As a lifelong Simpsons fan, and someone who finds Apu a great character, i can’t feel that this doco is missing the mark a little:
Perhaps it’s my own white priviledge, or sheltered upbringing, but it seems that the 2 main points against Apu as character is that
a) he is voiced by a white person
b) the joke is that he is indian
the 2 black characters in The Simpsons are also voiced by white people (Carl by Hank Azaria same as Apu, and Dr Hibbert by harry shearer) so that argument is kind of out the window.
the second argument, I think also falls over, because the whole point of the simpsons is that the characters are mostly exaggerated tropes and while Apu is “stereotypically” indian he is also a well rounded, intelligent & important character (see lisa the vegetarian, the bear tax/immigration ep. member of Mensa etc).
Anyway - thoughts?
