The question of wether something is offensive or not hinges almost solely upon wether people take offense. Your good friend may be fine with you joking about their sister, might even be the main one making the jokes- but may find it offensive when someone else does it. You may joke about your friends sister but find it offensive if they joke about yours.
I think more people took offense not to Apu himself but to the fact it was a white male doing his voice. Hank Azaria does the voice of Apu. And he is a great actor and a great voice actor he does many different voices not just for the show.
Honestly I don’t see why they would be so upset I mean they have actors of different races playing white (or should I say Yellow) characters on the show but one white guy doing the voice of a very loved character who thought the show has been funny yet educational in explaining his culture and the religion of the Hindu. He even helps Lisa many times learn how to be a better vegan.
All that was done while being voiced by the male actor.
But currently they are looking into replacing the voice actor with someone who is Indian like Apu to please the viewers which I feel is a big step for them. I just hope they find someone that can mimic the same voice.
People need to remember in the beginning of the show they weren’t trying to be racist. They only had a small budget to get this cartoon on the air. The first season had 13 episodes while season 31 last season had 22.
This was a show that was a spin off of a short gag on another tv show. It was just a small cartoon on a late night show. The fans loved it and wanted more. The original show been canceled a long time but this show is still going strong. So they must be doing something right.
No hate from me to the Simpson’s. Tracy Ullman had a variety show they aired Simpson’s on. I remember parents were worried BART set a “bad influence” and, if you rewatch early episodes- he was hardly the terror that controversy of the time would have you believe. Lol. It’s a wonderful show with its ups and downs, hits and misses, and before South Park and later shows it paved the way for- Simpson’s was the de facto “offensive comedy” show- that was their draw, it wasn’t just a “kids cartoon” or a “Model family” but did reflect a more modern morality and had lessons and tended moments.
In the 500 years the Simpsons has been on air, the shows changed as has society. We can see attitudes towards concepts like homosexuality, women’s empowerment, race, stereotypes and such used in the show for fags or plot, we can see them change in the show as time goes on. Each season is a product of its time. Even Some of the “progressive” elements of the show at the time would be problematic if made in 2020- but they weren’t. They were made in 20 or 30 years ago.
So I wouldn’t bash the Simpson’s nor do I think anyone else should for thins we see as offensive that 20+ years ago we laughed at. Think of how many people act in high school- most probably aren’t acting that way 20 or 30 years later. Thins change. That doesn’t mean we should feel a great shame necessarily because we grew past some things- it means we can look back and see how far we’ve come.
As to Apu- (full disclaimer, I haven’t watched the Simpson in probably 10 or so years) I Found the character often hilarious, often a voice of reason or a teacher of profound lessons, and he IS a stereotype. There ARE people out there who Apu represents. The show is built stereotypes. Wiggum is a dumb, lazy, corrupt “Irish cop.” Homer is a loud mouthed, blue collar, stubborn, ignorant, fat, drunken, lazy, uneducated, uncultured “Joe American.” We could go on- but the show takes stereotypes of people and exaggerates them for comedy.
But people have become offended, or are finally speaking up or being heard- about Apu. Where the “Anti Apu” thing started gaining serious traction and media attention as well as attention from the show- was Aziz Ansari and his now infamous “problem with Apu.” Aziz Ansari. Ansari is one of the early examples of major celebrity and social media presence in a new age of Hollywood that is still bias but far more “inclusive” and “tolerant” than it once was. He voiced his issues with the character and really kicked off the whole ride with others chiming in.
Some are upset it’s a white actor voicing an Indian stereotype, but plenty- especially those among a growing population of middle class and above second and third generation Indian, Hindu, or other often conflated groups, are upset that the representation and perception given them by popular culture, and in turn often popular consciousness, is such a reductionist stereotype.
It’s complicated. But- I don’t get to decide if Apu is offensive or not because Apu is not a parody of my culture beyond reflecting the minds that created the character and made him a staple. Things change, and so too must Apu. Wether they get a new actor, rewrite the character... I hope the new one is able to do justice to the things loved by so many about the character, while not offending a large number of people. At the end of the day, you’ll find someone offended by anything, but when enough people stand together and say “that’s not cool,” I can’t really tell someone who’s shoes I can’t wear “oh naw. It’s fine. You just don’t get it.”
Honestly I don’t see why they would be so upset I mean they have actors of different races playing white (or should I say Yellow) characters on the show but one white guy doing the voice of a very loved character who thought the show has been funny yet educational in explaining his culture and the religion of the Hindu. He even helps Lisa many times learn how to be a better vegan.
All that was done while being voiced by the male actor.
But currently they are looking into replacing the voice actor with someone who is Indian like Apu to please the viewers which I feel is a big step for them. I just hope they find someone that can mimic the same voice.
This was a show that was a spin off of a short gag on another tv show. It was just a small cartoon on a late night show. The fans loved it and wanted more. The original show been canceled a long time but this show is still going strong. So they must be doing something right.