"The Simpson” vs “The Problem with Apu”
Director Hari Kondabolu accuses Apu's character of being a racist stereotype, the cartoon series replies in "No good read goes unpunished"
Fashion
April 9th, 2018
April 9th, 2018
It all started in 2017, when a comedian of Indian origins Hari Kondabolu directed the documentary The Problem with Apu. Within the project the man accused the famous owner of Kwik-E-Mart, a first-generation immigrant with a large family and a very pronounced accent, to be full of seemingly innocuous racist stereotypes, but which, in reality, they have influenced a whole generation. The further outrage? The fact that the character is voiced by a white actor, Hank Azaria.
"The Simpsons is like your racist grandfather. You love your grandfather. He's been there your whole life and has taught you some valuable things" - Kondabolu told to Dazed at the release of the opera - "But he still does racist stuff regularly and if he can't change, well, maybe it's about time that he dies".
The popular cartoon's answer came on April 8 with the No good read goes unpunished airing in the US.
In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) 9 aprile 2018
In the 15th episode of the 29th season Marge forces the family to give up technology and, among other things, decides to read Lisa Princess in the Garden by Heloise Hodgeson Burwell, one of her favorite books as a child.
#TheSimpsons completely toothless response to @harikondabolu #TheProblemWithApu about the racist character Apu:
— Soham (@soham_burger) 9 aprile 2018
"Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect... What can you do?" pic.twitter.com/Bj7qE2FXWN
Giving it a look, the woman realizes that the story is full of racist stereotypes and, therefore, modifies it before reading her pages to her daughter. After listening to the reading, Lisa complains about its brevity and the the protagonists lack of deep. Then she turns to the spectators and says:
"Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?"
So the girl asks Marge how the matter can be managed and Homer's wife replies: "Some things will be dealt with at a later date". And Lisa adds: "… if at all".
All this happens while on the bedside table of the Simpson second-born appears the photograph of Apu with the dedication
"Do not eat a cow, Apu".
After watching the episode and before explaining that in his documentary he had used Apu as a starting point for a larger speech on the representation of marginalized groups, Kondabolu wrote on Twitter:
"Wow. ‘Politically incorrect'? That’s the takeaway from my movie and the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad".
Which side are you going with the Simpsons or with Kondabolu?
