The much-heated “The Simpsons” controversy, is not dying down anytime soon. If you’ve paid even a fraction of attention of late, you’ll know the long-running animated FOX comedy has come under fire for its representation of the Indian character Apu. Or rather, modern culture in its social awakening and reconsideration of well, everything – in its waking up to just how offensive Apu is. The character Apu is a jovial Indian man who owns a convenience store. He also happens to be a very stereotypical representation of those who identify as South Asian.
The recent reevaluation of the character was sparked by the documentary, “The Problem With Apu,” made by Hari Kondabolu, an American comedian of Indian descent whose movie explores the negative stereotypes, microaggressions and racial slurs that the show has made against Indian and South Asian people.
READ MORE: Hank Azaria Says He’s “Willing And Happy” To Step Aside As Voice Of Apu On ‘The Simpsons’
“The Simpsons,” as a whole, hasn’t responded well to the criticism. One of the cartoon’s showrunners has promised a “popular” and “right” response to the problem, but so far, all the show has done is made a weak and dodging response through Marge Simpson (“Some things will be dealt with a later date“; to which Lisa added insultingly, “if at all”). Making matters worse is the show’s creator Matt Groening who made some tone-deaf remarks when speaking to USA Today this week. Asked if he had thoughts about the controversy, Groening said. “Not really. I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended.
That’s about as dismissive a comment that you can make, but it’s in keeping with the “The Simpsons” creator’s poor handling of the Apu situation. Asked directly about the aforementioned April 8 show where Marge made her dodging remarks, Groening simply said, “We’ll let the show speak for itself,” and refused to go further.
We’re obviously living in a much different time now. People are more hyperconscious, or self-aware, and some folks may just want to be represented more accurately – can you fault them for asking so little? The one person who has been vocal is Hank Azaria, who has taken a more empathetic approach, asking for an integrated writers room, and saying he may step aside. We surely haven’t heard the last of the Apu debate, and maybe “The Simpsons” and its showrunners will eventually deliver a halfway decent response at some point. Until then, all we ask from Groening and company is that you don’t drag Lisa Simpson, always the smartest, most compassionate and only woke family member, into this hot mess of your own making.
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Do one Julia. Matt is right. They should be proud. The Simpsons is a work of genius. This situation is absurd. If we can’t be free to take the piss out of someone, regardless of race, religion or gender, then we’ve got some real fucking issues. Your outrage is the worst kind of tyranny, i.e – if you don’t agree with me, you’re wrong. ha. brilliant.
And in England, this is seen all the time on TV sitcoms, and people of those religions actually like it and see the humour in it. I would also like to state, that in the theatre, young people pretend to be old people, and vice versa, as well as other races, genders, and religions and no one bats an eyelid.
This millenial obsession with cultural appropriation must stop. Get. A. Fucking. Grip.
As a millennial, I can proudly say that neither I nor any of my friends give a flying fuck about “cultural appropriation.” The whole idea is silly.
We really going to revisit everything from the past?? Again, this generation isn’t as woke as it thinks it is. South Park writers were spot on with PC Principal.
https://youtu.be/ugLbotr1RuQ
Is the problem that Apu is a stereotype? Really? As mentioned in the documentary, The Simpsons stereotypes all races and religions for comic effect. Unless you’re suggesting that South Asians should be exempt from the same criticisms leveled at others, then you’re dealing with a different, larger issue that has nothing to do with The Simpsons. There has been historically little representation of Indians or other South Asian people on American TV. Period. Why, then, is it The Simpsons’ fault that many other TV shows and films have not presented more representation? Did they actively repress any other show from developing Indian characters? Shouldn’t it be incumbent upon those complaining to create the kind of stories, content and characters that better reflect the image that they wish to present rather than censor the producers of The Simpsons or the character of Apu?
If you’re going to criticize The Simpsons’ producers, it should be for their response to this controversy more than anything else. That Marge/Lisa scene was pathetic. No question. It’s a comedy show, so any given reaction to these issues need to address them through satire, not by preaching or whining. Unfortunately, Al Jean’s “popular and right” follow-up was so lame and inadequate that the producers will have to retire the character, anyway. As a longtime fan, this struggle is frustrating. Jean once showran a series that was once on the cutting edge and knew exactly what buttons to push but the show is now scrambling to stay relevant. The Simpsons would have once annihilated any politician that had pulled a line as dumb as “popular and right”, but its producers are now as guilty as the public figures that they once satirised.
Just because your offended, doesn´t mean your right.
Ricky Gervais
Dear writers of the Playlist, while I agree with the sentiment
of the article, I would like to remind you, you are not the Huffington Post and
if anyone else is like me, this is not why we come here.
I look forward to the day when all SJW causes are won and
you can hang up your hat and gun and get back to telling us why we’ve got the latest
instalment of some conglomerates mind-rotting super-hero franchise all wrong again
and it’s actually a masterpiece and leave matters of identity politics to
reputable news outlets who can attract the insights of people of genuine intellect
not Starbucks baristas with a degree in film studies.
Your recent swerve towards this kind of fare reads as
cynically motivated aggregated clickbait. If you really do care about these
topics perhaps don’t write articles like this … https://theplaylist.net/new-trailer-for-restored-70mm-epic-lawrence-of-arabia-20170724/
proclaiming a film which features Obi-Wan-Kenobi in brown
face and a fake hook nose as, “breathtaking.”
I always enjoyed turning to your site to pass the time during
prolonged bowel movements, I shall look elsewhere from now on.
The character of Carl is also voiced by Azaria, and he’s black. Is this a problem too?
What about Ned Flanders? It’s perfectly fine to make fun of Christians right?
How many people actually care about any of this? The media is just pushing an agenda that most people don’t even care about. All the Indian people I know are working too hard to even give this stupid crap a second thought.