“They begged me to join their team. Begged me.”
–Apu, shortly after his bowling team is defeated by a team named “The Stereotypes.”
The argument for Apu’s portrayal as racist has been made elsewhere eloquently enough to convince me, and I am not about to parrot it back here just to argue with you. Besides, your “It’s not a bad made-up version of an accent” makes me think you’re just trolling me. It’s OK if you don’t want to feel bad about laughing at a character on an animated sitcom just because somebody on the Internet says maybe you should, but I’m not the only one saying it’s racist.
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On the other hand, Apu and his wife are pretty much the only regular ethnic characters on the show. How is it racist to show diversity?
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Ahhh, to be leaving so soon. There was so much more I wanted to do… and have done to me.
Moe. With his will leaving the bar to Homer.
It’s been done…repeatedly
The Simpsons is still on?
I remember a South Park episode with the premise that the Simpsons had been on so long that every conceivable plot had already been done – and that South Park episode was something like ten years ago.
Again?
What, is the plan to kill off a character every decade or so when they can’t come up with any other way to make it look as though they’re doing something new?
It seems obviously ridiculous to me to accuse The Simpsons’ creators of any egregious sort of racism.
None of the arguments I’ve seen cut any ice for me; comparing a blackface performance with a guy voicing one of a dozen characters in an animated comedy series of not inconsiderable sophistication has to be sophistry. So Apu runs a convenience store and was arranged to be married, so what? Is it not the case that many convenience stores are run by Indians, and also that many of them still practice arranged marriage? We’re talking about a character who’s portrayed with depth and sympathy, and we’re having this conversation?
Give me a break.
Hah, that was my reaction too. What killed The Simpson for me was a preponderance of episodes relatively devoid of wit or psychological insight and laden with crappy slapstick instead… some of them reminded me of Warner Bros cartoons.
I think I’ve noticed it improve a fair bit since its patchiest period, but I’ve only seen a handful of episodes since then, so I have no idea if it’s worth bothering with again…
[quote=“FoolishOwl, post:27, topic:11065, full:true”]
The Simpsons is still on?[/quote]
I know, huh? Unlike The Simpsons, I can say I 've seen every episode of South Park, and more than 95% of it at least twice. Matt & Trey have had a slump or two, but they’ve never sunk half as far as The Simpsons. Fucking love their work.
I remember a South Park episode with the premise that the Simpsons had been on so long that every conceivable plot had already been done – and that South Park episode was something like ten years ago.
Ah yes, [Simpsons Already Did It][1]* (S06E07) was an utter classic! It aired June 2002; this was the season that Matt & Trey stopped killing Kenny every ep.
Anybody who’s enjoyed The Simpsons and South Park but can’t remember this ep should definitely chase it up, and you’ll see why I love Matt & Trey so much - because something like 4/5 episodes or better leave me grinning like a loon for minutes after the credits roll, filled with gratitude for those guys’ existence.
*I love the preface to the Wiki article and its old date…
This article’s plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (May 2011)
All those details are too well-loved to remove ; )
[1]: Simpsons Already Did It - Wikipedia
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Speaking about bad accents - are we quite sure that a character is about to die? Maybe it’s an Australian rumour about a character today?
Sideshow Bob: That’s German for “A Simpsons Character is about to THE.”
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Is that a figure of speech or something?
Not that I’m aware of. Perhaps you’re thinking of Ugandan Discussions?
I’m referring only to the ancient WWII joke about a troop of Australian Military who, upon being asked if they had bravely come to die, responded with the information that no - they had arrived yester-die.
Poochy.
Regardless of whether your are convinced, Hank Azaria explained how his feelings about have changed.
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Hardly surprising, however valid his original position, after being browbeaten by thousands in public.
I utterly loathe this cookie-cutter idiocy whereby complex and nuanced scenarios are parsed by little more than a keyword flag…
Deciding to be politically correct does not automatically make one intelligent enough to follow through on that wish.
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