#he even said he didnt want them to get rid of apu. like. just fix the problem with him

[springfieldblues]

it seems like hank azaria is officially stepping down as apu’s voice

which i personally think is a step in the right direction. ive always been of the belief that apu can definitely be improved without getting rid of the character. cancelling apu as a whole seems a little extreme, and the damage is unfortunately already done. the show couldve taken action a lot earlier than 30 years in, but i digress. i wanted to talk about apu for a sec. i am not indian, so forgive me if its not my place. but i wanted to share my thoughts as a non-american poc with a lot of exposure to american culture.

recently i watched a season 27 episode id never seen before called Much Apu About Something where apu’s millennial and very americanized nephew, jay (voiced by desi actor utkarsh ambudkar) calls him out on his stereotypical demeanor and is even embarrassed of him. i thought it was actually a very interesting episode for two reasons: 1. the people who work on the show are definitely aware that theres a problem with apu’s portrayal, and this was before hari kondabolu’s documentary even came out. and 2. the clash between first-generation immigrants and second-generation immigrants is definitely a real thing and they tackled that with the character that probably needed it the most.

HOWEVER. that doesnt mean it was great because boy was this episode witten by a boomer. while he constantly criticizes apu for being a cliched stereotype (kind of cruelly might i add), jay himself is quite the stereotypical millennial, which ends up being his downfall by the end of the episode (he turned the kwik-e-mart into an organic food store and all the food ended up violently rotting once the power was turned off for 30 seconds)

“another failed millennial. who is a cliche now?”

they DO apologize to each other in the end though, ill give them that.

but i still dont know what point the episode was trying to make here. could be “these two generations arent so different after all” or “cultural identity =/= stereotypes, though they might overlap” or “americanized second-generation immigrants tend to shun their own culture and favor american culture as the correct way to be” or even simply just “silence, millennial”

im not a second-generation immigrant, i dont even live in the US. but i do spend a lot of time on the internet, speaking english, surrounded by american culture, media, people and news. my mom always jokes with ‘its like you live there instead of here.’ while my family is pretty lax about our own culture and traditions, theres definitely a big difference between them and me and what i value vs what they value. im not ashamed of my own culture, in fact i love it, but i could still relate to the situation in this episode to a degree.

this post is getting long so to wrap this up: if they get a writer who really understands the issues with apu’s portrayal, i do believe they can turn it around and make something legitimately good with his character. even if the damage is already done, its still not too late to make up for it. and they better do it ASAP, because the relevancy of the show is on the decline and the whole point is to make a change while people still care. i appreciate hank’s decision to step down but like i said this is only one step. hopefully theyll take more steps forward.

#also dont bother coming to me to cry about how mr kondabolu is a big meanie sjw that kicked apu out of the show. that is not what he did #he even said he didnt want them to get rid of apu. like. just fix the problem with him #it shouldnt be that hard honestly