Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington

After a free copy of Reading Digest magazine is sent to the Simpson residence, Homer gets very interested in the magazine. When he sees the kids are loafing in front of the TV, he shuts it off and orders them to read a book instead. He also encourages Lisa to enter a contest in which an essay must be written about what makes America great. Lisa 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, DC 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 bribe taking place about demolishing Springfield Forest. Distraught 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. Of course, everyone is shocked by her speech, except for Bart, who likes it and wants Lisa to win the contest. 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 pianist that he had found annoying.

[edit] Trivia

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This is the first episode to be presented in Dolby Surround.
This is the first episode with a sax solo in the opening credits that is different from the one used throughout the first two seasons.
This episode also shows a shot of a state map, showing four states divided by two intersecting lines at right-hand angles, with Springfield in the top left hand state. The only state that this could be is Utah, although, as the shot fades out, the initials of the state can be seen as NT. This apparently stands for fictional state "North Takoma." On the other hand, the congressman representing Springfield wants to drill for oil on Teddy Roosevelt's head on Mount Rushmore, which is in South Dakota. There is a Springfield in South Dakota, but the actual state cannot be determined.
Many sources list this episode as being broadcast after the following one, When Flanders Failed.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cultural references

The plot (and title) of this episode is a play on Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Among the Washington DC landmarks visited are Dulles Airport (which is actually located in Chantilly, Virginia), the Watergate Hotel (where the family stays), the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the IRS Building, the National Air and Space Museum, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial.
Truong Van Dinh had already won both the Westinghouse Talent Search and the NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick competition.
The piano-playing satirist at the end of the episode is a reference to Mark Russell and Tom Lehrer. The song "The Deficit Rag" is very similar to Lehrer's "The Vatican Rag".
The woman's suffrage display Lisa visits is likely a parody of Susan B. Anthony. When Lisa mentions "she later appeared on the highly unpopular 75¢ piece" this is a reference to the Susan Anthony dollar coins, which were often mistaken for quarters by vending machines and cashiers.
The banner that reads "Brevity is... wit" is a reference to a line in Hamlet where Polonius says: "brevity is the soul of wit". The joke is that the banner is applying greater wit by increasing the brevity of the original Shakespeare line.
Bob Arnold 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 Kassebaum of Kansas and Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
Then-President George H.W. Bush is featured briefly in this episode, and is portrayed in a positive, albeit hokey, light. Shortly after this episode aired, Bush disparaged The Simpsons in a speech. Thus, Bush appears in four later episodes in a much more negative light.

[edit] External links

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Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington

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Episode capsule on "Simpsons Archive"
[1] The Museum of Broadcast Communications page on The Simpsons includes further reading, including a reference to Lauren Berlant's "The Theory of Infantile Citizenship," an extended reading of this episode (also included in The Queen of America Goes to Washington City).