Like most human beings, I am a fan of The
Simpsons.
In it’s prime, The Simpsons was maybe the
greatest show on television.
In fact, I have the maybe unpopular opinion
that it’s still pretty good, at least as
far as network TV goes.
The Simpsons is largely satirical, providing
commentary on many common American tropes
such as hypocritical evangelical Christianity,
comically violent cartoons and action movies,
or the incompetent yet never accountable police
force.
Another common American trope is the foreign,
often Asian, convenience store owner.
This is lampooned in The Simpsons in the form
of the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
The character Apu is definitely used in interesting
and smart ways on the show, often to criticize
Western ignorance and xenophobia.
MAN: All right, here's your last question.
MAN: What was the cause of the civil war.
APU: Actually, there were numerous causes.
Aside from the obvious schism between abolitionists
and anti-abolitionists, economic factors,
both domestic and international--
MAN: Hey, hey.
Just-just say slavery.
But the show has long been under fire for
what I think we can all agree at this point
is a pretty insensitive, stereotypical portrayal
of South Asian people and to some extent nonwhite
immigrants in general.
Everything from his exaggerated accent to
his characterization as cheap and unscrupulous
business owner.
And like I said I love The Simpsons,
But what’s that thing that one lady used
to say at the beginning of all her videos
but everyone conveniently ignored it?
Oh yeah,
"Remember, that it’s both possible, and
even necessary to simultaneously enjoy media,
while also being critical of its more pernicious
aspects."
Hi I’m T1J.
[WEIRD VOICE]: Follow me!
So even though I know there’s gonna be a
bunch of comments about it, this video is
not really supposed to be a discussion specifically
about the problem with Apu.
If you’d like to see one of those, I recommend
watching The Problem with Apu, a documentary
by comedian Hari Kondabolu.
I honestly thought it was just gonna be an
hour of people complaining about racism, but
it’s actually pretty thoughtful and nuanced,
so I think you should watch it,
You should probably watch it before watching
this video to be honest.
But if you can’t or don’t want to, I’d
like you to watch this clip of Kondabolu’s
Daily Show interview, just to get an idea
of the arguments he makes in the film.
What I would like to talk about is the Simpson’s
recent response to the Apu controversy.
Earlier this month, Fox aired the 15th episode
of the 29th season of The Simpsons, called
“No Good Read Goes Unpunished.”
In it, Marge purchases an old book that she
grew up reading and wants Lisa to enjoy it
in the same way that she did.
She soon realizes, however, that the book
is pretty offensive by today’s standards.
The show eventually takes a opportunity to
briefly compare this to its own problematic
character.
MARGE: Well what am I supposed to do?
LISA: It's hard to say.
Something that started decades ago and was
applauded and inoffensive is now politically
incorrect.
What can you do?
MARGE: Some things will be dealt with at a
later date.
LISA: if at all.
This response was widely hated by viewers,
as if the writers of the show basically shrugged
off the whole problem and said, “Yeah, but
what’re ya gonna do…?!”
But the line that really got to me, was this
one:
"Something that started decades ago was applauded
and inoffensive but is now politically incorrect.
What can you do?"
Now of course, this is ridiculous, and not
in the good Simpson’s way either.
This is an idea that I’ve been seeing a
whole lot lately, that somehow the world all
of a sudden got super sensitive.
Things that apparently used to be cool to
do and say are no longer okay.
And I used to sort of buy into this myself.
I even made several videos about it.
Because I do think that people sometimes overreact
or get offended over silly things.
But that’s always been true.
It didn’t just randomly start happening
in 2010.
They used to literally arrest comedians who
were too vulgar.
But yeah somehow progressive millennials are
the greatest threat to freedom of speech.
Now it’s true that the sensibilities of
a society can evolve over time.
But what is considered socially acceptable
is usually dictated and enforced by dominant
groups.
The straight white male perspective has always
been treated as the “default” perspective
in America.
And just because something is socially acceptable
to dominant groups doesn’t mean that thing
is inoffensive or acceptable to other people.
Here’s the thing, Apu was always a shitty,
offensive caricature of South Asians and their
culture.
Yeah Lisa, some people applauded it, but it
was never inoffensive.
People other than white folks exist ya know.
The problem is, those people tend to have
a marginalized voice in American society today,
much less in 1990 when the character Apu first
appeared on television.
People have been complaining about Apu for
years, but it’s hard to make people listen
to you when you have less power and influence.
But things are getting better.
The reason that the world seems to be getting
more "PC" is because now people in historically
oppressed groups have more of an opportunity
to share their thoughts and experiences then
they ever have.
And eventually mainstream white society just
has no choice but to hear them.
A movie like The Problem With Apu just simply
wouldn’t have been made in 1990.
Hari would’ve been laughed out of the room
after giving his pitch.
A lot of people were especially upset that
this line was delivered by Lisa, specifically.
Because Lisa is often portrayed as the philosophical
voice of reason on the show, especially with
regard to politics and social justice.
What people sometimes forget though is that,
in true Simpson’s fashion, Lisa is also
often used as device to satirize self-righteous
attention seekers who wish to assert moral
authority over everyone else.
LISA: Oh my god!
I'm losing my perspicacity!
So you know, Lisa’s not some infinitely
wise or morally infallible character even
within the show’s universe.
It could be argued that Lisa’s main motivation
on the show is an unending search for meaning
and truth.
And just because she thinks she’s found
something, doesn’t mean she actually has.
Personally, and I don’t think the writers
intended this at all, but I think Lisa saying
this line was ironically perfect.
Because it really exemplifies how even the
most well-meaning, and supposedly informed
white people can, and do, still have a limited
perspective on racial issues.
The Simpson’s has evolved to be an undoubtedly
progressive show.
There are multiple anti-homophobia episodes.
They did this great satirical episode where
the residents of Springfield build a wall
to keep illegal immigrants out.
Pretty spot on.
Wait that was in 2009?
How do they keep doing that?
LISA: ...quite a budget crunch from President
Trump.
At the end of the day, though.
The main purpose of the show is to make us
laugh.
And I’ve always theorized that if comedians
are given a choice between doing something
that’s right and doing something that’s
funny, they will almost always choose the
latter.
And although we should all remember that,
I honestly think that’s fine.
It’s not my intention to bottleneck any
creator’s artistic vision as long as they
are prepared to deal with the reaction.
But I am becoming more and more convinced
that this is a false dilemma.
When Lisa asks “What can you do?” this
just comes off as a stubborn and lazy unwillingness
to take on the challenge of making a great
show without alienating huge parts of your
audience.
Now most people agree that the Simpson’s
is far past it’s prime, but they still make
very thoughtful and smart episodes from time
to time, which leads me to believe that they
still give a shit about trying to make a good
show.
So if you give a shit, there’s are many
answers to the question, “What can you do?”
The comedian Patton Oswalt publicly changed
his opinion on rape jokes after 25 years in
the business.
The film Black Panther changed a supervillain
from the comics who was mostly a racist caricature
literally called Man Ape into a sympathetic,
complex character who was like the best part
of the whole movie.
Well except Shuri THA GOD.
And these changes didn’t ruin anyone’s
career or make audiences not want to watch
anymore.
In fact I’d argue that addressing these
challenges in a thoughtful way usually results
in, not just a less offensive product, but
better one overall.
So if you give a shit, Simpson’s crew, you
probably don’t have choose between something
that’s right and something that’s entertaining.
If you don’t give a shit, then carry on
I guess.
But it looks like you do.
So I’m looking forward to seeing what you
guys come up with
DAS JUS ME DOE.
What do you think?
Thanks for watching!
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Bye!
