The Simpsons: Why brushing Apu under the carpet won’t work anymore
There was once an Apu who took cinema by storm, and then, there was another who, well, took social media by storm.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the beloved Indian Kwik-E-Mart owner of Springfield, might just be written off The Simpsons.
Recent media reports suggest that Fox is wary of the backlash Apu garnered in the past couple of years, and simply want to wash their hands off it.
Now, Apu is not a new inclusion into the cast. But people have woken up to his existence — and thereby implications — only recently. That Apu is the only distinctly coloured character on the show — and I say this because the series does have Chinese characters but everyone’s already yellow (yikes) while Apu is brown — is but one factor that triggered a backlash. His stereotypical English pronunciation — Indians perhaps at one point spoke like that, I don’t know, but they certainly don’t today. Take a look at Priyanka Chopra, for instance — has been the biggest bone of contention.
.@priyankachopra talks the controversial 'Simpsons' character Apu, and says it is time to "try to erase stereotypes": “Yes, it’s a cartoon, yes it’s a pop culture super successful show — but that gives it more responsibility!” https://t.co/QKtRIq4yib pic.twitter.com/Ia3r6xvmnN
— The View (@TheView) May 3, 2018
“He was the bane of my life growing up. I was always asked when I was in high school — like at 14, 15 — why I didn’t speak like that,” Priyanka had revealed during a promotional event for Quantico. That statement alone created quite the stir in Apu’s masala chai kulhad. Perhaps enough to turn his world upside down.
When comedian Hari Kondabolu pointed out this very Problem With Apu, things went south for the poor storekeeper. The world decided to save Apu, fight racial stereotypes and make the world a better place, all at the same time.
They instead probably ended up getting Apu axed.
Adi Shankar, a producer on the Netflix show Castlevania, but not on The Simpsons, told IndieWire, “(Fox will) drop the Apu character altogether. They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid controversy.”
The executive producer of The Simpsons, Al Jean, however, responded with a tweet that read: "Adi Shankar is not a producer on the Simpsons. I wish him the very best but he does not speak for our show."
Adi’s response came soon after: I wish you well too. "Let’s work towards common ground. Ignoring only fans the flames. The world is polarized & getting more so, and the onus is on us to bring people together. Engage in a constructive way and this matter will go to bed. I see you, now I’m asking you to see me."
Adi Shankar is not a producer on the Simpsons. I wish him the very best but he does not speak for our show.
— Al Jean (@AlJean) October 28, 2018
I wish you well too. Let’s work towards common ground. Ignoring only fans the flames. The world is polarized & getting more so, and the onus is on us to bring people together. Engage in a constructive way and this matter will go to bed. I see you, now I’m asking you to see me.
— Adi Shankar (@adishankarbrand) October 29, 2018
Now, in this he said-he said battle, the only person losing out is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
The Simpsons first aired on December 17, 1989. Since then, it’s taken on social, political, even pop culture issues head on like no other. They’ve run over Donald Trump even before the Internet discovered what a wonderful covfefe he is. They’ve mocked Kim Kardashian and Stephen Hawking, although only one of them laughed at the joke — guess who? They’ve taken a stand on every issue that’s been of any consequence to people. Yet, when it comes to this, they chose to quietly retreat into their bubble of denial.
The Simpsons’ writing off of Apu is, in a way, symbolic of a world without Apu, a world which does not know what to do with the problem of deliberate and non-deliberate racial stereotyping. And therefore, it simply denies its existence. “Yes, it’s a cartoon. Yes, it’s a pop culturally super successful show. But that gives it more responsibility,” Priyanka had said in the same interview — and it is this responsibility that the makers are trying to shrug their shoulders at.
It is symbolic of a time when 'building walls' and 'boxing up refugee children' are stories that make up actual news articles, and not the faking news section.
The larger picture, however, is far more problematic.
When you cannot deal with an issue, simply brush it under the carpet, is what The Simpsons’ move teaches us. Like the metaphorical ostrich, let’s bury our heads in the sand. Let’s tell ourselves, ‘this too shall pass’, even if it takes with it 29 years of building a socially-aware, woke brand for itself.