“The Simpsons” (finally) acknowledged and addressed “The Problem With Apu” last night. We knew this was coming, but documentary filmmaker Hari Kondabolu isn’t feeling satisfied with the Fox cartoon’s response.
On Sunday’s episode, mom Marge painstakingly edited a bedtime story for Lisa to make it “inoffensive as a Sunday in Cincinnati.” Unfortunately, in doing so, the benign tale has now become pointless, per the middle Simpson kid.
“What am I supposed to do?” an exhausted Marge asks.
“It’s hard to say,” Lisa responds. “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?”
With that last rhetorical line, Lisa glanced at a picture of Apu, which rests on her nightstand. “Don’t have a cow,” the autographed photo reads.
“Some things will be dealt with at a later date,” Marge then says.
“If at all,” Lisa adds.
Watch the scene via the video above.
“The Problem With Apu” studied the effects of what star and director Kondabolu believed to be negative stereotypes perpetuated by the popular Eastern Indian character. The fictional Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who has a very thick accent and runs a convenience store, is voiced by a white man, Hank Azaria.
Read Kondabolu’s reaction to the moment below.
Wow. “Politically Incorrect?” That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad. https://t.co/lYFH5LguEJ
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018
In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018