KeegansHairPiece
New member
- Jan 28, 2016
- 1,829
But no one stopped Azaria speaking, no one took The Simpsons off the air, no one "banned" Apu. There has been an apology, Nobody's free speech has been in any way impinged. Unlike, say for instance, the government and police having the power to stop any protest that they fancy on account that it might be a bit noisy.
When it started it simply wasn't seen as "bad" that Apu wasn't played by a South Asian actor, just as the Black and White Minstrel show was accepted at its time. Now these things are regarded as somewhere between awkward and outright racist and you can see why.
Apu was a perfectly legitimate character. Many convenience stores are owned by Indians worldwide and many in America get robbed at gunpoint regularly and have patrons like Homer. But who's to say that, with hindsight, had he been played by an actor of the same ethnicity it would have been more authentic, potentially funnier in a much subtler kind of way and kind of self knowing? In fact - better.
As an alternative I give you Chef. Isaac Hayes was perfectly happy to do gags about the size of his own cock but lost the plot when his religion was criticised,
I agree, The Simpsons basically stereotypes every character and what they do in the show. Apu is a stereotype, BECAUSE the show is sending up stereotypes of all kinds, and frequently sends up religion, culture, and politics.
If the actor of that character now feels awkward about that, and sounds like he's spent a fair amount of time reflecting on it, not just reacting to 'a few hipsters in a bar in Brooklyn', then that is also fair enough I would have thought.
I love the OP 'overreacting' to others reacting. I'm getting upset because others have got upset at something they shouldn't get upset about!