With its 636th episode this past weekend, The Simpsons became the longest-running scripted primetime television series in history. From his profession (owner of the Kwik-E-Mart) to his accent (he’s voiced by white actor Hank Azaria), Apu represents an extremely racialized portrayal of a South Asian. After Kondabolu’s documentary aired, showrunner Al Jean went on a Twitter storm, retweeting all those who felt the comedian was being overemotional. And even though I grew up in Queens, I still had the same vulnerabilities, and my parents were accented. Asked whether the series will ever attempt to address the problem with Apu again, Groening concluded, “We’ll let the show speak for itself.”

Source: National Post May 01, 2018 17:04 UTC