Current Events > Is the character of Apu (Simpsons) offensive?

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.cinemablend.com/television/1736079/how-the-simpsons-is-reacting-to-the-complaints-about-apu-according-to-hank-azaria

What are your thoughts on what is going on?
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No. It's a cartoon... a goofy cartoon that often exaggerates reality in big ways.
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its supposed to be offensive

Fuck no.
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Absolutely. From the moment his character was given a voice, his character was envisioned as a racist caricature of south Asian immigrants.
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Guess we should get rid of Groundskeeper Willie as well since we're going down that road. Oh yeah Mr. Burns has to go too.
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Are there even any indians named Apu?

I live in an area with tons of Indians, and none of the ones I know were bothered.
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Ballstopshere posted...

Are there even any indians named Apu?

There are. Apu himself apparently shares his name with a protagonist of a classic era Indian film. So his first name isn't particularly offensive by itself. His last name apparently translates to 'bullshit' though. So that's 'Apu Bullshit.'
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He's not offensive, but there's nothing wrong with actual Indian people being annoyed about getting called "Apu" all the time.

Urkel wasn't offensive either but almost every black nerd my age had to deal with that label growing up.

SArm_v2_0 posted...

He's not offensive, but there's nothing wrong with actual Indian people being annoyed about getting called "Apu" all the time.

Urkel wasn't offensive either but almost every black nerd my age had to deal with that label growing up.

The difference is that there were other representations of black people in visual media and had been for like twenty years before the character of Steve Urkel started putting a spin on the kinds of characters black actors could portray. That was not true of south Asian portrayals. Most of us, if asked to remember representations of Indian, Pakistani or Nepalese people from the 90's, would struggle to name more than one. Still more interesting, most of us, and indeed most of the writers from that era couldn't even recognize the difference between south Asian from one country or another. For most of us, the character of Apu comprised all we thought we knew about that pocket of the world and it's emigrants to America.
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He's one of the most well developed multidimensional characters in the show.
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

He's one of the most well developed multidimensional characters in the show.

What do you say to:

comedian Hari Kondabolu presents his respectful and strong-willed argument for why Apu is largely responsible for the long-lasting stereotypes and misguided opinions concerning Indian culture. Though Apu is just one character, he has remained the apex of Indian TV characters for the entirety of The Simpsons' run, and his broad mannerisms are suspected of limiting the presence and inclusion of Indian and other South-Asian TV characters over the years. At least in roles that aren't convenience store clerks and/or taxi drivers.
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He's a fucking idiot.
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Willie hears ya

Willie don't care.
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My last name is already Bouvier, Terwilliger, Hutz McClure, ...I don't need Nahasapassa whatever...
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Goodness gracious, this world is fucked.
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ALL the characters in The Simpsons are offensive stereotypes, that's the point of the show.
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No
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Vyrulisse posted...

Guess we should get rid of Groundskeeper Willie as well since we're going down that road. Oh yeah Mr. Burns has to go too.

And Moe, and Chief Wiggum, and Fat Tony, and Comic Book Guy, and Dr. Hibbert, and even Krusty. Possibly also Lenny & Carl.

Questionmarktarius posted...

Vyrulisse posted...

Guess we should get rid of Groundskeeper Willie as well since we're going down that road. Oh yeah Mr. Burns has to go too.

And Moe, and Chief Wiggum, and Fat Tony, and Comic Book Guy, and Dr. Hibbert, and even Krusty. Possibly also Lenny & Carl.

His contention is that Apu is the primary representation in the media of Indians and his portrayal results in negative stereotypes about the culture.
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bump
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the fact that the simpsons hasn't been canceled yet is offensive
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Not to me personally, but I understand why he would be.

I think it would be less of an issue if he wasn't voiced by someone imitating an Indian person
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If it is offensive, then South Park would be banned for eternity
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hollow_shrine posted...

Absolutely. From the moment his character was given a voice, his character was envisioned as a racist caricature of south Asian immigrants.

Yes and no. Apu is one of many "characters" on the Simpsons that didn't start as one. He was the guy that ran the convenience store and nothing else for at least a few seasons, with the joke more on chains like 7-11 that at the time was stereotyped as being manned mainly by foreigners with thick accents. Then they tried to develop him and had to stick with what had been created before.

I get the offense, but most of the cast is a stereotype of some sort having started as a gag, from grondskeeper Willie's thick scottishness, to Patty's butch unfeminine lesbian, to Edna Krapapple's horny divorcee, to the guy running the sushi place, to crotchety old man Grandpa simpson.
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Mort Goldmanis more offensive, and that's just barely offensive. Who cares?
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lightwarrior78 posted...

hollow_shrine posted...

Absolutely. From the moment his character was given a voice, his character was envisioned as a racist caricature of south Asian immigrants.

Yes and no. Apu is one of many "characters" on the Simpsons that didn't start as one. He was the guy that ran the convenience store and nothing else for at least a few seasons, with the joke more on chains like 7-11 that at the time was stereotyped as being manned mainly by foreigners with thick accents. Then they tried to develop him and had to stick with what had been created before.

I get the offense, but most of the cast is a stereotype of some sort having started as a gag, from grondskeeper Willie's thick scottishness, to Patty's butch unfeminine lesbian, to Edna Krapapple's horny divorcee, to the guy running the sushi place, to crotchety old man Grandpa simpson.

this

he wasn't offensive until he became an indian caricature and all jokes involving him were HAHA HE'S INDIAN
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I haven't watched Simpsons in a long time (and only saw a handful of episodes), so I see him as heavily stereotypical yet not offensive.

If they haven't added any other Indian characters or representation and consistently make a mockery of his background, it can become offensive rather quickly.
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of course he's offensive but not nearly as egregious as almost any seth mcfarlane character

the only other regular indian character on the show is apu's wife

who had 8 kids

so yeah, still not a great track record
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lesidesi posted...

of course he's offensive but not nearly as egregious as almost any seth mcfarlane character

The difference is that portraying Mort for example so stereotypically doesn't cause him to be widely perceived as representative of Jewish people, since there are many other Jewish portrayals on TV.
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CE confirmed racist towards Indians

JustMyOpinion posted...

YoshitoKikuchi posted...

lesidesi posted...

of course he's offensive but not nearly as egregious as almost any seth mcfarlane character

The difference is that portraying Mort for example so stereotypically doesn't cause him to be widely perceived as representative of Jewish people, since there are many other Jewish portrayals on TV.

Lol. You're not supposed to take life lessons from tv shows. You can't blame the show for that.

Regardless, society views these shows and they influence their viewpoints. For example, the aforementioned calling people "Urkel" that was prevalent in the 90s.
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He's intentionally a stereotype, which is not the same as being offensive. Almost every character on The Simpsons was originally a stereotype of some sort.
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I think various quirks about him have definitely been used to mock indians or asian immigrants in general, but I don't think he is intended to be offensive anymore than other stereotypes they have in their characters.
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Stereotypical Indian guy working at a convenience store.
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Remember also that many people have little interaction with certain groups or types of people, so media portrayal will be the source of their knowledge/perspective on them.
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mario2000 posted...

the only other regular indian character on the show is apu's wife

who had 8 kids

so yeah, still not a great track record

Also his brother Sanjay, who works at the Kwik-E-Mart with him
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YoshitoKikuchi posted...

Remember also that many people have little interaction with certain groups or types of people, so media portrayal will be the source of their knowledge/perspective on them.

I honestly wonder how many of our Indian stereotypes are based on Apu and not on actual Indian people
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CrimsonRage posted...

YoshitoKikuchi posted...

lesidesi posted...

of course he's offensive but not nearly as egregious as almost any seth mcfarlane character

The difference is that portraying Mort for example so stereotypically doesn't cause him to be widely perceived as representative of Jewish people, since there are many other Jewish portrayals on TV.

Family Guy makes fun of Jews way too much.

Yes, but (almost) no one watching is going to think "the average Jewish person is like this", whereas the converse may be true for characters like Apu.
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YoshitoKikuchi posted...

his portrayal results in negative stereotypes about the culture.

Yes, hard working Indian immigrants that own their own businesses are such negative stereotypes.
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He has a degree in computer science from Calcutta Technical Institute, where he graduated at the top of his class of 7 million
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as an Indian immigrant who grew up in north america, in a community where we were basically the only family of color, i can say that apu as a character definitely was harmful to people's attitudes towards us and how we were treated