Hari Kondabolu Lays Bare ‘The Problem With Apu’

 

"The Problem With Apu is an examination of stereotypes, minstrelsy (a white actor, Hank Azaria, has been the voice of Apu for 28 years), and who pays the price when comedy kicks down. Packed with Simpsons clips, as well as with interviews with prominent South Asian actors like Kal Penn, Aziz Ansari, and Sakina Jaffrey (House of Cards), and former Simpsons executive producer Dana Gould, Kondabolu’s The Problem with Apu looks at how a beloved character from a legendary television program—one I adored growing up—also provoked the bullying of a generation of South Asian kids in the United States. All of the South Asian actors, male and female, as well as former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy tell their stories of being called “Apu” growing up, the character filling the gaping vacuum of South Asian representation. As Kondabolu says bluntly, “Twenty-eight years later, the words ‘Thank you, come again’ still follow me wherever I go.” 

read the article by Dave Zirin

Hari Kondabolu Lays Bare ‘The Problem With Apu’