The Problem with Apu Page #2

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Can you tell me

where the Kwik-E-Mart is?

Thank you, come again!"

And they drive off.

I remember in seventh grade,

actually, being bullied

by this guy

who would speak to me,

actually,

with Apu's accent

or the accent that he thought

all Indians spoke with.

We lived next

to, like, 7-Eleven.

And there was always, like,

a sense of like,

"Oh, please don't let it be

an Indian person

working behind the counter

because if it is,

my friends are gonna do,

like, the Apu thing."

I just would wonder

how many Indian-American,

Southasian-Americans,

have had to deal with this.

This guy,

this Apu,

this one character created

so many problems

psychologically, emotionally,

for so many people.

They didn't mean for it

to happen.

We just were underrepresented,

and so we struggled.

And the kind of racism that made

Apu possible in Hollywood

still exists everywhere.

Apu represents an America

that makes fun of immigrants

and anyone who is not white.

Yes, trolls, I know.

They're yellow.

My mission is to figure out

how we ended up with Apu

and how we can get rid of him.

And I think I know someone

who might be able to help us.

1989 was a big year.

The Berlin Wall fell.

Billy Joel claimed

he didn't start a fire.

I got the chicken pox.

But most relevant for this film,

"The Simpsons" was created

and my life was never the same.

Can you give us a brief history

of "The Simpsons"?

There was a brand-new

network, Fox,

and they were

desperate for content.

And they needed content that

no one else was doing,

that would sell, and that

was a little controversial.

Why, you little!

But they were funny and smart,

and they looked really weird.

No one had really seen

animation like this on --

on network TV before.

"The Simpsons" were huge.

They were everywhere.

T-shirts, toys,

candy bar commercials,

chicken commercials,

car commercials,

and even bizarre car commercials

from France.

They were

an international phenomenon.

And you're a huge

"Simpsons" fan.

Um, yeah.

It was something

that I grew up with,

and it was something

that was always on the TV

when I came home

from school.

Did you guys grow up

watching "The Simpsons"?

Absolutely.

I love that show.

I loved that you could watch

the episodes again and again,

and you would always get a joke

that you missed the first time.

What do you love

about "The Simpsons"?

Probably its humor.

It's pretty unique.

It just represents everything

about humanity,

I think,

but in a funny aspect.

And you know, America

went through a time

when "The Simpsons"

owned America.

I remember when that

was appointment television,

where if you didn't see

"The Simpsons" on Sunday,

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