TheRealJims had a good video on this semi-recently. The way they'd handled all this hasn't really made anyone happy, as no one ever wanted him away forever and there are ways that they could smartly bring him back going forward which would make most people happy enough lol.
An actor i've always liked is Brian George, he's been in plenty of films and tv series over the years maybe most famously as the Babu the restaurant owner in Senfield. Brian is of Jewish South Asian desent who sometimes played into stereotypes but he often came across as genuine with his accent. I think he'd be my pick to play a character like Apu.
Shortly after the documentary released, The Simpsons did respond in the episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished which fanned the flames (the characters literally break the fourth wall to address the issue instead of letting the story play out.) Response Link: th-cam.com/video/x0idRevzxD0/w-d-xo.html South Park also satirized the issue in The Problem With a Poo centering around Mr. Hankey. Funny enough another Simpsons character, Dr. Hibbert, was also recast with the same response from the internet even though Harry Shearer also voices many characters. As for caucasian people playing ethnic characters, that discussion has recently been sprouting in the animation field. When Laura Bailey was cast as Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, it was criticized because she is caucasian, but because they used motion capture it didn't affect the character's appearance, unlike live action movies like The Lone Ranger or Breakfast at Tiffany's. Many have argued that animation can disguise actors when they play different roles, including Apu while many interviewees in the documentary didn't even knew who voiced the character.
Honestly this whole “people of color should only voice characters of colors” seems kinda segregated huh, like it’s not okay for a white person to voice a black character, but it’s fine if a black guys does voice a white?
Yeah it's not exactly clear on what is going to happen with Apu, since I don't think they are going to outright retire him unlike with some characters e.g Lionel Hutz, etc and the last time he actually got a speaking role was in the episode 'The Serfsons' and there was a whole episode about him.
Me Personally Don't See The Big Deal Back In The mid 2000's I was a big fan of Crank Yankers Special Ed myself being Learning Disabled was not offended by Ableist character the only time I truly was offended by a Mentally Handicapped stereotype was 2003's Radio starring Cuba Gooding Jr but It was smart for Comedy Central to remove the character In the 2019 revival but back to Apu I don't think he was that Racist have you seen Consuela from Family Guy ??? I'm from a Latino American family myself and she still sorta Offends me seriously
As someone who has Asperger's , I don't really get offended when non disabled actors play disabled characters. What's eating Gilbert Grape is a touching film because they found a good actor to play Artie. Whether disabled or not, the actor told a sweet story. Honestly as much as I'm upset with Ben Stiller's use of language on the handicap in Tropic Thunder and his refusal to apologize for it, I honestly don't find the actual character to be that bad. I get he's supposed to represent how movies do bad stereotypes. I only felt the community who didn't understand it deserved a sorry. That being said everything doesn't need to change
Well, the problem is, and it goes with other media, is that as much as we wish we could with our creations, you can't really pick and choose who your audience is going to be. Especially since you can't really predict how someone would react to something. Sure, with us kids, we just didn't know any better, and it doesn't help how a lot of us watch for the entertainment first and subtext second. Since most people don't like being talked down to. Like that Pacific Rim parody for Treehouse of Horror, where even if you agree with the messages, it comes off as too blatant and ham fistedly unsubtle.
It's just sad. He was first a happy hardworking character then they made him a unhappy punchline and now he is removed. I never feeld so sorry for a character like for Apu.
First comment. I think it's real stupid they cut him all together. He's a nice character who has got approach to him about his ethnicity. Get a different actor to play him
I think they should just get an Indian actor to play Apu. I mean, they were able to find suitable replacements for Dr. Hibbert and Carl. I understand the criticisms against the character but he shouldn’t be retired as he is iconic to the show.
I seen some bash Hank aziria for not wanting to voice him anymore and I don't understand why? If he really felt like he didn't want to then that's perfectly okay I dont know why some send him hate
The Entire controversy of Apu in The Simpsons was pointless and didn't help anyone. People like Hari Kondabolu who complain about Apu been a Indian Stereotype despite the fact that not only The Simpsons is full of Stereotypes but also Apu was one of the smartest characters in the show, were wasting theirs and ours time over issue that wasn't a issues in the first place. Personally i didn't have a problem a White Guy voicing Apu but if people having major issues a that white guy voicing a indian then they should just hired a Indian to voice Apu, however this didn't happen. Btw, does anyone has heard anything from Hari Kondabolu over the last 7 years since the release of the documentary?
But at the same time, look at Samurai Jack. Samurai Jack's a Japanese guy, and he's voiced by Phil Lamar, whose a black guy. So is Japan gonna shout racism at Samurai Jack because it has a black guy voicing what's suppose to be a representation of them?
I think the main difference is that Samurai Jack isn't meant to represent a modern Japanese person were as Apu is a modern person, yet (to his critics) feels like a stereotype form the 1950's.
The notion of animated people of colour being voiced by people of the same race has only really popped up the last few years. So I assume if "Samurai Jack" was made today, they would have looked for a Japanese or Asian actor to voice the role. Same with "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (and which they're currently doing for the upcoming animated film). Although interesting enough, Disney has been ahead of the curve on this for decades. Starting with "Pocahontas", they have regularly hired actors of the same race to voice certain characters (with a few random exceptions like Harvey Fierstein in "Mulan"). I even remember in the "Monsters, Inc." commentary on the DVD, the filmmakers saying they often strived to cast the right authentic voices for the roles. That's why all of the Australian accents you hear in "Finding Nemo" are performed by actual Australian actors instead of Americans putting on fake accents.
@@MrCoat Yes, I've seen that bonus clip on the commentary for Finding Nemo where they play the scratch dialogue of the Pixar staff putting on Australian accents, compared to the actual Australian voices that are used in the final movie.
Apu is definitely a stereotypical product of the 80s and 90s. It is very obvious racial representation wasn’t taken nearly as seriously back then but it has now and people have only recently noticed how insensitive his voice was portrayed for years. Don’t get me wrong, Apu is a great character conceptually with great qualities but also flaws too. I think the voice was a greatly contentious topic going into the 2010s. Hank Azaria is undeniably talented but I think a more authentic Indian actor would better suit the character. I think throwing out the character would be a huge mistake considering the sheer amount of interesting multi-cultural perspectives in the series proper. I just wish it didn’t take so long to make real changes for authentic representation.
I think they should recast him with an Indian actor like they did with all the other POC characters and then maybe get Indian people to consult in the writers room. They will probably do that eventually because they like to take forever to make changes. It took a decade for Bart to get Ms. Payton his new teacher.
TheRealJims had a good video on this semi-recently. The way they'd handled all this hasn't really made anyone happy, as no one ever wanted him away forever and there are ways that they could smartly bring him back going forward which would make most people happy enough lol.
I agree.
An actor i've always liked is Brian George, he's been in plenty of films and tv series over the years maybe most famously as the Babu the restaurant owner in Senfield. Brian is of Jewish South Asian desent who sometimes played into stereotypes but he often came across as genuine with his accent. I think he'd be my pick to play a character like Apu.
Interestingly if he's the same guy in Bubble Boy
I thought he did voice Apu when I was a kid so he'd be perfect
It would be nice if they brought him back
Shortly after the documentary released, The Simpsons did respond in the episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished
which fanned the flames (the characters literally break the fourth wall to address the issue instead of letting the story play out.)
Response Link: th-cam.com/video/x0idRevzxD0/w-d-xo.html
South Park also satirized the issue in The Problem With a Poo centering around Mr. Hankey.
Funny enough another Simpsons character, Dr. Hibbert, was also recast with the same response from the internet even though Harry Shearer also voices many characters.
As for caucasian people playing ethnic characters, that discussion has recently been sprouting in the animation field.
When Laura Bailey was cast as Nadine Ross in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, it was criticized because she is caucasian, but because they used motion capture it didn't affect the character's appearance, unlike live action movies like The Lone Ranger or Breakfast at Tiffany's. Many have argued that animation can disguise actors when they play different roles, including Apu while many interviewees in the documentary didn't even knew who voiced the character.
Honestly this whole “people of color should only voice characters of colors” seems kinda segregated huh, like it’s not okay for a white person to voice a black character, but it’s fine if a black guys does voice a white?
Yeah it's not exactly clear on what is going to happen with Apu, since I don't think they are going to outright retire him unlike with some characters e.g Lionel Hutz, etc and the last time he actually got a speaking role was in the episode 'The Serfsons' and there was a whole episode about him.
Me Personally Don't See The Big Deal Back In The mid 2000's I was a big fan of Crank Yankers Special Ed myself being Learning Disabled was not offended by Ableist character the only time I truly was offended by a Mentally Handicapped stereotype was 2003's Radio starring Cuba Gooding Jr but It was smart for Comedy Central to remove the character In the 2019 revival but back to Apu I don't think he was that Racist have you seen Consuela from Family Guy ??? I'm from a Latino American family myself and she still sorta Offends me seriously
As someone who has Asperger's , I don't really get offended when non disabled actors play disabled characters. What's eating Gilbert Grape is a touching film because they found a good actor to play Artie. Whether disabled or not, the actor told a sweet story. Honestly as much as I'm upset with Ben Stiller's use of language on the handicap in Tropic Thunder and his refusal to apologize for it, I honestly don't find the actual character to be that bad. I get he's supposed to represent how movies do bad stereotypes. I only felt the community who didn't understand it deserved a sorry. That being said everything doesn't need to change
If nobody will have him, I suppose I'll take Apu.
Well, the problem is, and it goes with other media, is that as much as we wish we could with our creations, you can't really pick and choose who your audience is going to be. Especially since you can't really predict how someone would react to something. Sure, with us kids, we just didn't know any better, and it doesn't help how a lot of us watch for the entertainment first and subtext second. Since most people don't like being talked down to. Like that Pacific Rim parody for Treehouse of Horror, where even if you agree with the messages, it comes off as too blatant and ham fistedly unsubtle.
It's just sad. He was first a happy hardworking character then they made him a unhappy punchline and now he is removed. I never feeld so sorry for a character like for Apu.
i don't remember Apu be a punchline in some of the later seasons of The Simpsons before they remove him;
First comment. I think it's real stupid they cut him all together. He's a nice character who has got approach to him about his ethnicity. Get a different actor to play him
I think they should just get an Indian actor to play Apu. I mean, they were able to find suitable replacements for Dr. Hibbert and Carl. I understand the criticisms against the character but he shouldn’t be retired as he is iconic to the show.
Stefan, you oughta do a list of the top 10 best side characters on Simpsons.
The Simpsons Should End
I seen some bash Hank aziria for not wanting to voice him anymore and I don't understand why? If he really felt like he didn't want to then that's perfectly okay I dont know why some send him hate
The Entire controversy of Apu in The Simpsons was pointless and didn't help anyone.
People like Hari Kondabolu who complain about Apu been a Indian Stereotype despite the fact that not only The Simpsons is full of Stereotypes but also Apu was one of the smartest characters in the show, were wasting theirs and ours time over issue that wasn't a issues in the first place.
Personally i didn't have a problem a White Guy voicing Apu but if people having major issues a that white guy voicing a indian then they should just hired a Indian to voice Apu, however this didn't happen.
Btw, does anyone has heard anything from Hari Kondabolu over the last 7 years since the release of the documentary?
But at the same time, look at Samurai Jack. Samurai Jack's a Japanese guy, and he's voiced by Phil Lamar, whose a black guy. So is Japan gonna shout racism at Samurai Jack because it has a black guy voicing what's suppose to be a representation of them?
I think the main difference is that Samurai Jack isn't meant to represent a modern Japanese person were as Apu is a modern person, yet (to his critics) feels like a stereotype form the 1950's.
Maybe because as long as you are not white it’s okay to voice fictional people of color?
The notion of animated people of colour being voiced by people of the same race has only really popped up the last few years. So I assume if "Samurai Jack" was made today, they would have looked for a Japanese or Asian actor to voice the role. Same with "Avatar: The Last Airbender" (and which they're currently doing for the upcoming animated film).
Although interesting enough, Disney has been ahead of the curve on this for decades. Starting with "Pocahontas", they have regularly hired actors of the same race to voice certain characters (with a few random exceptions like Harvey Fierstein in "Mulan"). I even remember in the "Monsters, Inc." commentary on the DVD, the filmmakers saying they often strived to cast the right authentic voices for the roles. That's why all of the Australian accents you hear in "Finding Nemo" are performed by actual Australian actors instead of Americans putting on fake accents.
@@MrCoat Yes, I've seen that bonus clip on the commentary for Finding Nemo where they play the scratch dialogue of the Pixar staff putting on Australian accents, compared to the actual Australian voices that are used in the final movie.
Apu is definitely a stereotypical product of the 80s and 90s. It is very obvious racial representation wasn’t taken nearly as seriously back then but it has now and people have only recently noticed how insensitive his voice was portrayed for years.
Don’t get me wrong, Apu is a great character conceptually with great qualities but also flaws too. I think the voice was a greatly contentious topic going into the 2010s. Hank Azaria is undeniably talented but I think a more authentic Indian actor would better suit the character.
I think throwing out the character would be a huge mistake considering the sheer amount of interesting multi-cultural perspectives in the series proper. I just wish it didn’t take so long to make real changes for authentic representation.
That damn movie needs to be banned
I think they should recast him with an Indian actor like they did with all the other POC characters and then maybe get Indian people to consult in the writers room. They will probably do that eventually because they like to take forever to make changes. It took a decade for Bart to get Ms. Payton his new teacher.