The Simpsons: Equal Opportunity Offender

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 9:37am

Someone is now offended by Apu on The Simpsons. Never mind that The Simpsons mock everyone. I guess Groundskeeper Willie and Ned "Born Again" Flanders, and Krusty's Jewish father, etc are all normal people.
Link

[Becky2]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:07am

"Until the rise of American Idol chanteur Sanjaya Malakar, Apu was the most widely-known Indian after Mahatma Gandhi."

That's kind of sad.

Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:30am

The Simpsons are always getting complaints & boycotts. They go out of their way to court them. A few years back they had a show where they had a character from Brazil get bitten by a monkey. The Brazilian tourism board went beserk with complaints so the Simpsons now say horible things about Brazil whenever they can. Arbys also complained when a girl said "I'm so hungry, I could eat at ARBY'S!" Hence the Arby's bashing. And of course, after Butterfinger did a series of Simpsons commercials and complained about some minor offense they had Bart Vicously turn against them with a crack like "I never eat those things anymore!"

They even pick on themselves- during the negotiations to renew the voice talent contracts, they joked about replacing everyone.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:33am

I think this is pretty ridiculous. Like South Park and Family Guy, the Simpsons picks on EVERYONE.

[mominator]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:34am

Is everyone forgetting the fact that this is a cartoon?

[Chevstriss]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 10:55am

Apu is one of their most beloved characters. His arranged wedding ep is one of the best, and who can forget his turn at "Delivery Boy" in STREETCAR!

[Pippin]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 12:48pm

It amuses me when people take satire for real life. ESPECIALLY satire in a friggin' cartoon. If you read the comments posted on that page, that original poster just won't listen to any sort of reason, no matter how many people try to explain it to him. He's been offended, and that's the end of it. Sometimes I wish I could just reach through the computer and bang people's heads against something abrasive.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 12:55pm

has the person with the issue been in a coma for the past 18 years?

Updated On: 7/19/07 at 12:55 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:00pm

He's timing his campaign to coincide with the movie for maximum impact! A stroke of brilliance IMO, cuz now even more people can see what a fool he is.

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:03pm

I read the "I Just Walked Out Of "I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY"..." thread just before reading this thread. I was struck by the completely different reactions to these two bits of comedy. I'm not committing yet to an opinion on either issue. But I'd be interested to have people verbalize why they might see one as offensive and the other not. Again, I'm not arguing for either side so don't jump all over me. I'm just curious as to how people might put the difference into words. Opinions?

Edited to add: this would be more in respect to Simpson characters other than Apu, since most folks on that blog seem to think Apu's actually shown as one of the more positive characters on the show.

Updated On: 7/19/07 at 01:03 PM

[mominator]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:06pm

in one word artscallion, cartoon.

[RobbO]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:07pm

has the writer of that "article" ever been to a 7-11 ever?

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:13pm

"in one word artscallion, cartoon."

Thanks, Mom. But I need more.
How does it being a cartoon make it different? In other words, is it so simple that if "Chuck and Larry" were done as a cartoon it would cease to be offensive? And why so

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:14pm

Because the Simpsons attempts to satirize everyone.

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:22pm

"Because the Simpsons attempts to satirize everyone."

Okay. I see that. But that makes it inoffensive because...

I mean I've heard that explanation before and even used it myself. But I wonder if I was of the habit of making fun of everyone in my office, no matter who/what they were, would that be inoffensive because I was all-inclusive in my mockery? And don't say, "if you were a cartoon it would be."

[mominator]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:32pm

The Simpsons have been making fun of all of us for 18 or so years. Chuck and Larry (from what I understand) seem to target gays.

[Pippin]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:38pm

becuase it's ok with most people to be offended if the person next to you is also getting offended. it sends the message that you alone aren't being singled out for being who you are, whereas with chuck and larry, which i have not seen, seems as if it is targeting one group alone and running with that joke for 2 hours or so. the simpsons insult alot more people in alot less time.
Nobody wants to be offended, but at the same time, I think we all need to be in order to keep a sense of humor about ourselves, and not take things to seriously, which the simpsons allow when they make you realize that every group can be made fun of, but when a movie with Adam Sandler only offends one group, that's when the defenses go up, becuase we don't see anyone else being made fun of at the same time.

Updated On: 7/19/07 at 01:38 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:42pm

Guess these people have never watched South Park. Haha.

[tazber]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:45pm

What Pippin said.

[mominator]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 1:48pm

Well said Pippin!

[artscallion]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 2:37pm

Okay, I can buy that, Pippin, mainly because you're not denying that it's offensive; you're saying that it's okay that it's offensive because of its context and particularly the reasons outlined in your second paragraph.

That was really my issue and the reason I wanted people to articulate this. I keep hearing people declare things offensive or inoffensive when, really, I don't think that's the angle this debate should come from.

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 3:09pm

Well, as a long time Simpsons watcher, there isn't anything offensive about Apu. He's based on some Indian stereotypes, yes, but if you have seen more than one episode of the show you realize there's a lot more to the character than the fact that he works at a quik-e-mart. Most of Apu's humor is derived from his character, not from his ethnicity. If it is poking fun at his ethnicity/culture, it does it in a knowing sort of way--either making fun of racism, or saying, "Hey, this really is kind of silly"--the same way they make fun of christianity or everything else.

On the flip side, in something like Chuck and Larry the joke IS that they are pretending to be gay. The whole premise is "Aren't gay people funny? We're okay with you guys as long as you're a joke." It's an awkward attempt at extending the olive branch and I can't help but be sort of offended by it. You could argue they do the same thing and are just highlighting the funny aspects of gay life... but it's all stuff that's been done before. It seems very deliberate.

O'course, I'm saying all of this based on a trailer. From what I've read of the movie it actually attempts some sort of message. I guess I'd have to see it.

[One Song Glory]

Posted: 7/19/07 at 7:19pm

I've been watching The Simpsons for a long time, and Apu is my favorite secondary character. I like him because he's a well-rounded, very funny and silly character, his heritage and religion are made fun of but he's proud of both of them and that's something respectable about Apu.