# Fix Apu Storyline **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [May 4, 2018, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553 "2018-05-04T05:27:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/21 "2018-05-05T04:01:36Z")
The Simpsons is not a documentary, it’s a satirical cartoon. That discomfort you feel (and others feel) about Apu is evidence that precisely the part you didn’t like was well written and well done. The parts of The Simpsons that need fixing (if any) are mainly parts you’re comfortable with, and your comfort is mostly what’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/22 "2018-05-05T04:17:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is why there are so few conservative comedy writers. Ironically enough the person whom many people say is the best Simpsons writer also happened to be a pretty big conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/23 "2018-05-05T05:04:53Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not an Indian American (nor an American Indian) but I always felt Apu defied the stereotypes rather than embodying them. He’s usually the smartest person in the room. He can’t help his accent. And the jokes are never about his accent, they are about his situation. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Apu is just fine the way he is. Count me in. Nothing needs fixing, excepts some people’s sense of humor. _Oh, Heavens! What has been implied here?_ ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/24 "2018-05-05T05:34:12Z")
Have an episode where Apu starts speaking with an American accent. Everybody in Springfield notices that something is different about him but can’t figure out what it is. Toward the end of the episode Lisa figures it out and points out that Apu is no longer speaking with an Indian accent. When asked why, Apu says that he spoke with an accent because he thought the people of Springfield would expect him to speak that way. Then in all future episodes Apu speaks with an American accent. And if that doesn’t work they can make him the mascot for the Azusa Pacific University (website located at: [https://www.apu.edu](https://www.apu.edu/)). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/25 "2018-05-05T06:49:57Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Apu is just fine the way he is. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Count me in. Nothing needs fixing, excepts some people’s sense of humor. Apu has led to bigotry against South Asian people. They’ve even written a book about it. Stop trying to frame this as people who don’t have a sense of humor or not a problem. Just because someone has a different skin color than yours doesn’t mean they don’t matter. You do not have a right to tell people that they are required to face racism. I’ll at least allow the guy who says the problem is with the culture, not the show. Though, honestly, that’s still a cop out, because the show is part of the culture, and there are other shows that don’t have the same problems. But pretending it’s not a problem is like when white people tell black people there is no problem with racism, or when men tell women that sexism is over. **Just because it doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.** ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/26 "2018-05-05T06:59:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Apu has led to bigotry against South Asian people… > > **Just because it doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.** Apu is a _cartoon character. Not real_. Get over it. Scooby Doo doesn’t really talk, either. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/27 "2018-05-05T07:51:37Z")
Nothing wrong with Apu. Leave it as it is. That he could be used as a vector for people’s racism is not an indication that there are any problems with the character (only that he was high profile in a time of very few other asian characters) and “fixing” the character will not fix people’s racism. As someone said upthread, introduce other south-asian characters as well. Of course seeing as Apu is one of the most stable and well-balanced characters in the show, in order to reflect the full gamut of american-asians you’ll have to make them stupid, lazy and venal…happy now? ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/28 "2018-05-05T10:53:53Z")
Don’t fix him. But maybe have an episode where Apu is faced with deportation and in a show of love, the town rallies behind him to save him from his fate. And from that point on, lay off the religious and “funny brown guy working in a Qwicky-Mart” jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/29 "2018-05-05T11:50:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Apu has led to bigotry against South Asian people. They’ve even written a book about it. Stop trying to frame this as people who don’t have a sense of humor or not a problem. I’m not framing anything as anything. Apu is fine just the way he is. Others are trying to frame the character as some kind of insult when it clearly is not. And don’t be so careless when you say “they”. Certainly “South Asian people” have not written a book about this. A small number of individual South Asians have. > [@](#): > > You do not have a right to tell people that they are required to face racism. Of course I do, if that’s what I was doing and it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/30 "2018-05-05T19:52:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Apu has led to bigotry against South Asian people. They’ve even written a book about it. Stop trying to frame this as people who don’t have a sense of humor or not a problem. > > Just because someone has a different skin color than yours doesn’t mean they don’t matter. You do not have a right to tell people that they are required to face racism. > > I’ll at least allow the guy who says the problem is with the culture, not the show. Though, honestly, that’s still a cop out, because the show is part of the culture, and there are other shows that don’t have the same problems. > > But pretending it’s not a problem is like when white people tell black people there is no problem with racism, or when men tell women that sexism is over. **Just because it doesn’t affect you doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.** Do you think Speedy Gonzalez is a offensive stereotype as well then? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/31 "2018-05-06T00:50:35Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Apu has led to bigotry against South Asian people. They’ve even written a book about it. Stop trying to frame this as people who don’t have a sense of humor or not a problem. I don’t watch the show, so I don’t know how bad a person Apu is. But unless he’s doing something evil like swindling or poisoning his customers, is he really that culturally counter-productive? Without the show, the bigotry was going to happen anyway, and possibly in a nastier way. Would you rather be thought of as a goofy minority or as a Taliban? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/32 "2018-05-06T03:19:57Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I don’t watch the show, so I don’t know how bad a person Apu is. But unless he’s doing something evil like swindling or poisoning his customers, is he really that culturally counter-productive? > > Without the show, the bigotry was going to happen anyway, and possibly in a nastier way. Would you rather be thought of as a goofy minority or as a Taliban? Early on he was an established price-gouger, but that wasn’t about him being Indian, it was about him owning a convenience store. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/33 "2018-05-06T07:15:55Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Apu is a _cartoon character. Not real_. Get over it. …the writing on the Simpsons is entirely representative of the predominately white male writers and producers that make the show. So it is entirely possible to change the nature of the Apu’s character simply by either changing how the character is written or by changing the voice. And by doing that you will stop alienating an entire section of the community that is crying out for better representation on TV and film. And if that upsets you: well, its only a cartoon character. And regardless of what they do with the character, it is going to have zero effect on you. So get over it. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/34 "2018-05-06T07:35:47Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the writing on the Simpsons is entirely representative of the predominately white male writers and producers that make the show. So it is entirely possible to change the nature of the Apu’s character simply by either changing how the character is written or by changing the voice. And by doing that you will stop alienating an entire section of the community that is crying out for better representation on TV and film. > > And if that upsets you: well, its only a cartoon character. And regardless of what they do with the character, it is going to have zero effect on you. So get over it. It should be irrelevant who does the voice. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/35 "2018-05-06T07:40:07Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It should be irrelevant who does the voice. …thanks for sharing your opinion. It is shared by many, but not by all. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/36 "2018-05-06T18:07:08Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …the writing on the Simpsons is entirely representative of the predominately white male writers and producers that make the show. I don’t think an all-white writing team is is a problem, the colour of a person’s skin has no bearing on whether it is any good. > [@](#): > > So it is entirely possible to change the nature of the Apu’s character simply by either changing how the character is written or by changing the voice. I’ve yet to hear a coherent argument for why the character is particularly problematic in the first place, is he a bad person? a poor role model? > [@](#): > > And by doing that you will stop alienating an entire section of the community that is crying out for better representation on TV and film that’s a big claim, who is being alienated and how? > [@](#): > > And if that upsets you: well, its only a cartoon character. And regardless of what they do with the character, it is going to have zero effect on you. So get over it. if it is only a cartoon character then not changing it is hardly likely to matter either is it? Soory, I think it is a storm in a tea-cup, as seems tiresomely common these days. There are far bigger issues regarding equality and bigotry that are cheapened and diminished by paying such attention to these non-stories. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/37 "2018-05-06T18:57:41Z")
Apu, along with itchy and scratch are at a baseball diamond hitting each other with baseball bats. A cartoon squirrel who resembles [this guy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Hari_Kondabolu.png) comes along and says ‘don’t do that, don’t do that, hey don’t do that’. So Apu, itchy and scratchy all join teams to beat up the squirrel. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/38 "2018-05-06T19:24:27Z")
Can someone explain to me why Apu is offensive but Chef from South Park was not? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/39 "2018-05-06T20:51:29Z")
Because Hank Azaria is culturally appropriating an offensive stereotype that a few Americans of South Asian descent both want for themselves and don’t want for themselves; and apparently this is what Google’s algorithm is feeding the suckers this week, along with the Twitter troll complaining about a Utahn in a _qipao._ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553/40 "2018-05-06T21:03:31Z")
Funny thing about the Simpsons, there are a lot of characters people could take offense to. Italians have Fat Tony and his men and [Luigi Risotto](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recurring_The_Simpsons_characters#Luigi_Risotto). For the Scottish we of course have Willy. Comic Book Guy for comic Book fans. [Cookie Kwan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recurring_The_Simpsons_characters#Cookie_Kwan) must be offensive to some people. Smithers for gay people. Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski may offends some Jewish people. And of all of these character Apu seems like the least offensive and much smarter than most of the main characters. The residents of Springfield are not a great group of people collectively. If you want to be offended, it is probably very easy. I think the Italian-Americans actually get it the worse, but I don’t really let such silliness bother me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fix-apu-storyline/813553.md?page=3)