Apu gets PC policed...

[Gob]

"I hate Apu," the actor Kal Penn says in a new documentary about the penny-pinching, Squishee-slinging, thickly accented convenience store owner on one of the most celebrated TV shows in history. "And because of that, I dislike The Simpsons."



The feelings of South Asian-Americans toward the character and the show he inhabits are the focus of The Problem with Apu, a documentary debuting in the United States on November 19. The brainchild of the actor and stand-up comic Hari Kondabolu, a lifelong lover of The Simpsons, the film wrestles with how a show praised for its incisive humour – over the years, it has explored issues like homophobia and political corruption – could resort to such a charged stereotype. Making matters worse is the fact that the Indian character is voiced by a non-Indian (albeit an Emmy-winning) actor, Hank Azaria.

"Everything with Apu is like this running joke," Kondabolu, 35, said in a phone interview. "And the running joke is that he's Indian."

Kondabolu, who grew up in Queens, the son of Indian immigrants, knows all about the show's history (the longest-running American sitcom), its many awards (32 Primetime Emmys), its international and adoring fan base. "I'm a comedian going after the biggest comedy show of all time," he said.


http://www.canberratimes.com.au/enterta ... zkero.html

[Crackpot]

Could have been voiced by Fisher Stevens

[Bicycle Bill]

Making matters worse is the fact that the Indian character is voiced by a non-Indian (albeit an Emmy-winning) actor, Hank Azaria.

On the same show, (male character) Bart Simpson is voiced by a woman.  As was Rocky the Flying Squirrel (also a male character).

So what's his point?  In order to be true to the character, Apu must be voiced by someone from the Indian subcontinent, 'El Barto' should be voiced by a bratty ten-year-old, and Jay Ward should have found a real live flying squirrel that could talk?

-"BB"-

[liberty]

It is bunch of stupid liberal political correctness. And I think it is racist too. I wouldn’t care what race or gender an actor is if the actor could change appearance and look like a white male northern European he could play Robin Hood as far as I am concerned.

And also Meade was wrong. He once said that only a black man should play Othello because the character Othello is a Berber and Berbers are black. On my other site, I reached out to some Berbers who live Algeria with the question “are Berbers black “. They made it clear that they are a Caucasian people. And one was even offended until I explained myself. There is a black people in Mauritania that call themselves Berbers , but are actually the descendants of Berber traders that settled in the area married local black women.

[Guinevere]

I hate the Simpsons too Except Lisa. But mostly it’s just stupid.

[RayThom]

Where do we draw the line on cartoon characters and those who give voice to them?

If you want to dig deep enough I'm sure Mel Blanc served up his share of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and more. As a native San Franciscan -- the bastion of liberalism -- you'd think he would have known better.

Maybe all art should be made a felony. That would surely be the first step to insure political correctness.

http://looneytunes.wikia.com/wiki/Categ ... _Mel_Blanc

[MajGenl.Meade]

And also Meade was wrong. He once said that only a black man should play Othello because the character Othello is a Berber and Berbers are black

No doubt someone such as - oh - David Oyelowo would be preferable playing Othello, rather than Larry Olivier in blackface... but I'd like to see you provide the link to anywhere I declared Othello (a "Moor") to be a Berber.



Here he is playing Henry VI - you should get a charge out of that!

[Econoline]

[liberty]

And also Meade was wrong. He once said that only a black man should play Othello because the character Othello is a Berber and Berbers are black

No doubt someone such as - oh - David Oyelowo would be preferable playing Othello, rather than Larry Olivier in blackface... but I'd like to see you provide the link to anywhere I declared Othello (a "Moor") to be a Berber.



Here he is playing Henry VI - you should get a charge out of that!

It is wrong and should be an insult to all history nerds; there were no black kings in northern Europe. The next thing we know there will be an afro-centric writer making claims about the black kings of Europe.

[Gob]

Meade, how dare you suggest David Oyelowo play Othello!!!

Othello was a Moor, a Muslim inhabitant of the Maghreb, or the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, or Malta, not a British Nigerian!!

That's racist that is!!

[Jarlaxle]

I hate the Simpsons too Except Lisa. But mostly it’s just stupid.

It was once hilarious satire.

Once. Long ago.