The Guardian Asks: Is 'The Simpsons' Character Apu Racist?
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Celebrities and Controversy, Family Films, Politics, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Never a stranger to taking controversial stances, The Guardian is stirring up some heated debate by accusing the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon of being a "crude racist stereotype." Writer Manish Vij says "Culture-vulture Simpsons fans have felled entire forests in arguing that he's a parody of a stereotype, rather than the stereotype itself. But the plain fact is that most viewers are laughing at Apu, not with him. They're enjoying the simple pleasures of a funny, singsong brown man with a slippery grasp of English." Vij takes major issue with 7-Eleven's recent Kwik-E-Mart makeover promotion (which Erik told you about here), as well. 7-Eleven employees at the converted convenience stores are, as Vij puts it, "being asked to don Kwik-E-Mart costumes with Apu nametags, come to work under banners mocking their ethnicity, and bid customers goodbye with the phrase, 'Thank you, come again!'" He closes the article by saying, "Today, we expect American companies to promote racial tolerance. Yet like an outbreak of a long-dormant virus, 7-Eleven is spending millions of dollars to push a crude ethnic stereotype well past its sell-by date. It's tin-eared and unconscionable. The company should cancel Apu and issue an apology."
Now, I could definitely argue that The Simpsons is, and always has been, satire. It makes fun of anything and everything, and though it's certainly poked fun at race relations over the years, I've never seen anything on the show I'd consider racist. The Apu character talks with an exaggerated accent, but it's an animated comedy show -- everybody does. And it's certainly an equal opportunity offender. Everyone on the program is a stereotype, and those stereotypes are frequently addressed, exposed, disproved, and mocked. Stereotypes exist on The Simpsons to provoke the viewer, as all good comedy should. Fat Tony could offend sensitive Italians, Groundskeeper Willie could offend sensitive Scotsmen, Bumblebee Man could offend sensitive Hispanics, and so on. But I hardly think the intent of The Simpsons' writing staff is to spew hate.
I have to disagree with Vij about Apu being crude and racist. If anything, he's one of the more intelligent and positive presences in Springfield, and I find the author's comparisons of Apu to "minstrel shows" and "Jim Crow America" to be really pushing it. But the 7-Eleven thing is sort of a grey area for me. I haven't visited one of the revamped stores, so I don't know how the "Apu" issue is being handled, but it certainly sounds like potentially dangerous turf. What do you think? Is Mr. Nahasapeemapetilon an offensive racist caricature? Is this a serious issue or much Apu about nothing?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-17-2007 @ 5:51PM
Matt said...
Having been in the Kwik E Mart in Seattle, I must say that the clerks did have Kwik E Mart uniforms on but they did not say APU on their name tags. It said their real names. Also, I did not get a "Thank you, come again" when I was there. It did not seem that 7-11 was pushing the Apu character so much as they were pushing the Kwik E Mart. Apu may have started out as just a sterotype but he has been granted multiple storylines over the years. If we need to discuss racism, please start with "The War at Home" and leave The Simpsons alone.
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7-17-2007 @ 5:54PM
ChrisDC said...
They have also published another article presenting the other side of the argument which you can read at http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/saptarshi_ray/2007/07/the_wonder_of_apu_1.html
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7-17-2007 @ 6:14PM
yanipheonu said...
Oh yes. Apu was designed with a purely hurtful purpose towards Indian convenience store clerks.
It's COMEDY people. Hell this is REAL LIFE. People will draw conclusions between ethnic groups. There will be stereotypes. But as long as people are tolerant of each other and are in peace, everything is just fine.
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7-17-2007 @ 6:22PM
Eugene said...
typical, it's okay to make fun of everybody else, but not MY *insert race/creed/gender/what-have-you!"
Simpsons routinely pokes fun at white, excuse me, European-Americans and the dominant american culture. No one has a problem with this, but heaven forbid they have a character who speaks with an accent and pokes fun at a people group other than "whites."
Some people really need to stop what they're doing and go do something more productive and worthwhile.
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7-17-2007 @ 6:50PM
pete said...
i miss the bumble bee man and itchy and scratchy bits they use to do.
Ay, no megusta el baseball!
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7-18-2007 @ 1:35AM
matthew m. barnes said...
to quote one of my favorite broadway songs...
"Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes.
Doesn't mean we go around committing hate crimes.
Look around and you will find
No one's really color blind.
Maybe it's a fact we all should face
Everyone makes judgments based on race...
... ethnic jokes might be uncouth,
but you laugh because they're based on truth.
Don't take them as personal attacks.
Everyone enjoys them...
So relax!"
from the song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist" from "Avenue Q"
get over it.
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7-18-2007 @ 9:38AM
Mike Davis said...
The Simpsons is likewise constantly oppressing my bright yellow brothers & sisters, too.
Don't get me started on how they treat the three-fingered.
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7-18-2007 @ 11:10AM
meeno01 said...
I went to the Kwik-E-Mart in LA, and they did have on the uniforms, but they did not say Apu on them. I also didnt get the "thank you, come again". also, I feel that they were pushing the Simpsons brand, not the Apu character.
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7-18-2007 @ 12:48PM
Liz Lacy said...
I've been to the Kwik-E-Mart here in Mountain View, and much as the first poster commented, the people had name tags with their own names on them and did not say "thank you, come again". There's Apu stuff in the Kwik-E-Mart but it's not even specifically focused on him, there's a huge Wiggam stand up, and lots of Bartphenalia.
I didn't ask the one East Indian woman who was working there if she was insulted or bothered by the ethnic stereotype, but she actually appeared to be having a pretty fun time with it. I'm sure there are people who find The Simpsons racially insensitive, there are also people who find it blasphemous, and yet other members of the Christian community have embraced the show for dealing with real issues of Christianity. The Simpsons is a great litmus test for how people view the world, some people will see it as funny, challenging and thoughtful, and other will see the bigotry they're looking for. With our little yellow friends in Springfield, what you bring to the table matters more than what they do.
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7-18-2007 @ 1:45PM
Josh said...
I am personally offended by the blatant Anti-Semitism in the show. Both Krusty & Kent Brockman are Jewish... are they implying that all Jews work in the entertainment industry? Use yidish words? Are border line rich (not Mr. Burns or Reiner Wolfcastle rich) and don't like sharing their wealth? Wear big gold chains with a 6 point star under their clothes?
Shit, I just described myself.
I'm offended.
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7-18-2007 @ 3:43PM
ahahahahaha said...
The author is also wrong when saying that 7-11 is American owned. It's a Japanese company now. Seems like this argument is just a poorly researched and just as stupid as the other Guardian article stating that "King Kong" was racist against men of African descent.
What an attention whore.
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7-19-2007 @ 11:16AM
Andy said...
Bravo to Manish Vij for being on the bleeding edge of cultural rifts! Did he mull over his opinion for the last twenty years before a light bulb went off over his head? His editors are some patient people. 'Hey Manish, how's that 'Simpsons' story coming?'
'One more decade boss!'
Can I expect his opinion on 'Married with Children' next? (target date 2009) I hope to live to hear his thoughts about September 11th, but I'm already 37.
I also applaud his ability to give this movie a little more publicity.
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7-19-2007 @ 5:56PM
Manish Vij said...
"they did not say APU on their name tags. It said their real names. Also, I did not get a "Thank you, come again"
Check Flickr, you'll see the Apu nametags, and I got the catchphrase in the Manhattan store.
"typical, it's okay to make fun of everybody else"
Apu is the only Simpsons character who's a crude ethnic stereotype of a small, relatively unknown U.S. minority (unlike cops, Scots, or Bumblebee Man, whose job and dress is not a Latino stereotype). And he's become the main reference for racist abuse against Indians in the U.S. The thank-you-come-again and go-back-to-your-convenience store theme is common. So making Indian-American employees dress up as Apu is incredibly insulting.
But please, if you didn't grow up a small ethnic minority in the U.S. facing this type of racism, continue talking out of your ass. It's what the Intertubes are for.
"The author is also wrong when saying that 7-11 is American owned. It's a Japanese company now."
Never said American-owned. 7-Eleven is the American subsidiary of Seven & I Holdings of Japan. Calling it an American convenience store chain is correct.
"Did he mull over his opinion for the last twenty years before a light bulb went off over his head?"
Here's a 1994 essay about the Simpsons. Perhaps you just weren't paying attention?
Please, folks, continue to not-read the post and not-get the POV and post knee-jerk comments. It'll qualify you to write for the Simpsons.
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7-19-2007 @ 5:57PM
Manish Vij said...
That '94 essay link:
http://www.vij.com/clash/essays/culture.html#context
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7-21-2007 @ 1:23PM
Thomas said...
Having personally watched so many episodes of The Simpsons, I'm inclined to believe that there is not a single character on the show that isn't a stereotype in one way or another, be it Homer, Apu, Ned Flanders, Krusty, or a myriad of others.
Apu may have started out as simply a convenience store clerk, but as his character evolved, we began to see him as friendly, intelligent (his doctorate in computer science), and loves his adopted country.
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8-06-2007 @ 5:43PM
Vishnu Sharma said...
Yes, as an Indian I cannot help cringing at some of the stereotypes and the crude representation.
Especially that episode with 8 kids feeding of a prone Apu lying on the floor like a Pig.
I think we Indians need to start a serial in America with various American Characters with very negative traits and among them we should have a attractive white high-school teacher who is constantly seducing 14 year old boys and taking them home to enjoy them.
She should be arrested and jailed and then return to do the same thing again and again until the law tires of her. The American school Principal should then be shown to make the comment. "At least she is giving our school all the publicity. Let us award her for that !"
That would be funny indeed.
I think that serial would be a big hit in India.
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