Hank Azaria willing to end or evolve Apu
"In television terms, ‘listening to voices’ means inclusion in the writers’ room.”
- Published by David Knox
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Hank Azaria has spoken to Stephen Colbert about recent concerns over Apu.
“I’ve tried to express this before,” he said. “You know, the idea that anybody was—young or old, past or present—was bullied or teased based on the character of Apu, it just really makes me sad. It was certainly not my intention; I wanted to spread laughter and joy with this character, and the idea that it’s brought pain and suffering in any way, that it was used to marginalise people, it’s upsetting. Genuinely.”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought—really a lot of thought,” the actor said. “And as I say, my eyes have been opened. And I think the most important thing is we have to listen to South Asian people, Indian people in this country when they talk about what they feel and how they think about this character—what their American experience of it has been. As you know, in television terms, ‘listening to voices’ means inclusion in the writers’ room.”
He added,“I’m perfectly willing and happy to step aside or help transition it into something new.
“I really hope that’s what The Simpsons does. It just, it not only makes sense, but it just feels like the right thing to do to me.”
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- Tagged with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Simpsons
3 Responses
So Apu:
-Successful business owner/proprietor -Has excellent business acumen -Active participant in local community -College educated -Bilingual -Religious yet accepting of others’ beliefs -Acculturated -Demonstrates family values
Apu who in Season 7: Episode 23 refused to go with a fake idea to avoid being deported and instead became a legal US Citizen and where at a party, Homer tells his guests how terrible it would be if immigrants were deported, explaining they make the United States thrive.
People need to look at the series as a whole and see that the Apu character has evolved (and still can).
yes it all seems to be another case of political correctness gone mad! i bet most of the people complaining about the so called racial stereo type have never even watched the show!
As Azaria does the voices for 32 regular/semi-regular characters plus other one offs, it’s not really surprising that he wouldn’t mind losing on of the regulars, especially if it makes him more popular.