It's 2017,Watch Woman in Her 20s Who Has Luscious Matured Curves Online and some things just won't stand anymore. Hollywood's twisted norms are being ripped apart, from habitually silenced sexual misconduct to blatant whitewashing and irresponsible racial representation.
The last of that delightful trifecta is the subject of The Problem With Apu, a new truTV documentary about how The Simpsons' breakout caricature became the bane of an entire racial diaspora's existence.
SEE ALSO: 2015 was the tipping point for South Asians on TVThe Problem With Apustarted out as comedian Hari Kondabolu's personal vendetta against the fictional title character. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a recurring guest character on The Simpsons. He speaks in a thick, fabricated Indian accent, exaggerated for comedic effect by voice actor Hank Azaria.
Apu is so transcendentally offensive that a U.S. Surgeon General had to answer to impressions of the guy.
"[You're] probably thinking: 'Come on, snowflake, let it go!'" Kondabolu says in the trailer. "Well I have let it go – for 28 years."
In the documentary, he's joined by a veritable who's who of South Asian actors now prominent in American film and television: Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Aziz Ansari, Hasan Minhaj, Maulik Pancholy, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Sakina Jaffrey, Aparna Nancherla – the list goes on. Seeing them all together illustrates the ubiquity of this stereotypical representation – which was, after all, the alternative to no representation at all. The film also includes interviews with former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, and it's in that moment, early on, that the absurdity kicks in.
Apu is a character so salient yet so transcendentally offensive that a U.S. Surgeon Generalhad to answer to impressions of the guy. Apu is, perversely, the one thing unifying South Asian American actors of a certain generation without fail. A visceral reaction to anything that resembled Azaria's impression may be the reason so many South Asian American actors hesitate or outright refuse to do accents in their work.
Much of the documentary – which runs about an hour in length – is devoted to tracking down Azaria for comment. It asks a lot of him that he doesn't answer for; Azaria was ostensibly an actor in need of a role, but video clips and interview snippets inform us that he never considered the lasting, damaging effects of his Apu interpretation, and neither did producers on The Simpsons.
"There are accents that...to white Americans, sound funny, period," Simpsonswriter and co-executive producer Dana Gould explains in the film (tip: This is not an explanation). An entire generation of actors and first-generation Indian Americans at large have had to double down and erase their heritage to escape the burden of this character and what he represents.
The documentary also reveals the shocking origin of Apu's name – not the last name, which is pure nonsense, but the first name, inspired by Satyajit Ray's revered Apufilm trilogy. The films – about a young man growing up in modernizing India – won awards at Cannes, the Venice Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, the British Film Institute Awards, and many more, and Simpsonscreator Matt Groenig distilled that into a shady convenience store owner.
Without the show or Azaria accepting any culpability, The Problem With Apuleaves things open-ended. The Simpsonsremains a seminal comedy in the history of American television, and Apu is part of that no matter what we do. It's up to audiences to accept the complexity of this character, of his accidental but undeniable legacy and the strides representation has taken since then – and still needs to take in the future.
The Problem With Apupremieres Nov. 19 at 10 p.m. on truTV.
Topics Documentaries The Simpsons
Wordle today: The answer and hints for January 28, 2025
Meryl Streep's hilarious reaction to that Oscars mix
All the times the Oscars threw shade at Donald Trump
Here's how Ryan Gosling reacted to that wild Best Picture twist
Best GPU deal: Get the MSI RTX 5080 for $1,249.99 at Best Buy
Brie Larson brought Emma Stone to tears at the Oscars, but in a good way
All the best and worst looks on the Oscars 2017 red carpet
You'll cry just as hard at Viola Davis' Oscars speech as you did at 'Fences'
Best iPad deal: Save $70 on 10th Gen Apple iPad
Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time in making a few Trump jokes at the Oscars
Use Your Gaming Laptop and Play On Battery Power? Is It Possible?
Emma Stone calls B.S. on Warren Beatty: 'I was holding my Best Actress envelope'
Finally, a phone that's perfect to bring to an EDM festival
Everything from pandas to the ACLU were championed at the Oscars
The best early Prime Day outdoor deals: Yeti, Stanley, Jackery, and more
Netflix and Amazon finally win Oscars
Iranian film 'The Salesman' wins Oscar in biggest political statement of the night
Brie Larson, like everyone else, didn't seem thrilled with Casey Affleck's Oscar win
Getting Started with Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts
Meryl Streep's hilarious reaction to that Oscars mix
Most watched TV shows and movies of the week (Aug 20)Alexandria OcasioAmazon fixed a major security issue with its Ring cameras in secretWhy do hotels collect and store passportsWordle today: Here's the August 25 Wordle answer and hintsNancy Pelosi's headbanging granddaughter steals the show at her swearing inIt sounds like Grover drops an F'Stranger Things: The Experience' gave me the catharsis the show couldn'tInstagram's new scrolling feature briefly inspires furyWordle today: Here's the August 22 Wordle answer and hintsIt sounds like Grover drops an FInstagram's new scrolling feature briefly inspires furyNetflix went down for lots of users on FridayMeet Sniffles, the wonderful noseless dog that's looking for a forever homeRose the muddy dog has the energy we need to start the year off rightIt sounds like Grover drops an FApple insiders say the iPhone 14 event will take place on Sept. 7Mitt Romney goes after Trump in opHow the snooze button got set to 9 minutes, and why it hasn't changed'Hello, I'm a professor in a movie' meme pokes fun at bad film tropes What’s going on at Victoria’s Secret? Security incident shuts down site. Best Sonos deal: Save $20 on the Sonos Era 100 at Amazon Bose QuietComfort earbuds are $30 off at Amazon if you hurry Pacers vs. Knicks 2025 livestream: Watch Game 4 of NBA playoffs for free Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 28, 2025 Apple launches a self Best 4K monitor deal: Save $120 on the Samsung M7 smart monitor Apple plans a big rebrand of iOS and macOS, report says Knicks vs. Pacers 2025 livestream: Watch Game 5 of NBA playoffs for free Multilingual emergency alerts allegedly hit by Trump administration's anti Best camping deal: Save $75 on the Yeti Tundra 65 hard cooler Our favorite Anker products are all on sale at Amazon Get the Nothing Ear (a) earbuds for just $79 at Amazon Best game deal: Save 50% on 'The Last of Us' games at Amazon Best Fire Stick deal: Save $20 on Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max Gadecki vs. Gauff 2025 livestream: Watch French Open for free Tesla Supercharging info now shows up as Live Activity on iPhone DMV text scams are on the rise in some states Marozsan vs. Alcaraz 2025 livestream: Watch French Open for free Real Betis vs. Chelsea 2025 livestream: Watch Conference League final for free
1.8484s , 10136.859375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Woman in Her 20s Who Has Luscious Matured Curves Online】,Prosperous Times Information Network