http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43892039
Okay, it's not like the show needs to be defended, it's comedy. Stepping aside from such an iconic character due to entitled middle class types complaining about it goes against the morale of the show. Don't appease the mob.
I remember when people sang praises for the show portraying Apu as a positive, well-rounded character that confronted and subverted stereotypes. Now we have a vocal minority of knee-jerk ninnies who lack a basic understanding of heady concepts like context and parody. Here's an interesting thought experiment: maybe not all social issues need to be addressed by cartoons.
sharePrecisely, it's entertainment not a teaching model. Did people watch Jackass for its educational value?
I and millions of young people grew up watching The Simpsons and have never felt influenced by its cultural portrayals and stereotypes. It's a cartoon and accents are funny. There's nothing grossly offensive about something that has never tried to realistically depict a group of individuals or represent them as real people. If this was a historical drama people were complaining about, that I would understand.
I haven't seen a recent Simpsons episode for several years, but here's what I can tell you about Apu:
-Successful business owner/proprietor
-Excellent business acumen
-Active participant in local community
-College educated
-Bilingual
-Religious yet accepting of others' beliefs
-Acculturated
-Demonstrates family values
How can anyone complain about that?
Nailed it. But they on social media will brush over anything positive about Apu and divert the focus on his accent and mannerisms instead. Seems like he's been pretty fairly well portrayed as a nice, sensible grounded character.
I miss the anarchic nature of TV shows back then, now everything has to be approved by the thought police of today. Not everything needs to be dissected or misinterpreted as something negative. It's sad.
Next step is to make Chief Wiggum a competent in shape Police Officer because his character in this one TV Show is undermining the Police Force as a whole and stereotypes them as fat out of shape donut eaters.
Really all they would have to do is reshow the Season 7 Episode 23 one titled: Much Apu About Nothing, which is about Anti-Immigration and a Proposition being passed to deport all illegal immigrants. It explores Apu’s origins and he sits a Citizenship Test along with Dr. Nick Riviera, Akira, Bumblebee Man, Luigi, Groundskeeper Willie and Moe Szyslak. Then at a congratulatory party, Homer tells his guests how terrible it would be if immigrants were deported, explaining they make the United States thrive.
Do white Southerners bitch about Cletus? Fucking PC bullshit...
shareAll of a sudden, after 30 years Apu is somehow offensive because the accent is exaggerated for comediac value? All accents are exaggerated this way for humor, whether the accent be Indian, Scottish, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Canadian, New England, New York, Southern US, or Fargo, ND. It may seem small, but people who believe these things to be offensive are ruining the world, and the internet is allowing this crackpot minority to have a voice louder than they deserve.
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