Steerpike

I stopped watching the Simpsons some time ago, but I always loved the show. Apu was one of my favorite characters. Seems like even that level of humor is falling foul of the PC Police ...
https://www.thewrap.com/simpsons-sho...o-apu-problem/

I cannot imagine being offended by this character.

civilservant

He is a little stereotypical isn't he?

scrubbedexpat142

Aren't they all? - Isn't that the point?

Anian

Maybe you should watch the documentary about why the comedian has problems with the character. I saw a few interviews with the guy when it came out 18 months ago and it seems that it's not quite as simple as Apu being an offensive stereotype.

robtuck

I do remember it being nuanced, but even so, I could see a problem apart from the fact the stereotype is specifically being used to poke fun at the people who use the stereotype. Its not using it for easy giggles, it's using it because that stereotype is essentially racist and therefore having a pop at people who think like that. He tends to come out on top in most things, once the joke is done.

Hiro11

I should watch the documentary because I'm not sure I get being "offended" by Apu.

The entire show consists of expanding stereotypes to absurd proportions. The ridiculous Scottish groundskeeper. The police chief with literally a pig nose. The faux-Kennedy mayor. The absurdly chipper Christian neighbor Flanders. The Mexican Bee guy. The over-the-top evil capitalist Mr. Burns. The incompetent, money-grubbing doctors and lawyers. Etc. It's. A. Joke.

Also, Apu is treated with enormous respect and fondness by the show. He's a paragon of goodness.

Steerpike

Exactly.
Exactly. Apu is a smart guy and way ahead of the average 'dumb white trash' that the Simpson's portrays repeatedly. I mean ... look at Homer Simpson - no finer example exists of pure dumb white trash.

And the accent is not far off, based on my quite extensive exposure to Indians in the US. I love the sound. Yes, they are making fun of the way Indians talk but what's wrong with that? People make fun of how Brits talk, often playing on the stuffy, pompous way Brits can sound (remember the parodies of Angela Rippon, paining herself to correctly pronounce Zimbabwe, Mugabe, etc). The whole comedic device of Monty Python's 'Trouble up 'Mill' is accents ... (Trouble up Mill, big cog went out of skew on't treddle' / I can't understand a word you are saying / I never expected a Spanish Inquisition ... ). Also brings to mind the old Monty Python sketch 'upper class twit of the year' ... though that ridiculed a class, not an accent as such
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hwqln

It does raise the question - what is comedy? Or, what is legitimate in comedy? Comedy is all about exaggeration, identifying traits, poking fun, and that will always have a potential to offend someone.

caretaker

I remember when this was in the news a year ago; it was debated and promptly forgotten. The Simpsons is funny enough they can weather the loss of a character.

BritInParis

Not sure why they need to given it was a five minute storm in a teacup which, as you say, everyone promptly forgot.

Steerpike

Somewhat related ... has anyone noticed that Indians in the US (or at least, in Silicon Valley) have gone from being the cheap programming labor used to churn out code to being CEOs of major US corporations? EG - Google CEO - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundar_Pichai also Microsoft, Nokia, Adobe, and others ... https://www.gadgetsnow.com/slideshow...t/53708176.cms

Good for them!

scrubbedexpat099

Well there are major issues in SV:

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/in-s...e-pay-gap.html

Carta analyzed more than 6,000 companies, 180,000 employees and 15,000 founders, and found that overall, men own 91 percent of employee and founder equity in Silicon Valley, leaving women a scant 9 percent.

The average female founder owns just 39 cents in equity for every $1 a male founder owns. Female employees earn just 47 cents of equity for every $1 of equity a male employee earns. Compare that with the wage gap — a women earns 80 cents for every $1 earned by a man, and women of color earn even less — and it becomes clear that the equity gap poses an even bigger challenge.

kimilseung

Uneducated certainly, a little selfish and lazy yes. But why this character is so often seen so negatively, I can only ascribe to class prejudice. His character is much more complex than most give it credit. He usually makes the moral choice, and puts his family first, despite his initial inclinations.
A million miles from my definition of dumb white trash.

caretaker

Uneducated? He's a technician in a nuclear plant so must have some qualifications. A little selfish and lazy? No, exceptionally so. Despite that handicap he's got a big house in the 'burbs, kids are geniuses, most patient wife in the world; if not for the stupidity he'd be fine.

kimilseung

I'd have that down as training rather than an education, certainly from a liberal education point of view.
It did get me curious, and I must have too much time on my hands as I went to Google.
s05e03 "Homer Goes to College"
Homer's lack of a college degree is revealed and he is sent to Springfield University to pass a nuclear physics class. He cheats and gets an A+, Marge finds out and forces Homer to take the course again in order to set a good example for Bart and Lisa.

Steerpike

Well, I adore Homer Simpson actually ... the show was my favorite escape for many years when I first got here. But your comment about 'a little selfish and lazy' reminded me of the episode where he's somehow managed to get permission to work from home, while being responsible for monitoring the 'core' at the nuclear plant (pronounced nucular ). It's the classic one where he's told to 'press any key to continue' but he can't find the 'any' key ... and then he realizes that all he has to do is press the 'Y' key all the time, and then he decides to skive off to the movie theater, leaving his mechanical bird to keep hitting the 'y' key every few seconds. Needless to say, the plant blows up in that episode ... . But no, not dumb, not too lazy, not too selfish ..

Here's a clip ...