Wednesday, November 15, 2017



Do you have a problem with The Simpsons' Apu? This comedian does

Indians are the most highly paid ethnic group in America so any "stereotyping" has clearly not harmed them

"I hate Apu," the actor Kal Penn says in a new documentary about the penny-pinching, Squishee-slinging, thickly accented convenience store owner on one of the most celebrated TV shows in history. "And because of that, I dislike The Simpsons."

The feelings of South Asian-Americans toward the character and the show he inhabits are the focus of The Problem with Apu, a documentary debuting in the United States on November 19. The brainchild of the actor and stand-up comic Hari Kondabolu, a lifelong lover of The Simpsons, the film wrestles with how a show praised for its incisive humour – over the years, it has explored issues like homophobia and political corruption – could resort to such a charged stereotype. Making matters worse is the fact that the Indian character is voiced by a non-Indian (albeit an Emmy-winning) actor, Hank Azaria.

"Everything with Apu is like this running joke," Kondabolu, 35, said in a phone interview. "And the running joke is that he's Indian."

SOURCE



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a low opinion of Indians.

Bird of Paradise said...

I don't watch The Simpsons too liberal for me

Anonymous said...


Everything about the Simpsons not just Apu is LITERALLY is a running joke, that's the point of a comedy. A character that isn't part of the joke would not work.

Anonymous said...

They mock a LOT of whites as well
White gay person (Smithers)
White fat pedantic person (Comic-book guy)
White science geek (Prof Frink)
Asians too
Cookie Kwan - stay away from the westside
Blacks
Karl
The religious
Ned Flanders and Reverend Lovejoy
etc etc etc...
Not too many get a pass from the Simpsons. Would they prefer no Indians at all on the show?
Generally I think Apu gets quite a sympathetic role.