The Problem with Apu Page #3

---

you couldn't have a conversation

on Monday with some people.

Yeah. It was also edgy.

It was edgy at the time.

Yeah.

La-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Ha! Ha!

La-la-la! Ha! ha!

La-la-la-la!

Stop him!

He's expressing

his faith, eh?

The thing is,

is that "The Simpsons"

stereotypes all races.

They stereotype

the alcoholic, the deadbeat dad,

the "F"-up kid,

the over-achieving daughter.

They stereotype Italians,

Chinese, Japanese.

They spare no expense.

The problem is,

is we didn't have

any other representation

in this country.

There was no Aziz,

no Mindy, no Kal,

no that dude

who was on "Lost,"

and that other dude

from "Heroes,"

and that dude that's

in the Apu documentary.

No politicians or reporters,

and no whatever

Deepak Chopra is.

This is all we had.

Apu reflected

how America viewed us --

servile...

devious...

goofy.

And that creates a problem

when the most popular show

on television,

which it was,

is showing

mainstream America

what an Indian is.

Right.

And it's a potbellied dude

who can't speak English,

has zero --

is an idiot, basically.

So, where did this walking

stereotype come from?

I mean,

other than the gates of hell.

I read somewhere

that Apu,

they originally did not

want to make him

and Indian convenience

store owner

because they thought it was

too much of a stereotype.

It's completely

untrue.

Right away they were like,

"Can you do an Indian voice,

and how offensive

can you make it," basically.

Really?

I literally --

I would, immediately began

to talk this way and...

And I was like, "It's not

tremendously accurate.

It's a little...

stereotype."

They're like,

"Meh, it's all right."

So, Hank Azaria,

a brilliant voice-over actor

who does many of

"The Simpsons" characters,

is told to do this stereotypical

voice by producers.

Or was he?

Apu, he was not intended

to be a character.

He was called "clerk."

Mm-hmm.

He had one line,

"35 cents, please."

And I wrote in the script,

"He is not an Indian."

'Cause I said,

"That is a comedy clich."

I see, yeah.

And we get to the table reading,

and Hank Azaria goes,

"35 cents, please."

And it got

this giant laugh,

and, suddenly,

Apu was an Indian.

"35 cents, please."

Man, that is some

brilliant comedy writing.

So, what I do know for sure is

that a white dude created

a stereotypical Indian voice,

and a bunch of white writers

in a room laughed

at said stereotypical

Indian voice.

And this led to the creation

of my childhood bully

and a walking insult

to my parents.

Are you sure

you want a child, Apu?

You know I do.

I mean, there comes a time

in a man's life

when he asks himself,

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes