[ SECRET POST #2324 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4324 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 25 secrets from Secret Submission Post #619.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

04. https://i.imgur.com/Kv1uOU5.png

[(Anonymous)]

I'm not sure I'm really picking up what you're putting down here - do I have this straight? You think that they use Apu's accent as a punchline in a way that people are entitled to be offended by. But you don't want them to get rid of the character. And you think that getting rid of the character is a petulant dick move to punish the people who think the character is racist.

How does that... work

[(Anonymous)]

They could keep the character without using his accent as a punchline (don't know if they do or don not, I don't watch of The Simpsons) ? Or they could introduce a new (or several) Indian character(s) ? But the first solution seems better because, like the OP, I bet there're fans that are very attached to him. It'd be unfair to deprive them of a beloved character just because people working on The Simpsons couldn't take a legitimate concern/critic.

[(Anonymous)]

Even if you change the way that the character functions in future episodes, he's still affected by the ~20 years of episodes where his accent was a punchline, isn't he?

I mean I don't think it matters much either way because the earlier episodes are the ones that people actually watch so it's largely a symbolic gesture. But if people are justified in being offended at the way that the character was written, I don't see how the character can really be reclaimed at that point.

[(Anonymous)]

"Even if you change the way that the character functions in future episodes, he's still affected by the ~20 years of episodes where his accent was a punchline, isn't he?"

Characters can develop and change over time, if the people writing them wish them to do so. I'm also not sure about the logic of this, because it almost sounds like you're implying there's no point in changing anything even if you have good reason to... and that's pretty silly. It does not apply to TV shows, which make plenty of changes all the time.

[(Anonymous)]

They have Apu's wife and family.

[(Anonymous)]

Yep! Apu's brother Sanjay and his family, which consist of himself, his daughter Pahusacheta, and his son Jamshed. There's also Kavi who's Apu's cousin.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, the character isn't inherently racist. The way the show or plots treat the character, can be and is often.

Instead of changing that, to be like "fine, we'll remove the character instead of addressing the problem or changing anything about the writing or viewpoint so we don't have to deal with it" can be the lazy way to do it.

[(Anonymous)]

But that presupposes that you can separate the character from his racist writing and from the way that he's been used for 28 years.

[(Anonymous)]

They just want something to complain about.

[(Anonymous)]

Who does?

[greghousesgf]

unless he's changed a lot since I stopped watching the show he's one of the very few characters who's both smart and good at his job (although his repeatedly cheating on his wife wasn't that smart).

[(Anonymous)]

Isn't his job being a skinflint who cheats the community at the convenience store that he owns?

[(Anonymous)]

He doesn't cheat the community. And a small business owner being cautious about money is pretty damn reasonable.

[4thofeleven]

Eh, that's pretty much every businessperson in the Simpsons - Burns, Krusty, Moe...

[(Anonymous)]

Isn't that what the secret says? OP doesn't dispute that Apu is a likeable character. But his accent and ethnicity is definitely used as comic relief.

[rosehiptea]

I haven't watched the Simpsons in a very long time but I see where you're coming from. It's like in a way they are saying "We can't have an Indian character unless you let us make fun of him."

[(Anonymous)]

...

It's a comedy show. They make fun of *everybody*. They make fun of Homer's stupidity and impulse control, they make fun of Lisa's obessive do-gooding and investment in being The Smart One, they make fun of the church, they make fun of the school system, of the entertainment industry, of housewives, of health and safety officials, of...

It would be weird if they *didn't* make fun of him in some way.

[anarchicq]

Some things are sacrosanct. Didn't you know?

[(Anonymous)]

It's fine to make fun of him

It's bad to make fun of him for being Indian, and it's especially bad to make fun of him on the basis of lazy American stereotypes about being Indian that aren't really grounded in experience or reality

[(Anonymous)]

I like your argument! I think it's the best way to put it. Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

So I'm confused by what you want them to do. Either they change his accent which would be pretty racist in and of itself, leave things the way they are, or remove the character.

[(Anonymous)]

That's pretty much it.

There's no way to win.

It is weird thst he's one of the only heavy-handed stereotypes people get offended by though. Especially given the jews, the british, the gays, the smart, etc.

[(Anonymous)]

generally stereotypes are worse the more that they perpetuate long-standing and entrenched inequalities, prejudices, and power imbalances in society

[(Anonymous)]

It's a shame they got rid of the character, but I think it was a smart move. People who get upset about these things are a small minority, but they are very loud on social media and are impossible to please. They are tyrants, as this secret reveals. It's not even enough to acquiesce to them; it must be on their terms. I can't blame the writers at all for not wanting to bother.