Current Events > So instead of changing Apu's voice actor or characterization they just cut him?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Sad

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Does anyone even still care at this point

Just end the show already

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New Dr. Hibbert kinda sucks, so this is for the best.

Strange how nobody cares about Groundskeeper Willie.

Questionmarktarius posted...

New Dr. Hibbert kinda sucks, so this is for the best.

Strange how nobody cares about Groundskeeper Willie.

It's not strange.

It was really funny when all the lice came out of the woodwork to claim apu was their favorite character


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Arisnotle posted...

It was really funny when all the lice came out of the woodwork to claim apu was their favorite character

lol what the fuck? Apu was a popular character you know

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Arisnotle posted...

It was really funny when all the lice came out of the woodwork to claim apu was their favorite character

Interestingly hes the only playable character in Simpsons Hit & Run that isn't a family member

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Doe posted...

Interestingly hes the only playable character in Simpsons Hit & Run that isn't a family member

"Never have I seen such excellence!"

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Vyrulisse posted...

lol what the fuck? Apu was a popular character you know

Vyrulisse post

Doe posted...

Interestingly hes the only playable character in Simpsons Hit & Run that isn't a family member

Well I never said he wasn't popular

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Doe posted...

Interestingly hes the only playable character in Simpsons Hit & Run that isn't a family member

Forgot about that

His Firebird is such a good car too

Vyrulisse posted...

lol what the fuck? Apu was a popular character you know

"If you answered Dr. Marvin Monroe and Bleeding Gums Murphy... you are wrong, they were never popular!"

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Arisnotle posted...

It was really funny when all the lice came out of the woodwork to claim apu was their favorite character

I mean Apu is pretty great. And honestly, he isn't stereotyped any worse than anyone else on the Simpson's. The problem with Apu is that for decades he was like the only Indian character of prominence on TV. Basically all of the other stereotyped Simpson's characters had plenty of representation outside of the Simpson's. But like Apu was it for Indians. And it made Apu's mannerisms take on far more significance than say Fat Tony or Groundskeeper Willie.

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Does anyone even care about zombie simpsons

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Compsognathus posted...

And honestly, he isn't stereotyped any worse than anyone else on the Simpson's

Cheap, shady, "comically foreign", unhygienic, sleazy. He got it pretty bad. And characters like fat tony and Willie were created and written by white dudes. I don't have a dog in this race either way, idc if Apu stayed or azaria stepped away from the role. It's just not a 1:1 comparison and I don't wanna see people say it is

And I like Apu. Don't get me wrong. It's just plainly absurd to me anyone would call such a non character their favorite character

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Arisnotle posted...

Cheap, shady, "comically foreign", unhygienic, sleazy. He got it pretty bad. And characters like fat tony and Willie were created and written by white dudes. I don't have a dog in this race either way, idc if Apu stayed or azaria stepped away from the role. It's just not a 1:1 comparison and I don't wanna see people say it is

And I like Apu. Don't get me wrong. It's just plainly absurd to me anyone would call such a non character their favorite character

There are people that will have pretty much any character as their favorite so it's not shocking. I'm sure people like Groundskeeper Willie the best or guys like Barney.

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MushroomMuncher posted...

Does anyone even care about zombie simpsons

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Questionmarktarius posted...

New Dr. Hibbert kinda sucks, so this is for the best.

Strange how nobody cares about Groundskeeper Willie.

It's because he's white

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Smackems posted...

It's because he's white

Hes yellow

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Middle hope posted...

Hes yellow

Woah now

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It's for the best. Better to remove the character than to replace him.

Arisnotle posted...

Cheap, shady, "comically foreign", unhygienic, sleazy.

4/5 of those could describe numerous characters on the show. Moreover, Apu has numerous qualities that even the main cast lacks, including being hardworking and personable.

The writers' response to the Apu controversy is probably the most disappointing thing about The Simpsons in recent times imo. They handled it like fragile piss babies who couldn't stand the criticism so they just took their ball and went home. That's a far cry from their heyday of witty, insightful, claws-out social commentary and the real death knell for anything worthwhile the show had left.

Compsognathus posted...

I mean Apu is pretty great. And honestly, he isn't stereotyped any worse than anyone else on the Simpson's. The problem with Apu is that for decades he was like the only Indian character of prominence on TV. Basically all of the other stereotyped Simpson's characters had plenty of representation outside of the Simpson's. But like Apu was it for Indians. And it made Apu's mannerisms take on far more significance than say Fat Tony or Groundskeeper Willie.

All of that factors into the overall problem with Apu but the root of it is that non-Indians wrote and performed an Indian guy specifically going for a comically offensive and stereotypical portrayal. Hank Azaria and the writers both have conflicting accounts of the other wanting to do it that way, so it's hard to know the truth but that's how it ended up and they're all to blame.

Arisnotle posted...

And characters like fat tony and Willie were created and written by white dudes.

There's more to it than this. Fat Tony, Groundskeeper Willie, Bumblebee Man, and many other characters Apu is frequently compared to are based on preexisting characters.

Fat Tony is inspired by the plethora of mob movie characters (themselves sometimes inspired by real life people), created and performed by Italians and Italian-Americans.

Groundskeeper Willie was based on a legendary Scottish actor and a character created and performed by a Canadian actor whose mother was Scottish born.

Bumblebee Man is based on El Chapuln Colorado, a Mexican TV character known for his over the top antics, created and performed by a Mexican man.

At some level of the creative process, there was representation and input for all of the characters.

The inspiration for Apu includes... Hrundi V. Bakshi, a character played by white guy doing brownface, and the white writers wanting an exaggerated Indian accent, 'cause funny.

That's one of the most damning things about Apu, how frequently the supposed every-man portrayal of an Indian immigrant is defended by oblivious comparisons to caricatures of caricatures.

I think Cookie Kwan would be a comparable character but I don't think she's prominent enough to be a problem.

Cheap, shady, "comically foreign", unhygienic, sleazy.

Can't forget the out of control reproduction and the model minority/positive stereotype stuff.

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Arisnotle posted...

It was really funny when all the lice came out of the woodwork to claim apu was their favorite character

i don't understand what is so "lice-y" about liking Apu

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Yeah. Virtue signaling struck again.

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The thing people seem to be ignoring the most here is that actual Indians, you know the people living in India, love the character. So they clearly don't find him offensive or he wouldn't be so popular over there.

Personally I have sworn off The Simpsons as well as Family Guy since all the bullshit about voice actors. It's somehow wrong for a white guy to voice a non-white character, but its perfectly ok for a black guy to voice a white character or a woman to voice a male character.

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Gamerguymass posted...

or a woman to voice a male character.

really, Nancy Cartwright voices like 80% of the kids

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Gamerguymass posted...

The thing people seem to be ignoring the most here is that actual Indians, you know the people living in India, love the character. So they clearly don't find him offensive or he wouldn't be so popular over there

That doesn't matter. All that matters is what woke white people think others should be offended by. You have to cater to and appease them.

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Middle hope posted...

That doesn't matter. All that matters is what woke white people think others should be offended by. You have to cater to and appease them.

the documentary that started the conversation was made by an Indian American

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Tbh there were probably ways to salvage the character by reworking him. People who are mad at his removal would be mad at that too though. The writers probably didn't see the point.

It's unfortunate that the popular humor of Apu was basically just the negative stereotypes that he exuded. He had some great stories and really good growth compared to a lot of the cast. I'm on s4 of my rewatch right now and he is definitely a top 10 character.
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AlCalavicci posted...

the documentary that started the conversation was made by an Indian American

And they had already done an episode examining if he was a stereotype 2 years before the doc was released. The subject was already fully apparent with the showrunners/writers.

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Smashingpmkns posted...

Tbh there were probably ways to salvage the character by reworking him. People who are mad at his removal would be mad at that too though. The writers probably didn't see the point.

It's unfortunate that the popular humor of Apu was basically just the negative stereotypes that he exuded. He had some great stories and really good growth compared to a lot of the cast. I'm on s4 of my rewatch right now and he is definitely a top 10 character.

I understand the issues. An Indian owning a convenience store is still a stereotype, and it was only accentuated and popularized even more with Apu. They really did try to give him positive and accurate representation to counter it - and he is a great character - but there's only so much you can do.

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