction to Paleontology class at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. The only phrase Gould had objected to in the script was a line that introduced him as the "world's most brilliant paleontologist." His original final line was "I didn't do the test. I had more important work to do" but was cut because the writers felt it would be better to give him a short final line. Also, some thought it was too mean. In an earlier version of the episode, Marge would have ended up apologizing to Lisa for not supporting her, letting the ending be more of a nod to Lisa's correct assumptions all along.
Themes
Author Joley Wood compared "Lisa the Skeptic" to an alternate reality gameAlternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
, in analyzing the effects of watching the television program Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
on contemporary culture and our own perceptions of reality. Dan O'Brien cited the episode in a discussion of ontology
Ontology
Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality as such, as well as the basic categories of being and their relations...
, skepticism, and religious faith, in his book An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. O'Brien leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not Lisa was justified in her skepticism. In The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer
The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer is a non-fiction book analyzing the philosophy and popular culture effects of the American animated sitcom, The Simpsons, published by Open Court. The book is edited by William Irwin, Mark T. Conard and Aeon J...
, "Lisa the Skeptic" is cited as a prime example of why Lisa is seen as the epitome of a nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
. The book also cited the episode in noting that Lisa is not infallible, for when the Angel appeared to speak at the end of the episode she became as frightened as everyone else. Lisa's frustration with the marketing gimmick used by the mall developers is seen by Turner
Chris Turner (author)
Chris Turner is a Canadian author. He is the author of Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation, published in 2004...
's Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation
Planet Simpson: How a Cartoon Masterpiece Documented an Era and Defined a Generation is a non-fiction book about The Simpsons, written by Chris Turner and originally published on 12 October 2004 by Random House...
as yet another example of her conflict with corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
s throughout the series. Like O'Brien, Turner also analyzed the episode in the context of Lisa's questions about existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, self-absorption, and consumption
Consumption (economics)
Consumption is a common concept in economics, and gives rise to derived concepts such as consumer debt. Generally, consumption is defined in part by comparison to production. But the precise definition can vary because different schools of economists define production quite differently...
. In The Psychology of the Simpsons: D'oh!
The Psychology of The Simpsons
The Psychology of The Simpsons: D'oh! is a non-fiction book analyzing psychology themes in the television series The Simpsons. It contains content from several contributors, including psychologists, counselors and school therapists. The book was edited by Alan S. Brown, Ph.D., and Chris Logan, and...
, the authors discuss Lisa's level of anger displayed in the episode, noting that in this particular case her anger gave her the wherewithal to both confront social injustice
Social injustice
Social injustice is a concept relating to the claimed unfairness or injustice of a society in its divisions of rewards and burdens and other incidental inequalities...
, and keep her mind clear for critical thinking
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the process or method of thinking that questions assumptions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, false, or sometimes true and sometimes false, or partly true and partly false. The origins of critical thinking can be traced in Western thought to the Socratic...
. Mark Demming of Allmovie noted that Lisa symbolically stood for the side of reason, while her mother Marge symbolized belief and spirituality in the episode.
Parvin's The Gospel According to the Simpsons: Leader's Guide for Group Study is a group study guide companion to Pinsky's The Gospel According to the Simpsons. In the section pertaining to "Lisa the Skeptic," a skeptic is defined as: "a person who doubts, questions, or suspends judgment on ideas generally accepted by others. The study group is asked to debate the episode in the context of skepticism as related to other unexplained phenomena, including UFOs
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
, the Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
, the Abominable Snowman
Yeti
The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an ape-like cryptid said to inhabit the Himalayan region of Nepal, and Tibet. The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people indigenous to the region, and are part of their history and mythology...
, the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
, Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, near-death experiences, reincarnation
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
, mediumship
Mediumship
Mediumship is described as a form of communication with spirits. It is a practice in religious beliefs such as Spiritualism, Spiritism, Espiritismo, Candomblé, Voodoo and Umbanda.- Concept :...
, psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
s, and fortune-telling
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
. In Pinsky's book itself, he noted that Lisa faced the difficult task of confronting religious hysteria
Zealotry
Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt...
and blind faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, and also attempted to reconcile science within her own belief system. He also wrote that when Lisa asks Stephen Jay Gould to estimate the age of the skeleton, the issue is never raised of why angels or other spiritual entities would even leave skeletons behind in the first place.
Cultural references
The scene in Judge Snyder's courtroom where Lisa is put on trial for stealing the skeleton is seen as a reference to the 1920s Scopes Monkey TrialScopes Trial
The Scopes Trial—formally known as The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes and informally known as the Scopes Monkey Trial—was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act which made it unlawful to...
in Dayton, Tennessee
Dayton, Tennessee
Dayton is a city in Rhea County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,180 at the 2000 census. The Dayton, TN, Urban Cluster, which includes developed areas adjacent to the city and extends south to Graysville, Tennessee, had 9,050 people in 2000...
, which dealt with issues of separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
and the debate between creationism
Creationism
Creationism is the religious beliefthat humanity, life, the Earth, and the universe are the creation of a supernatural being, most often referring to the Abrahamic god. As science developed from the 18th century onwards, various views developed which aimed to reconcile science with the Genesis...
and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
. The publicity stunt created by the mall developers in the episode has been compared to scientific hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
es such as the Cardiff Giant
Cardiff Giant
The Cardiff Giant was one of the most famous hoaxes in United States history. It was a tall purported "petrified man" uncovered on October 16, 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by P.T...
and the Piltdown Man
Piltdown Man
The Piltdown Man was a hoax in which bone fragments were presented as the fossilised remains of a previously unknown early human. These fragments consisted of parts of a skull and jawbone, said to have been collected in 1912 from a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England...
. When Lisa asks if the townspeople are outraged at the end of the episode for being fooled by a publicity stunt, Chief Wiggum is about to answer her but is distracted when he catches sight of a Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn is an American-based home furnishing store chain with retail stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Since September 1986, when it was purchased from GAP, Inc, Pottery Barn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams-Sonoma, Inc....
in the new Heavenly Hills mall. A shot of the diggers in silhouette
Silhouette
A silhouette is the image of a person, an object or scene consisting of the outline and a basically featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black. Although the art form has been popular since the mid-18th century, the term “silhouette” was seldom used until the early decades...
against the sunset
Sunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...
is modeled after Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
(1981).
Reception
In its original broadcast, "Lisa the Skeptic" finished 37th in ratings for the week of November 17–23, 1997, 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 9.5, equivalent to approximately 9.3 million viewing households. It was the third highest-rated show on the Fox network that week, following The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
and King of the Hill
King of the Hill
King of the Hill is an American animated dramedy series created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels, that ran from January 12, 1997, to May 6, 2010, on Fox network. It centers on the Hills, a working-class Methodist family in the fictional small town of Arlen, Texas...
.
Donald Liebenson wrote for the Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
movie review that "Bart Sells His Soul
Bart Sells His Soul
"Bart Sells His Soul" is the fourth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It first aired in the United States on the Fox network, on October 8, 1995. In the episode, Bart pranks churchgoers by replacing the music to a hymn with a psychedelic rock song, so Reverend Lovejoy forces him and Milhouse...
" and "Lisa the Skeptic" were among the best episodes of The Simpsons, however he also noted that: "Without being preachy (or particularly funny), this episode is pretty potent stuff," citing its theme of Apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
towards the end of the episode. In the July 26, 2007 issue of Nature
Nature (journal)
Nature, first published on 4 November 1869, is ranked the world's most cited interdisciplinary scientific journal by the Science Edition of the 2010 Journal Citation Reports...
, the scientific journal's editorial staff listed the episode among "The Top Ten science moments in The Simpsons". "Lisa the Skeptic" was utilized in a Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
Episcopal Church Sunday School
Sunday school
Sunday school is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-England:The first Sunday school may have been opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham. Another early start was made by Hannah Ball, a native of High Wycombe in...
class in 2003, to stimulate a discussion among fourteen-year olds about belief in angels, and the juxtaposition of science and faith. The episode was compared and contrasted with Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
14:15.
The episode is used by the Farmington Trust
Farmington Institute for Christian Studies
The Farmington Institute for Christian Studies is based at Harris Manchester College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Dr Ralph Waller is both Principal of the College and Director of the Farmington Institute....
(UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) for Christian religious education
Religious education
In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion and its varied aspects —its beliefs, doctrines, rituals, customs, rites, and personal roles...
, to teach children about skepticism. The episode is used as a tool, to involve the students in a debate about religion and science, as well as to discuss Lisa's own skepticism, and her respect towards others. A group of The Simpsons enthusiasts at Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
have also analyzed the religious and philosophical aspects of the episode, including the issue of faith versus science. The episode has been compared with Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...
's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" is a fictional short story by author Gabriel García Márquez written in 1955. It falls within the genre of magic realism, and is one of the short stories included in the book Leaf Storm.-Plot summary:...
" and utilized as a teaching tool in a Saugerties, New York
Saugerties (town), New York
Saugerties is a town in Ulster County, New York, USA. The population was 19,482 at the 2000 census. The Town of Saugerties contains the Village of Saugerties. The town is in the northeast corner of Ulster County....
grade school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
class. In an exam on the subject, students were asked to use details from both "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" and "Lisa the Skeptic", in order to analyze the quotation "Appearances can be deceiving."
External links
- "Lisa the Skeptic", at The Simpsons.com