In November, criticism against The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon reached a fever pitch when comedian Hari Kondabolu produced a documentary called The Problem With Apu, which endeavored to explore how the character perpetuates negative stereotypes against South Asian individuals.
Last night, The Simpsons attempted to address the Apu controversy in a new episode. Beforehand, showrunner Al Jean made it clear that he anticipated that the episode would rub some people the wrong way.
.@TheSimpsons New Simpsons in five minutes. Twitter explosion in act three.
— Al Jean (@AlJean) April 8, 2018
The episode, entitled “No Good Read Goes Unpunished,” features Marge and Lisa indirectly discussing the controversy surrounding Apu. According to the episodic summary from The Hollywood Reporter:
In the scene in question, Marge has edited a new version of The Princess in the Garden, tailoring it to what would be acceptable and inoffensive in 2018. Marge reads the story to Lisa, but the new version is much shorter and lacking in an “emotional journey” for the central character. Both Marge and Lisa then make reference to Apu, with Lisa looking at a picture of the character and saying “something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?”
#TheSimpsons completely toothless response to @harikondabolu #TheProblemWithApu about the racist character Apu:
“Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect… What can you do?” pic.twitter.com/Bj7qE2FXWN
— Soham (@soham_burger) April 9, 2018
Twitter was decidedly unimpressed and unmoved by the totally toothless “discussion,” which was tantamount to an animated shrug.
Beyond sad… they even threw this in for good measure pic.twitter.com/qjYthF0ckz
— Soham (@soham_burger) April 9, 2018
People also found it unconvincing that Lisa, who is notorious for being the most liberal and open-minded character on the show, voiced the apathetic response.
I think the fact that they put this “argument” in the mouth of Lisa’s character, the character who usually champions the underdogs and is supposed to be the most thoughtful and liberal, is what makes this the most ridiculous (as in worthy of ridicule) and toothless response.
— Wakanda Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) April 9, 2018
I always tell the #UnitedShades crew that comedy can fix any creative issues. That’s what comedy’s for. It can’t fix real world issues. But it can get you out of a creative jam. The Simpson’s, 1 OF THE GREATEST COMEDIES OF ALL TIME, coulda dug deep & wrote their way out of this.
— Wakanda Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) April 9, 2018
Hari Kondabolu, the filmmaker behind the Apu documentary, tweeted that he was disappointed with the response from Simpsons writers.
Wow. “Politically Incorrect?” That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad. https://t.co/lYFH5LguEJ
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018
In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018
However, considering the demographics of the writers’ room on The Simpsons (i.e., predominantly white dudes), people also weren’t terribly surprised.
I love when a bunch of Harvard white guys tell us what’s racist
— osama bin eatin (@taIiban69) April 9, 2018