How should The Simpsons have handled the Apu controversy?

you say this like it's a fact and not just your opinion . sure change a character many people love because a vocal minority suddenly take offence because of a problem that was never a problem to begin with. my opinion
 
I like Apu. But I accept the issues he has and I recognise that he's problematic, and the negative cultural impact he's had on the Indian community.
 
you say this like it's a fact and not just your opinion . sure change a character many people love because a vocal minority suddenly take offence because of a problem that was never a problem to begin with. my opinion

They didn't suddenly take offense. Many of the people in the documentary had been upset by Apu for years, it was more that the suddenly had an outlet where they could voice their opinion.

As for what the Simpsons, could've done, not making a condescending 4th-wall break would've been nice. I think the seeds for changing Apu were already sown when we met his nephew Jamshed. Jay should have more appearances, Apu can try to modernize a bit, own more than one Kwik-E-Mart, and maybe his relationships with his other relatives can be explored. We barely know anything about Sanjay. It would also be nice if they changed Apu's voice but if they can't do that giving a recurring role to another Indian actor (like Jay being voiced by Utkarsh Ambudkar) would be nice.

I would also like there to be more brown and black characters in Springfield. Lewis seems to be the only black kid besides Janey and he has no personality. At least when Klasky-Csupo did the animation, we had more black people in the background, now Springfield pans around to a sea of yellow. And I'd also like better portrayals of Asian characters while we're at it. In Springfield Asians seem to be nothing but anime lovers (Kimiko) sushi chefs and karate experts (Akira.) And they all know Mr. Sparkle. They're racial caricatures and they don't have to be.

And don't give me the Groundskeeper Willie and Fat Tony are caricatures too. 1. they have spotlight episodes and character development beyond just 'rowdy, Irish drunk' and 'mobster' (Willie has episodes like My Fair Laddy and Mathlete's Feat) Fat Tony has been shown to play the violin and has a son he dotes on 2, they are not oppressed minorities.

There's alot I like about the Simpsons but the way they treat minorities isn't one of them.
 
apu has had multiple episodes /subplots focused on him to flesh him out and discover more about him as a person. same with groundskeeper willie fat tony etc who also have there own episodes as you mentioned
 
yea and despite that they are still depicted in stereotypical manners. apu's is especially troubling because as stated ad naseum it's a white person doing the stereotypical voice of a minority. flesh out little sambo all you want, it's still a racist stereotype.
 
again voice actors do many different characters this is VOICE ACTING not black face apu isn't racist or offensive except for the few who see problems that may not exist most people like(or at least don't have a problem with) fat tony groundskeeper willie ect and they like/love apu too
 
voice acting can be stereotypically racist

also good for all those people that enjoy apu, they are laughing at a racist stereotype, whether they know it or not
 
I love how you keep insisting on bringing up Fat Tony/Willie like that dispels literally anything. They are not evrn close to the same thing
 
Hilarious how this works in any historical context

White ppl [insert any horrible thing ever]: "but it doesn't affect me tho!!!"
 
Dunno. Since they're 29 seasons in and there's a chance they'll end at 30, I'd probably just have Apu appear less, since character development or just keeping recurring characters doesn't matter when there's a season and a half left. Apu is one of my favorite characters, but with such few episodes left and chances are most of them will be bad, I wouldn't care if he was killed off.
 
sure ignore the rest of what i said about the voice actors the willie fat tony example isn't my Whole point if you read my previous posts
 
In a very broad sense, I agree with those who say that the Simpsons were at their best when they were willing to offend and challenge the status quo. The Mirkin years were a great example of this being done exceptionally well, paired with great character writing.

But is that the show the Simpsons is today? Nope. The show has embraced its role as an institution and settled into a comfortable rut. It hasn't been radical in decades. So what place do they have doubling down on this Apu controversy? South Park could pull it off because they own that kind of writing, but the Simpsons' writers don't have any convenient excuse for being churlish.

Personally, I think Apu is fundamentally a racist caricature that somehow became one of the most admirable characters on the show. He's one of the few legitimately decent human beings in Springfield, so it shouldn't take a lot of work to emphasize that.
 
if anyone here is ignoring shit it's you dingus

believe me im not ignoring anything i also don't insult/name call when i disagree and dislike what someone is saying and im happy how apu is portrayed currently. and i hope they don't unnecessarily change that or things like it in my opinion
 
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i have answered your questions as well as i can look at my previous posts on this thread alone and no i am not ignoring anything i have read page after page on this thread and the other one that was talking about something similar to this I'll say this as I've said before voice actors do many different characters and it isn't feasible to cast for each skin colour nor do they need to anyway again voice acting not black face etc
 
if I wasn't trying to boost my post count on this dead ass board I would've walked away from this circular nonsense long ago, because you are clearly too dense to carry on a discussion with
 
its my opinion you are not a smart person

because i disagree with you? i don't say things like that about you and i know a lot about the show collect the comics DVDs ect watched as long as i can remember seen every episode the movie played the games ect differences in opinion
 
no because you can't make coherent arguments. "apu isn't racist" isnt an argument you dunderhead

also im fuckin 30 years old and been watching this show my whole damn life, your length as a fan means nothing
 
no because you can't make coherent arguments. "apu isn't racist" isnt an argument you dunderhead

also im fuckin 30 years old and been watching this show my whole damn life, your length as a fan means nothing

yes i can and i have made coherent arguments. i have said more than that and that "apu isn't racist" thing is my opinion not saying it's an argument /debate which i have also done. and i was just stating how long I've been a fan for which is almost as long as you have been one and that i know a lot about the show due to watching for so long
 
i do actually and i don't think she would be saying what your saying but that's just my thoughts on it that doesn't mean i know nothing about her like your saying we just DISAGREE with each other and that's okay
 
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