As a fan of The Simpsons TV show, I’ve always found its mixture of irreverence and cultural awareness (i.e, spoofs of literary works) a bracing source of fun, both entertaining and enlightening.  Just as the Monty Python troupe made me want to be an English teacher via their love of wordplay and their witty impersonations of famous historical writers, The Simpsons reminded me that animated cartoons could be a source of maturity as well as mirth. 

(Note: Watching the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons later on, as an adult, I suddenly “got” its numerous puns and adult allusions, all of which were lost on me as a child – the concept of a talking and flying squirrel was the only focus of my laughter back then.) 

But, as they say, times change. Animated cartoons, once considered safe for children, came under fire for “promoting stereotypes.” There were scattered examples of such in the past; for example, some of the old Bugs Bunny and Betty Boop cartoons had caricatures of Africans and Asians considered borderline-insensitive at the time. Even Walt Disney’s Song of the South (1946), with its happy-go-lucky Uncle Remus and its sunny view of plantation life, was protested by the NAACP when it was released but didn’t become a real issue until the late 1980s, resulting in its current lack of distribution. 

Instead, the trend in Hollywood over the past 30 years has been the complete opposite: using animated films to promote more positive portrayals of American ethnic groups – An American Tail (Jewish), Pochahontas (Native American), Mulan (Asian Americans), The Princess and the Frog (African American), Moana (Pacific Islanders”), and Coco (Hispanics). Cartoons featuring fictional creatures, animals and inanimate objects (Shrek, Monsters, Inc. the Toy Story series, and Zootopia) similarly projected themes of tolerance and respect for diversity. Positive self-esteem for young female viewers also made the cut (Brave). Ditto a genuine masterpiece like Up, which made an elderly man the hero.  Movie cartoons became message movies. 

Not The Simpsons, though. It could always be counted on to ruffle feathers. In sharp contrast to Matt Stone and Trey Parker with South Park, whose sole raison d’etre was largely scatological humor, The Simpsons creator Matt Groening wasn’t a fan of the then-popular concept of political correctness. He railed against it using blatant ethnic caricatures: Krusty the Clown (Jewish), Fat Tony (Italian), and Apu the Store Clerk (Indian). An episode in which Lisa Simpson’s middle school class held a “Model U.N.” celebration allowed Groening to literally shoot ethnic fish in a barrel. There might have been some grumblings from the PC crowd, but that’s all they were. Simpsons viewers were attuned to Groening’s devil-may-care recognition of ethnic stereotypes.

That is, until 2017. In that year, a documentary by South Asian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu, The Problem With Apu, gained some traction in the media by pointing out the character of Apu the store clerk on The Simpsons. The problem with Apu?  He speaks with a funny accent. Compared to the shortcomings of Krusty the Clown (a borderline pedophile) or Fat Tony (who murders people indiscriminately), this seems a minor flaw. In fact, one could argue that making fun of someone’s accent is both a human trait and a distinct (if uncomfortable) part of becoming Americanized. And it doesn’t just happen only to people of color. The father of one of my ex-high-school students is an Irish immigrant, and even back in 2014, the student’s classmates (including Blacks and Hispanics) openly mimicked the dad’s thick Irish brogue. The key, I think, is tone: Is it done out of good-natured fun, or is it an attempt to humiliate? 

The issue with South Asians is two-fold:  a) they’re a relatively new ethnic group to America and,  b) media representations of them are few-and-far between, therefore, a concern for positive imagery is tantamount and understandable. The documentary made its point: In 2020, actor Hank Azaria announced he would no longer voice Apu.  Last month, Azaria went even further, calling the character of Apu an example of “structural racism” and that he feels the need “to go around to every Indian person in this country and apologize.” 

Azaria also spoke about the “negative consequences” of such stereotyping but gave no specifics. It would be hard for him to use ‘social impediment’ as a negative consequence: South Asians have been a spectacular success story in America, moving from immigrants to suburbanites within a single generation. ‘Talking funny’ – which is more of an issue for older South Asians, not their American-bred children – certainly hasn’t held them back. Even on The Simpsons, Apu not only owns his own business, the Kwik-A-Mart, but has a Ph.D. 

If anything, this issue has started a cultural civil war among comedians and parodists. Upon learning of Azaria’s stance, John Cleese, the long-legged comedian and star of the Monty Python troupe, issued his own ‘apology’ via Twitter: “Not wishing to be left behind by Hank Azaria, I would like to apologize for Monty Python for all the many sketches we did making fun of white English people. We’re sorry for any distress we may have caused.”

(To be fair, the Python troupe also did occasional Blackface sketches and portrayed ‘Oriental’ characters with buck-teeth and slit-eyes). 

What I think it all boils down to is ‘respect.’  Filmmaker Hari Kondabalou says a caricature like Apu speaks to a broader issue, namely “how Western culture depicts South Asian communities.” Azaria makes the same point when he says that, after speaking to Indian students at his son’s high school, he realized that they see Apu as a “slur,” and that “this is how everyone views Indians and their culture” – a very broad generalization, but I do see his point.

But, if I may: In an episode in which the fictional town of Springfield wants to deport illegal aliens, the nervous Apu finds a way out: he purchases a fake birth certificate from “the mafia” –specifically, (the fictional) Fat Tony, clearly the go-to guy when it comes to illegal shenanigans. And who is Fat Tony’s “boss”? Don Vittorio DiMaggio, with a surname revered in the Italian American community (Joe DiMaggio, the great baseball legend). And when Lisa Simpson wants to learn how to speak Italian, what book does she read? Italian for Italian Americans, which is riddled with bullet holes graphics. 

(Indeed, two of the phrases she hears on the audiotape, in Italian, are, “I want to dump this body in the ocean” and “This is what you get for asking questions!” followed by gunshots.).

Moving beyond The Simpsons, let’s go back to the aforementioned Zootopia, the 2016 Oscar winner for Best Animated Film. This tribute to diversity also featured a parody of The Godfather, with an ugly little mole as a gangster, drinking an espresso. Before that, there was 2004’s Shark Tale, which featured villainous evil sharks named Don Lino and Frankie, who used phrases like “fuggedaboudit.” Even before that (mid-90s), there was the Goodfeathers, featuring a set of gangster pigeons based on Goodfellas. 

Incidentally, filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who warned a U.S. Congressional committee in 2004 about the “dangers of stereotyping aimed at children,” and who made An American Tail as a tribute to his immigrant Jewish grandfather, produced both Goodfeathers and Shark Tale. 

My problem: Why no recognition of how American culture views Americans of Italian heritage….not just in cartoons, but in regular films as well? 

As Apu kindly says to his departing customers, “Thank you very much!” -BDC