Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of debate over the character of Apu on “The Simpsons.” After the character’s problematic nature was brought to light recently, with the help of the documentary “The Problem with Apu,” many fans have been waiting to see how the animated sitcom dealt with the issue. And when the sitcom kinda, sorta made light of the issue in a recent episode, people were less-than-pleased.
Well, the man at the center of it all, voice actor Hank Azaria, has come out and talked about the issue in a very matter-of-fact way. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Azaria, who is definitely not of South Asian descent, began by talking about how he understands the controversy, and how his mindset over the character has changed recently
“I have given this a lot of thought, and as I say my eyes have been opened. I think the most important thing is we have to listen to South Asian people, Indian people in this country when they talk about what they feel, how they think about this character, and what their American experience of it has been,” said Azaria.
“Listening to voices means inclusion in the writer’s room. I really want to see Indians, South Asian writers in the room. Not in a token way, but genuinely informing whatever new direction this character may take. Including how it is voiced, or not voiced,” he continued.
This is when the actor offers up a solution that would go towards fixing the situation. “I’m perfectly willing and happy to step aside,” Azaria said. “Or help transition it into something new. I really hope that’s what ‘The Simpsons’ does, it not only makes sense, but it just feels like the right thing to do to me.”
Of course, no one really knows what “The Simpsons” will do. The showrunner, Al Jean, was vocal before the controversial episode aired recently, tweeting that he knew the show would cause a bit of an uproar. However, since then, he’s offered up an apology and said they would look for a way to fix the problem.
Perhaps the easiest, and best, solution, for now, is to listen to the actor behind the role. One person who agrees with Azaria is filmmaker and comedian Hari Kondabolu, who is responsible for the film “The Problem with Apu.” He tweeted, “Thank you, @HankAzaria. I appreciate what you said & how you said it.”
https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/988991809723318272
https://twitter.com/harikondabolu/status/989005158032998401
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://dev.theplaylist.net/hank-azaria-simpsons-apu-20180425/&media=https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/14221850/The-Simpsons-Apu.jpg&description=Hank Azaria, who voices the controversial character of Apu on "The SImpsons," offered to step aside on the show, while speaking with Stephen Colbert.){kind=link}
“The problem with butthurt” a new documentry airing soon
Get a spine, people.
Aren’t all the characters on The Simpsons caricatures and exaggerated,light hearted stereotypes?
This is exactly why Apu shouldn’t be changed. The show isn’t a realistic portrayal of anything.
Suck my dyck.
Someones butt hurt.
Its ok. im sure itll get better soon.
Shut the fuck up you bitch.
oh we got a keyboard warrior. you sound so useful
Go fuck yourself, yoda.
Awwww. There you go again with sweet words of nothing
Eat my bunghole, bitch.
Homer, Wiggam, Burns, Cletus don’t exactly do white people any favours.
If westerners living in India or China complained about the way an American/British/Aussie character was being stereotyped in one of their comedy shows, would it make headlines and studio chiefs there would drop the character to please a small minority of upset foreigners. I doubt it.
It’s quite easy for everyone to say that anyone offended are being hypersensitive “butt hurt,” or essentially spineless. However when you are white and considered to be in the majority, you truly have no idea how something as seemingly trivial as a cartoon character can cause minority adults and children growing up in this country to be mocked and ridiculed. Never mind that a good majority of Indian American kids may excel in school, extracurriculars and end up serving society in a positive way (doctors, lawyers (most are positive I guess), engineers); but those that grew up in the 90s were still dealing with daily bullying, harassment, fake accents, mocking and ridicule. Yeah, I didn’t shed tears over it and there were/are worse things to worry about. And I didn’t act all “butt hurt (as many of you very politely put it); I didn’t organize any form of protest and I went on with my life. But there was also no forum like social media for people to decry how offensive the character was and still is, and for them to bring attention to the subject, which is what is happening now. It’s hard enough being black or brown in this country dealing with constant judgment – however minor it may seem to you when you don’t face daily reminders of your race. The last thing people need is to be reminded that they are being judged when watching a cartoon. A cartoon that parodies a character JUST based on their race and not because he is an inept cop, antisocial comic book geek, miserly billionaire, a kid that isn’t so bright, etc.
The least you can do when people say they are offended is try to stop for a minute , put yourself in the mindset of someone who is a minority and try to understand their perspective a bit more instead of instantly writing them off as meek and unable to withstand criticism.
Yes, at the end of the day it’s a cartoon. But it’s a cartoon that has had a huge impact on American culture…and a negative impact on those of Indian descent who are born & raised in this country and would like to be considered just American too.
So what you’re saying is they should get rid of 90% of their characters? Wiggum is a fat, lazy cop. Thats discrimination since not all cops are fat and lazy. Tony the mafia boss? Not all Italians are in the mafia. Ralf? Hes clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed. We wouldn’t want to offend anyone who has even the slightest learning disability. Add Homer to that too. He’s one of the most retarded characters from any tv show in the history of tv shows.
If one character on a show offends you so much because of a stereotype, on a show where every single character is a stereotype, then maybe you should just stop watching.
I did stop watching.
And you missed my point that Apu’s humor is simply based on his race and ethnicity. I’ll concede on Tony the Mafia Boss being a racial stereotype, but with every other character you mention, you interchange the race/skin color and the the caricatures still work: Wiggum, Ralph Wiggum, the Comic Book Guy, could be black, white, hispanic, etc. and the jokes would still work. That’s not the case with Apu…at least not in the early seasons I watched.
I have no problem admitting I am wrong – and like I said, you are correct in that the show does have a lot of offensive stereotypes of professions, etc. and it should be seen as a satire. But when you are born in this country by parents who are foreign and as a child you hear people make fun of them almost everytime you go out in public, using the Apu voice saying “thank you, come again;” when you are holding your parents hand in the mall and hear people shout at them “go back to your country,” or “shouldn’t you be manning the 7-11;” when random kids in your school make fun of the Gods you worship, because their only knowledge about Indian religions is from a cartoon; and when I introduce myself to people from work, and they constantly say how impressed they are that I don’t have an accent, even though I just told them I was born and raised in this country, the additive effect is that all these little things accumulate to become one big issue. You can and try to let go & ignore all these little things day after day (lest you get called a “butthurt” or a “fucking puss[y]”) but dealing with unsolicited offensive comments becomes your whole life and the frustration boils over to the point where people do make a big deal over a simple TV show.
Ultimately, I genuinely don’t care about The Simpsons anymore. I stopped watching a couple decades ago. I just take more issue with people simply dismissing other people’s concerns with complete insensitivity and vitriol, instead of trying to truly understand why it might offend them. The issue doesn’t have to be a cartoon – it can be a professional sports team name/logo/etc, proposed law, etc.. You don’t have to agree with why people are opposed to it – but to just dismiss it without attempting to understand why it might be offensive to them and brush it off with name calling and bullying, is what is truly hurtful.
But I don’t expect to make any sort of impact on anyone in the comments section of an internet article, and expect more of the same hateful replies after I hit “post.” I actually never comment because of that instant negativity & hate that gets spewed out without people attempting to be decent for once and just think and listen for a bit. If you disagree still, fine. But doing so with civility is all I would hope for.
And if you are white and haven’t thought to look at things from the perspective of a minority, please do so. Little things day after day, and year after year, over a lifetime, can truly have a negative impact on their self worth and image. Death by a thousand paper cuts I guess.
But it’s true for everyone, including whites. People take the worst aspects of characters and mock people all the time, irrespective of color.
Bunch of fucking pussies. The show has been on almost 30 years. For fucks sake. All of a sudden in a world with everyone soft and offended by everything. Here we go.
No Apu should not be retired. He’s been a pretty popular Indian Character over the years, especially with his “Thankyou Come Again” saying.
Homer Simpson should be changed!!! I don’t like the way he portray’s fat white guys!!! If you are gonna change one character change them all. Bunch of candy ass, but hurt people.