Racism offers endless ‘maze’ for Kondabolu
Filmmaker has a lot more to talk about than The Simpsons character Apu
Brooklyn, N.Y.,-based Hari Kondabolu has been doing comedy since the early 2000s. He has been on every late-night talk show and last year he opened for Chris Rock on his monster world tour.
His comedy albums have earned critical praise and the New York Times called him one of today’s most exciting political comics. But all those accolades and accomplishments aside, Kondabolu got the most attention and name recognition when he called out The Simpsons for the character Apu in his documentary The Problem with Apu.
The film, which challenged the animated show’s goofy accented, stereotypical caricature of South Asians, aired on TruTV last fall and has been talked about since.
The Simpsons finally responded to the documentary in an April 8 episode. The show played the comedy-shouldn’t-be-stifled-by-political-correctness card.
Kondabolu responded to that response in a recent Postmedia story. He said in part: “It’s beneath what I thought the show was. I feel like it is a much more clever show than what the episode indicates.”
Q: Is political correctness harmful to comedy?
A: No one is saying you can’t say something. What they are saying is if you say something, there is going to be pushback because that’s what good art does. So if you’re afraid of pushback and anger and you don’t want to deal with it, then what kind of artist are you? Say it regardless unless you don’t mean it and then you’re a coward. That’s what bothers me more than anything. You came off as tough when you were getting all these audience members to groan at the stuff you’d say and now all of a sudden you are getting pushback and that’s when you back off? No, that’s when you are either supposed to push harder the other way or rethink and figure out what is it I don’t get. You have two moves, but whining in the middle? No.
The Simpsons and Apu issue, aside from racism in America, is a prominent part of your standup.
(I talk about it) in terms of racism in this country and how it has worked globally and historically. I do talk about colonialism a bit, too. I find all that stuff fascinating. It’s this maze. It’s this puzzle. I don’t understand it. I don’t know how to solve it, it’s so irrational and for me I feel that is going to be a topic of my work unfortunately for a lot longer.
So you don’t see things getting better, changing?
I feel like racism and oppression in general mutates. It doesn’t look the way it looks, but there are still certain things in place. You see that in terms of how class has worked over the history of capitalism. You see how race and gender and gay and trans discrimination looks different and people say the right things now, but that doesn’t change the fact of who has access and power and who doesn’t. That’s still fairly consistent. They just might not say something to your face now or they know what not to display, but behind closed doors it is still straight white men who do most of the shaking of hands and exchanging of money.
How have things changed for you personally during your career?
I feel that my work has got more accepted and understood in recent years. That’s partly because my work has been out there more than it ever has been, but also I think there is a whole generation that grew up with the internet. They grew up hearing other people’s perspectives. They are not awaiting change, but are creating it. I think as an artist that pushes towards those things and discusses those kinds of things, I think there’s an audience that not only understands it, but is hungry for it. That’s new and that’s not just me. I think that’s any artist that has a lot to say and isn’t afraid to share it. There’s an audience for it now.
Who is your audience?
A lot of them are younger. I find that remarkable. I just assumed my demographic would get older with me. Everybody would be in their 30s. I look into the crowd and it is really split up. There’s people who have seen me since they were in their 20s and there’s also high school and college kids who show up. That’s a good sign for me. That means I am keeping up and I’m relevant, but it also says that the gatekeepers are different. They don’t control what kids are going to watch. They are going to watch what they are going to watch. They are going to find it.
I’m sorry, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up Donald Trump. So what about Trump?
I’ve been trying to avoid the Trump stuff. I’ve said it before, but CNN has become Comedy Central at this point. How much more can you add to the absurdity? I was never big on the Beltway politics aspect of politics. I like bigger issues. I like the evergreen things that have lasted throughout time and that have reshaped or continue storylines in our world.