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The genius of Lisa Simpson memes

She’s the voice of reason on ‘The Simpsons’—and online.

Photo of Sarah Kester

Sarah Kester

Lisa Simpson

Lisa Simpson might not be the first character people think of from The Simpsons, the longest-running American animated series. 

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She may not have a catchphrase, but she does have several one-liners that are clever, astute, and prophetic. Lisa is also surprisingly relatable, especially when she’s frustrated or letting her hair down.

Here are genius Lisa Simpson memes that never get old.

What does Lisa represent in The Simpsons

Many characters on The Simpsons have the show covered when it comes to “funny.” Take Homer, the loveable but idiotic patriarch. Or Bart, Lisa’s younger brother whose love of mischief is as crucial to his character’s personality as his iconic catchphrase, “Eat my shorts!”

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But what about Lisa? The brilliant character has been an essential part of the series for the past 34 seasons (she has only missed one episode). Simpsons creator Matt Groening said it best when he told Vanity Fair that Lisa is the voice of reason surrounded by those acting on their worst impulses. She’s the crucial component to balance out the wild. 

And she still has plenty of meme-worthy moments. 

Who plays Lisa Simpson?

Martha Maria Yeardley Smith has been the voice of Lisa Simpson in the animated series for over 36 years. Smith also voices Grandma Flanders. When she’s not bringing the character to life, Smith hosts the true-crime podcast Detective Dan with her husband. Bart Simpson’s voice, on the other hand, is played by Nancy Cartwright.

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Lisa Simpson’s presentation meme

Lisa Simpson’s know-it-all persona paid off when the presentation meme went viral.

The meme originated from the season 12 episode “Bye, Bye, Nerdy.” In it, Lisa delivers a presentation on bullying throughout the years. 

The blank canvas of the screen provided the internet with an opportunity to make their opinions heard. For instance, redditor Paralaxien added the text “Why Anime was a mistake” on the screen in a meme that was added to the MemeEconomy subreddit.

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Soon after, people started putting their own spins on the screen. 

Since Lisa is considered a genius with a high IQ of 159 (the average for a child is 90-109), she’s the perfect poster child to give people’s controversial opinions enough authority to make the world stop and listen—if only for a moment. 

Lisa Simpson with 'Why anime was a mistake' meme

The best Lisa Simpson memes

Trying to relate to a genius 8-year-old can be tough. That all changed when people created memes out of Lisa’s softer moments throughout the years. These showed that she’s a relatable figure for daily frustrations and the awkward parts of growing up. 

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Take the answer to the question, “Who is Lisa’s crush in the Simpsons?” for example. This is Nelson, the quintessential bad boy, who Lisa tries to reform in the 1996 episode “Lisa’s Date With Density.” 

Lisa’s crush on the bad boy was a prime example that even smart people can make dumb decisions when it comes to love. Logic doesn’t solve everything; there are some matters that can only be solved by the heart. It also proved that some of Lisa’s best moments have been when she unravels and doesn’t have it all put together. 

Read on for Lisa Simpson meme examples.

Meme examples

Me when I look in the mirror. Me in real life.

Lisa Simpson two-panel mirror meme
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A lot of people forget that a mirror is simply a reflection; it’s not actually the real you. So it’s easy to misjudge how you actually look to the world. In this Lisa Simpson meme example, she is looking like a 10 on the left.

She’s wearing a black dress and pretty accessories, and she’s wearing red lipstick and false eyelashes (although some might argue that’s a little too much makeup for an eight-year-old). But in the right image, she looks, well, like someone would imagine Marge and Mr. Burns’ love child to look like. 

‘Me leaving my room to check why the wifi stopped working

Lisa Simpson Wi-Fi router meme
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Being the smart one surrounded by idiots can be exhausting. When you’re trying so hard to keep things together, the tiniest inconvenience can throw you off the edge, like the Wi-Fi not working. 

In this meme, we see Lisa walking through the kitchen with an angry expression on her face. She’s fed up. Even though throwing a tantrum would be far beneath her level of intelligence, she’s on the verge of flying off the handle.

‘Me allowing music to give me a false sense of confidence and control over my life even tho I just finished having mental breakdown 5 mins ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CC3AshRDyZy
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Music has always been a huge part of Lisa’s life. She plays the saxophone and dreams of becoming a famous jazz musician. The show shared the story of when Lisa got her saxophone in a season 9 episode.

The meme represents the feeling of listening to music and feeling like the main character in a music video. This can give you a false sense of confidence that you can get your life together, similar to how characters do in a music montage moment in movies. 

As it stands, The Simpsons has 34 seasons and shows no signs of slowing down. This gives the internet a lot of material when it comes to creating new memes with the character. 

A meme generator such as Imgflip is great for this, as you can combine an image with your own clever text to create the next big viral meme. Try it out for yourself—and keep it clever. Lisa would be so proud.

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