Apu from The Simpsons Drama

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I think the argument is that they should at least have an actual Indian voicing his character, not sure anyone is asking for him to be axed. Would be a bit weird having his voice change after close to 30 years though...

Don't see the harm in putting on accents for cartoon characters, but again if it offends enough people that the actor feels they should step down then there's little choice but for them to do so.
 

I’m not saying “they take the mick out of whites”.

They take the mick out of everyone.

Then it begs the question why has this one particular character caused controversy over a long period of time whereas none of the others have ? Are Indian people being too precious ? If this was a crusade by SJW's or whatever surely they would also focus on other characters such as the black cop etc ?
 
Then it begs the question why this one particular character has caused controversy over a long period of time whereas none of the others have ? Are Indian people being too precious ?
I think there’s a percentage of every walk of life that is too precious. Modern life.
 
Not amongst my Albion supporting chums, to them yam all dingles. And yam yam is applied by Brummies to folk beyond Wolverhampton in the Black Country. Dow yow lecture me on Midlands culture, Mi Mon ;).

On that note they should ban Yams too.

Agree on the comedy point though. Little Britain poked fun at the upper (the Bitty loving white middle class Tory) and lower classes (Vicki Pollard) and no one gets mad. But if enough moaned they'd get pulled.

Only ever heard Dingle used in reference to football and Wolves fans, and I've lived here all my life and have worked across the Black Country and Birmingham.

Work in Sutton Coldfield atm and the only Wolves fan in the office is 'Donna the Dingle' even though she's from Telford, no one ever refers to me as one even though I'm actually from Wolvo.

Back on topic though, if people cryarse over silly things like who does the voice acting for a cartoon then they should count themselves lucky at having such trivial problems in life.
 
I think there’s a percentage of every walk of life that is too precious. Modern life.

I agree but then you'd think other minority characters on the show would have received similar levels of criticism but Apu has always been the character that's courted the controversy whereas i can't really ever remember anyone kicking off over say Carl Carlson or Bleeding Gums Murphy.
 
You want to watch Bob the Builder mate. The jokes and references in that are obviously way over the kiddies heads, but I dare say a female voice cement mixer mimicing an orgasm to a suggestion Bob or the bulldozer made would have the "Outrage" forums in meltdown.

I kid you not.

Sets Bob The Builder the record on the DTV
 

It's not though is it? Censorship is probably more lenient than ever, and most comedians have podcasts available that are completely uncensored, the really good one stay popular without causing outrage, and make jokes about rape, 9/11, the holocaust etc
I agree, it depends what the joke is. But in my humble opinion, some people just want to find offence in everything these days.
One of the many reasons I don't use social media mate
 
An excerpt from an article by Rajiv Sattyal
Here's one example: in one Simpsons episode, Apu is completing an oral exam to gain American citizenship. When asked about the cause of the Civil War, he starts into a lengthy explanation about its multiple causes, yet is interrupted by the interviewer who says, "Just say slavery." Here, Apu proves he's much more than the guy pulling the handle on the Squishee machine; his is the smart, nuanced voice, juxtaposed with that of the lazy American who just wants to get the test over with.

There's also the fact that Apu has a PhD in computer science and started working at the Kwik-E-Mart to pay off his student loans, which is actually a clever commentary on a common socioeconomic problem in America. But sure, some aspects of his character are stereotypical, just like most of the characters on The Simpsons. It's a satire, after all.

Apu might have been one of the few Indian characters on television more than a quarter-century ago, but as the documentary itself points out, there's now an Indian on practically every successful contemporary show. That's incredible progress — something about which to rejoice. Let's not play the victim. Let's celebrate.
 

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