hmmm....

So it seems the Simpsons are not liking the criticism they've gotten for years over South Indian character/caricature Apu, so they seemingly "pushed back."


hmmm.....


Is it "once you start letting people 'guilt' or 'shame' you into 'being nice' then you can't be 'funny' anymore"?




https://slate.com/culture/2018/04/the-simpsons-shrugged-off-critics-of-apu-via-lisa-and-marge.html


BROW BEAT

The Simpsons Responds to The Problem With Apu With a Dismissive Shrug

By AISHA HARRIS

APRIL 09, 201811:31 AM

Lisa doesn't know how to address the problem with Apu on The Simpsons.
“What can you do?”


Last fall, comedian Hari Kondabolu released the documentary The Problem With Apu, in which he interrogates the history of The Simpsons’ Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Kwik-E-Mart operator and, for decades, the show’s token Indian character. Through interviews with other prominent South Asian Americans (including Kal Penn, Aziz Ansari, and Hasan Minhaj) as well as drawing on his own personal experiences having grown up with the character, Kondabolu called out The Simpsons’ creators for relying upon painful stereotypes and what is essentially brownface in the form of Hank Azaria voicing the role.

Kondabolu documented his attempts to reach out to Azaria for an on-camera interview, but he declined. The voice actor has addressed the issue publicly as recently as earlier this year, when he expressed sympathy for those upset by the character and said that the creative team would “definitely address” this on the show. And as of Sunday night’s episode, called “No Good Read Goes Unpunished,” they finally did.


While reading a bedtime story to Lisa, Marge edits the fictitious children’s book The Princess in the Garden so that any trace of content that would be considered objectionable in 2018 —”naturally servile” natives in South America, “feeble-witted and drunk” Irish—is gone. It turns out it’s much less satisfying (and much shorter), lacking in an “emotional journey” for its protagonist. “Well, what am I supposed to do?” an exasperated Marge says.

Lisa turns and looks directly at the audience: “It’s hard to say. Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” The camera then pans to a framed photo of Apu on the nightstand next to Lisa’s bed, signed with the phrase, “Don’t have a cow.” And then:

Marge: Some things will be dealt with at a later date.

Lisa: If at all.


Unsurprisingly, this pat, resigned reaction to the controversy didn’t sit well with Kondabolu and many others.


Hari Kondabolu
✔
@harikondabolu
Wow. “Politically Incorrect?” That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad. https://twitter.com/soham_burger/status/983200703660351488 …
12:45 AM - Apr 9, 2018
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Hari Kondabolu
✔
@harikondabolu
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.
1:14 AM - Apr 9, 2018
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Later in the episode, Lisa brings Marge to Springfield University to meet scholars of the fictional book’s author, Heloise Hodgeson Burwell. (The name is presumably a reference to Frances Hodgson Burnett, whose beloved classic The Secret Garden features a white English girl arguing that the family’s Indian house staff “are not people.”) They claim that Burwell’s “whole life was a protest against conformity,” because she was unmarried, never had kids, and lived in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She’s a “lesbian icon” and her “offensive stereotypes were actually a self-consciously ironic protest against her own oppression.” When a skeptical Marge asks them how much of that characterization they actually believe, they respond, hesitantly: “Most.” They deal with the incongruities with the help of alcohol.

The basic framing of that earlier meta reference and the scene at the university is a startling misrepresentation of the issues Kondabolu and many others have brought forth. To suggest that Apu (who was created nearly 30 years ago when on-screen Asian representation was even more dire than it is now) was ever “inoffensive” is only true if you’re speaking about it from the perspectives of the non-Asian segment of the population, which obviously wouldn’t have any reason to be offended. Yet for many Indian Americans who grew up with The Simpsons, this character, the brainchild of white creators, was all they had. And in merely poking fun at the stereotypes (the “self-consciously ironic protest” bit), the writers deflect responsibility even further, admitting that they’ve had to reflect upon their creative choices and have come to the conclusion that there’s nothing more they can possibly do.


During an interview for my Slate podcast Represent, Kondabolu told me that he didn’t want the writers to take the “lazy” way out in addressing the controversy and kill off Apu. They didn’t wind up doing that, but instead did something that’s perhaps just as much of a cop-out: looked directly at their critics, dinged them for being “politically correct,” and then shrugged it off. What can you do?

Update, April 9, 12:30 p.m.: Hari Kondabolu has released an “official” statement on the episode.


Hari Kondabolu
✔
@harikondabolu
TO THE JOURNALISTS WHO HAVE ASKED ME FOR A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S SIMPSONS EPISODE, I JUST WANT SAY: “Congratulations to the Simpsons for being talked about & being seen as relevant again.”
11:14 AM - Apr 9, 2018
3,400
680 people are talking about this

Nearly the worst possible way they could've dealt with it.

My movies: http://russellhainline.com
My movie reviews: https://letterboxd.com/RussellHFilm/
My beer TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thebeertravelguide

This makes them look both petty and ignorant. There are plenty of things that we've progressed past as a society - the Indian stereotype is one of them - and for them to shrug this off as "political incorrectness" rather than blatant racism is really stupid and shows just how out of touch they are. Sad.

------------------------------

17x NBA Champions

The words "politically correct" and "politically incorrect" should be wiped from the lexicon. They're really only used to obfuscate.

I love The Simpsons, but they should have known from the beginning that they were way out of line with Apu.

pointing this out to me as a kid

i was a massive fan of the simpsons - one of the few things i was truly a fan of, really

i didn't pick up on apu as being a racist caricature - at that age i was barely grasping the intended satire, let alone context like that

i mean i was playing the damn quickie mart song on cd and singing along

but my dad went straight for it - i was conflicted around my favorite show maybe 'doing wrong,' embarrassed for not having observed it on my own and proud my dad saw me as bright and mature enough to give it to me straight

__

fairweather

And they feel put upon by the growing dissatisfaction people feel with the Apu character. They're lashing out at the criticism.

have him start suddenly speaking with a Midwestern accent, and randomly he's a Cop now or a Firefighter or some other un-stereotypical profession (although he WAS a volunteer fireman at one point)


But just make the character completely different but still has the same name and all the characters just act like that's how he always was.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

funny shit and jokes are all around us. More than than ever with twitter in the mix. It's not like if we get rid of the less sensitive stuff we would run out of jokes.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

seeing people in embarrassing situations or making light of their character quirks (no I don't think someone's country of Origin is a character quirk)

Now sometimes (like stand up comedy) it's the person themselves pointing out their issues and encouraging people to laugh at their own shortcomings.


A lot of the humor for the cast of Characters on that show is based on serious issues

Barney- Alcoholism

Milhouse- Socially awkward nerd, bad with talking to ladies.

Abraham Simpson - Elderly/senile

Moe The Bartender: Physically unattractive, Anger Issues, lonely and suicidal as a result of all that

Cletus the Slack-jawed Yokel: Poverty/lack of education.

Comic Book Guy- Obese, Antisocial outcast.

Bart: Behavioral issues and an abusive Father

Those are serious, real life issues people struggle with daily but for the most part we feel comfortable laughing at them.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

I don't think the rule is you can't make fun of people. I think the issue is, is it really funny just because they are different?

Or maybe it's just kind of lazy. I think you can make some funny jokes about a group but if your go to joke about an Indian person is they were at a convenience store then that's just kind of lazy.

Maybe the way simpson could address it is if it turns out that Apu has saved up a shit ton of money and buys out Ed Burns from the nuclear plant.



**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

You see a stranger that you wanna make fun of
the jokes consist of
-how they walk
-how they talk
-what they look like
-et al easy shit

You have a acquaintance, the jokes consist of
-mannerisms
-likes and dislikes
-relationships they have with other aquantances
- etc

You have a close relationship
-hopes and fears
-deep call backs and references
-disposition
-personality
-history
-future
-etc

shit you can only develop by getting past surface level stereotypes. If you want jokes about misfortune, get granular.

In his first appearance he was only on screen less than a minute at a time

But he did get whole episodes that fleshed out his character and showed his background/family life/outside of working at the store.

It's not like he just shows up, says something in a funny accent and leaves after he gets laughed at.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

i was a teenager and here was a cartoon doing the hacky indian voice me and my friends did to make fun of convenience store brown guys. it's not like we learned that thank-you-come-again shit from Apu, as much as it seemed like Apu stemmed from dumbasses like us. if anything it kind of validated our ignorance. especially since everyone loved the simpsons.

i get that pc can get ridiculous at times, but this is a crappy thing to dig in on. it just feels tantrumish.

I didn't use it to make fun of convenience store guys (where I lived at the time, you'd be lucky to see any actual Indian people for years)

but after the stage ended in Sonic 1 on "Act Clear" I used to say "Thank You, Come Again" in that voice.

Having Lisa resigning to no progress likely being made on such a important issue while presenting political correctness as some enemy to comedy is the moment the Simpsons became Abe yelling at clouds.

They could have just casted an Indian dude with a less exaggerated and stereotypical accent, solving the problem with Apu and making everyone happy. Instead they prove the Simpsons writers are just a bunch of old white guys with nothing left to say, really.

People have dogged this show for the last 20 years and I always defended it. Even if I didn't watch it and it wasn't great, I'd rather it still be on the air. After this, I finally feel like it will be ok if the Simpsons ended.

also he portrays "american values" better than the actual americans

like im not OD familiar w/ the simpsons but from what i've seen thats the read i get.

<--- Big Baller World Order

And the character was one of the few representations of Indians to most Americans. It was common for Indian kids to be mocked with the accent and catchphrase. To this day, Indian talent are asked to do stupid ass accents like the dude from Big Bang Theory

That’s the problem with Apu that explained in the reallly good and funny documentary. It’s on Vimeo and less than an hour long, so I definitely suggest watching it

No one is saying Apu is all bad and his good characterization through the series is noted but the documentary does a good job of explaining “the problem with Apu”

"We're honoring you."

C'mon, man.

as long as the one dimension white folks show is "working hard" its cool. ticked off that box.

smh at Bwhat

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Signature

<--- Big Baller World Order

one time and he was talking like Stepin Fetchit would it matter that he was a doctor ?

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Signature

i know a lot of indians that sound like apu so it never registered to me. i didnt know a white dude did the voice tho.

im not saying indian people dont have a right to feel offended.

<--- Big Baller World Order

the whole thing is about the documentary The Problem With Apu

long story short, at its core, its about when you have one single minority member in a sea of white faces in a show or movie or whatever and that character becomes the template for said minority in the real world. Its compounded when that one character is made out of stereotypes. Because there is no other character to balance and because most white people only really interact with white people, those stereotypes get brought out into the real world.

>. Because there is no
>other character to balance and because most white people only
>really interact with white people, those stereotypes get
>brought out into the real world.

White people ask "Where's the harm."

He feels there's been real harm because no other shows had an Indian character so now all non-Indians think all Indians must be like Apu. (Or until Big Bang Theory came on, where frankly Raj is a stereotype with a less stereotypical accent.)

In the end of the documentary even the film maker has no idea what could/should be done to remedy what he sees as a great harm.

And now they're mad because the Simpsons didn't solve it, or address is in what they think would be a constructive way - and instead made a joke aimed back at the people who have brought the issue up - they are mad.

You can choose what way to feel for yourself.

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

_______________________________________

That's a big stereotype for a class of Indians.

Also, the arranged marriage plot from years back.

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

I think it’s moreso stuff like owning a motel or 7-11 while wearing a head wrap

and arranged marriages are definitely common

For me it’s a problem when you give ethnic folks the strongest accents possible while giving them the most predictable job.

Mexican Gardner with a strong accent
African cab driver with a strong accent
Jewish banker/jeweler with a strong accent

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

>For me it’s a problem when you give ethnic folks the
>strongest accents possible while giving them the most
>predictable job.

I think this goes to the two issues:
1)This has hurt people's feelings

2)Even people with hurt feelings don't have a definite answer on how to fix it - just that it is wrong.

And I'm sure there is a range of opinions on what's "wrong." Some people may feel working at 7-11 but with a less pronounced accent would still be bad. Or if he had no accent it'd be bad. Or if he had imperial British accent it'd be bad.

I'll be if Apu had a 'medium' accent and worked in an insurance agency that his vegetarianism might be problematic too - to some people. (Definitely the statues of Ganesha.)

Some stereotypes are okay for different people.

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

<--- Big Baller World Order

Everyone is confused as to why they even addressed it in such a victimized way when they could have just kept it moving. Its not like people didnt already think Apu was iffy.

The side issue is that when media stereotypes come out in bullying, jobs, dress codes, resources, etc.

The black characters on the show seem to operate without stereotypes which i think is by design in contrast to how stereotypical the white people are.

****************
TBH the fact that you're even a mod here fits squarely within Jag's narrative of OK-sanctioned aggression, bullying, and toxicity. *shrug*

First, his voice is accurate - all Indians should like Fisher Stevens in Short Circuit - who learned it from Peter Sellers in The Party .

Wha else did they get right?

Sold children to circus - CHECK
Lead singer of hard rock tribute band - CHECK
Volunteer Fireman who steals things - CHECK
Store owner who gouges during natural disasters - CHECK
Cheats on wife with squishee girl - CHECK
Sells tainted meat - CHECK
Took a bullet for James Woods - CHECK
Won a Grammy for best barbershop quartet album - CHECK
Know Linda and Paul McCarntney - CHECK.
Knows Elton John - CHECK.
Bowls in a league - CHECK
Illegal immigrant who games the system for citizenship - CHECK
Lottery Winner - CHECK
Married to a woman voiced by Tress McNiel - Check

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

among many other characters and situations on the show?

http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/The_Stereotypes

_______________________________________

Actually, what is a stereotypical white person?
Dave Chappelle in whiteface was portraying a stereotypical white guy. But is it even possible in the US media to have a stereotypical white character (other than redneck)?

_______________________________________

The over-arching point of the show is that the "average" U.S. citizen/middle American is clueless and a complete moron.

That's not take to take away from anything that "The Trouble With Apu" was saying, but Apu is far from the only stereotypical character on that show.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

>The over-arching point of the show is that the "average" U.S.
>citizen/middle American is clueless and a complete moron.
>
>That's not take to take away from anything that "The Trouble
>With Apu" was saying, but Apu is far from the only
>stereotypical character on that show.

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

>With Apu" was saying, but Apu is far from the only
>stereotypical character on that show.

I'm guessing there are some other minor characters that are (haven't really watched the show in over a decade so not really sure), but Apu pretty much sticks out in that regard.

___________________

Mar-A-Lago delenda est

Just off the top: Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie, Luigi Risotto, Fat Tony and his crew, Bumblebee Man, Cletus (if we're counting slackjawed yokel as an ethnicity), etc.

Many of the characters are broad, cartoonish stereotypes by design.

Yes, Apu is more prominent than most, but part of it is bigger he's had a bigger role than most of the secondary characters.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

>Just off the top: Krusty the Clown, Groundskeeper Willie,
>Luigi Risotto, Fat Tony and his crew, Bumblebee Man, Cletus
>(if we're counting slackjawed yokel as an ethnicity), etc.

as others have mentioned, that matters.


>Many of the characters are broad, cartoonish stereotypes by
>design.

of course. that doesn't really lessen the issues with Apu though.

___________________

Mar-A-Lago delenda est

Springfield is filled with stereotypical white people.

I never said that there weren't issues with Apu or that the documentary was invalid. I was responding to the incorrect assertion that Apu was a stereotypical Indian character amidst non-stereotypical white characters.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

>I never said that there weren't issues with Apu or that the
>documentary was invalid. I was responding to the incorrect
>assertion that Apu was a stereotypical Indian character amidst
>non-stereotypical white characters.

ok. it seemed like you were equating the stereotyping of Apu as just another of the various stereotypical characters on the show. but if not then cool.

___________________

Mar-A-Lago delenda est

Living in Poverty with a lack of education and opportunity.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

just always ON ONE

who have made being "against the SJWs" a cottage industry

More importantly, as a comedian/artist I hope he takes that same energy and actually CREATES some shit that he thinks better represents his people.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

>More importantly, as a comedian/artist I hope he takes that
>same energy and actually CREATES some shit that he thinks
>better represents his people.

>More importantly, as a comedian/artist I hope he takes that
>same energy and actually CREATES some shit that he thinks
>better represents his people.

Or a couple of pretty damned good comedy albums/specials?

---------------------------------
Photo zine(some images NSFW): http://bit.ly/USaSPhoto

"This (and every, actually) conversation needs more Chesterton and less Mike Francesa." - Walleye

I'm asking honestly since I haven't seen it?

Unless he's a character/gimmick comic there's a difference between stand up and creating a fictional world of characters which is what I understand he is critiquing.

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

Documentary filmmaking is a creative endeavor, chief.

---------------------------------
Photo zine(some images NSFW): http://bit.ly/USaSPhoto

"This (and every, actually) conversation needs more Chesterton and less Mike Francesa." - Walleye

But little kids don't tend to buy lunchboxes/t-shirts/toys based on documentaries.

There's a difference between creating fiction and non-fiction.

if his criticism is the portrayal of Indian CHARACTERS in media, as a comedian/artist he's in a position to actually CREATE some better work.

Especially right now since he's got attention on him from this, he should parlay that into producing a movie or TV show or something and actually CREATE some original characters

R.I.P. Loud But Wrong Guy
Dec 29th 2009 - Dec 17th 2017

you gonna start using "MSM" next?

***********************************************************
https://soundcloud.com/swageyph/yph-die-with-me

thought thats what the cool kids were sayin now

But, you're also not wrong either, its starting to be used in a widespread way but its still the easiest way to figure out if someone has been drinking the alt-right koolaide

***********************************************************
https://soundcloud.com/swageyph/yph-die-with-me

everyone's a cuck who isn't on the The Donald train!

i just won't use them because i'm not trying to get lumped in to the cuck/snowflake "hey check out this Ben Shapiro video!" group of fuckwads

I'ts so annoying when people will just not shut up about inequality and injustice! The nerve!

dude is a comedian


But it feels like his politics are way at the forefront of his act. When it should be humor lol


Plenty of other young indian comedians killin it (Aparna Nancherla, Hasan, etc)

...and also using Lisa's character to do it on-screen. and just so you knew who they meant, they had a picture of Apu right there on the dresser.

that smelled like the writing of a guy who thinks Sam Harris is smart

yeah, The Simpsons got known for clever humor....but....they always wanted an "edge" and that "edge" was about saying/showcasing "harsh" things.


yeah....I know....

over the years, the Simpsons became know for "clever" writing, so people ignored that the Simpsons was based on comedy with an "edge" (harshness).


To expect "harshness" not to extend to a non-white character (or only in a "careful" way to a non-white character) is not realistic from a comedy standpoint.


for comedy, if you're going to have an edge, that's what you have to have. You can't be nice. South Park goes extreme so you know they are "going for 'edge'" but....if a comedy starts clearly with an "edge" (The Simpsons) they can't just water it down to be "nice."

A stereotype is not an "edge" it's just lazy writing and thinking.

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) April 9, 2018



>yeah, The Simpsons got known for clever humor....but....they
>always wanted an "edge" and that "edge" was about
>saying/showcasing "harsh" things.
>
>
>yeah....I know....
>
>over the years, the Simpsons became know for "clever" writing,
>so people ignored that the Simpsons was based on comedy with
>an "edge" (harshness).
>
>
>To expect "harshness" not to extend to a non-white character
>(or only in a "careful" way to a non-white character) is not
>realistic from a comedy standpoint.
>
>
>for comedy, if you're going to have an edge, that's what you
>have to have. You can't be nice. South Park goes extreme so
>you know they are "going for 'edge'" but....if a comedy starts
>clearly with an "edge" (The Simpsons) they can't just water it
>down to be "nice."

All of those shows(South Park, Family Guy...) use the same "we make fun of everyone cop out.

---------------------------
Signature

many.


and that's what "edgy" comedy will always be about.


Comedy is like rock-n-roll or hip-hop.


You can love and admire all non-lazy/well thought out rock and hip-hop, but there will always be a market/audience for rock and hip-hop that goes for the "harsh" (non-well thought out) quick "thrill"


same with comedy

he was literally a brown immigrant store clerk. Up until he got married, all his jokes were about the Kwik-E-Mart. HE LIVED IN THE KWIK-E-MART. That was the extent of his role.

Its a clear stereotype they were playing off. Its not suddenly wrong. It was wrong then. At the time it was something they could "get away with". You have to also remember how big the Simpsons was and that Apu was, for most people, the only interaction with an Indian person they ever had.

stereotype up for comedic purposes is not "designing"


"designing" is something artists who are "careful" and make "well-thought out" art do.

People who are edgy in their art just "throw out" stuff here and there to "see what sticks" - like stereotypical characters.

Apu was lazily conceived. it wasn't meant to be edgy, it was just lazy and convenient because he was meant to exist in the periphery to deliver setups and punchlines in a convenient store.


sidenote: people design edgy shit all the time, man. lol. There's job applications for it.

that's the way it goes.


NOt supposed to be "careful"

shoutout to holding folks to a standard

yes

either way

nobody was asking for Apu to change
but their response to the documentary was really dumb and a waste of everyone's time.

comedy can often be rocknroll or hip hop like - it's not always going to be "careful" and "well-thought out"


sorry

that's just the way it goes - it's going to be "brash" - not "designed" to not offend.

Comedy - hip-hop - rock n roll


now, if we're talking about classical music or literature, then.

But the guideline between 'edgy' and inappropriate changes over time. Like Dave Chappelle's homophobic and transphobic jokes may have been funny ten years ago when he was younger but they are inappropriate now.

I'm sure if the writers of The Simpsons wanted to make a point about 'politically correctness' that was 'edgy' they could have pointed out how politically correctness limits the edges of honest, true conversations about important issues in a way that poked at both sides.

But to just label those who are sensitive to stereotypes in the media as overly-sensitive and unfunny is irritating and immature.

Granted these are comedians at their core and they aren't required to be progressive. But it doesn't seem that their point was very funny either.

<--- Me when my head hits the pillow

they had a room full of people wasting their time on this earth drawing every frame of an episode that didn't really need to exist.

I can get why he would be offended by Apu (he is an Indian) but I think a lot of criticism falls into this category where people look at something from a past era with a different perspective.

I always thought it was assumed that Apu wasn't drawn up to be an offensive caricature. I've never really seen any episode that would lead me to believe that Apu's ethnicity was part of a joke.

But then again, I'm not Indian.
---------------------------------------


---------------------------------------

This is part 1 of a three-part take by a movie/video game/pop culture reviewer that I watch. This installment is about 15 minutes.

As he says in the video, this started out as a commentary on a blog piece about Lisa's character from over a month ago and then turned into something else after last weekend.

It's a good primer on his feeling about the Simpsons in general and how it's a difficult show to disucuss, mostly because something like it rarely exists in U.S. popular culture. And then delves in the nature of the show, Springfield, Lisa, and Apu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGMnnrw70lA

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

That'll make everyone happy.

------------


Gone: My Discogs collection for The Roots:
http://www.discogs.com/user/tomhayes-roots/collection

just watch the documentary instead

...about his momma.

Either that, or he made his sandwich smaller than Homer's.