Our 30-year-old stereotype of an ethnic minority is now widely seen as racist? Doh!
HOW should a longrunning TV show once praised for its clever satirising of American culture react when accused of racist stereotyping? The answer, according to the creators of ‘The Simpsons’, is a cynical eye-roll and some dismissive mutterings about political correctness gone mad.
Criticism of Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu, the Indian-American character best known for his incessant head-bobbing and thick accent, has been simmering away for some time, but a 2017 documentary gave the disparate disapproval a centre around which to coalesce.
In ‘The Problem with Apu’, US comedian Hari Kondabolu argued the character “reflected how America viewed us: servile, devious, goofy” and armed bullies with the pop-culture fodder they needed when picking on kids of South-Asian heritage. Hari also said he was a massive fan of the show.
It was not until this week that the show’s creators addressed the topic directly with an episode that has been described as spectacularly tone-deaf.
In it, Marge tries to rewrite a favourite childhood story awash with racist stereotypes so she can read it to daughter Lisa, who then complains the story, stripped of all the ‘offensive’ content, has become boring.
Then Lisa, arguably the show’s most ‘woke’ character, addresses the viewers: “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” We then cut to a framed picture of Apu with the message “don’t have a cow!” written on it.
At best the episode is a lacklustre shrug of the shoulders, at worst it’s a thinly veiled two-fingers to critics. Either way, it’s disappointing. If ‘The Simpsons’ is still as smart and funny as its defenders claim, surely it could have found a clever way to address the issue, poking fun at its critics as well as its own flaws? Reviewing old TV shows through a 2018 prism is becoming popular and ‘The Simpsons’ is not the only show to be subjected to a re-evaluation. After Netflix added the ‘Friends’ back catalogue, the long-running 1990s show was slammed for an underlying homophobia and misogyny most original viewers were oblivious to. There’s one major difference, though, between these shows. Rachel, Ross and Co were consigned to the seventh-circle of hell that is endless midafternoon reruns back in
2004, but episodes of ‘The Simpsons’ are still being churned out, though viewers have been switching off since
2006. If the creators wants to stop that decline, then they need to start reflecting societal changes and progress, or at least engaging with its critics.
Some will argue that in ‘The Simpsons’ everyone is a stereotype – from Homer himself to Groundskeeper Willy, the whisky-swigging Scottish janitor. If you share the slagging around, the argument goes, then you’re not singling anyone out. But not all stereotypes are created equal because the groups they are lampooning are not on the same footing. When it comes to representing an ethnic group that is more visible than ever on both the big and small screen, relying on a 30-yearold stereotype is lazy. More importantly, though, it’s just not that funny any more. If ‘The Simpsons’ wants to halt the decade-long slide in viewing figures, it needs to try a lot harder than that. Some jokes just grow old.