Critics this month denounced the Simpsons character Apu, an Indian-American immigrant who owns a convenience store, saying he encourages negative stereotypes of South Asians, until a real American of Indian descent spoke up.
Last month, comedian Hari Kondabolu debuted “The Problem With Apu,” a documentary aiming to expose the negative stereotypes and racism toward South Asians exemplified by Apu. The documentary interviewed several celebrities of South Asian descent, including Aziz Ansari, and sparked debate about the character’s propriety on social media.
Yesterday, Amar Shah, whose father’s story resembles the backstory of the “Simpsons” character, described his childhood in a viral Twitter thread that critiqued the backlash touched off by the documentary.
Everybody has an opinion about Apu, but did they ever talk to someone who owned a convenience store or gas station or work in one or grow up in one? You know, like my dad and I? #simpsons #apu
— Amar Shah (@amarshahism) April 9, 2018
“I have a few stories to tell of how hard my dad and mom worked to make a better life,” he said.
Shah recounted how his father immigrated from Gujarat, India at age 17, learned English and got his electrical-engineering degree. He went on to work at several engineering firms before going into business for himself, owning gas stations, convenience stores, and pizza restaurants in a few different states.
“I had friends whose parents were doctors or lawyers and peers at school would crack the inevitable Apu joke,” Shah remembered. “Part of me embraced it knowing I had access to things they didn’t. I also knew that running a store was hard and blue collar.”
Every now and then an unruly customer would chuck a racial epithet in his father’s direction. “He turned the cheek. Not because he was scared or indifferent. He was after something. Something bigger,” Shah said.
“So yeah, I agree with some of your points [Hari Kondabolu], but this is much more than some stereotype,” Shah concluded. “For some of us, we lived this life. It was our story. It’s my story.”
The Simpsons creators offered a tepid response to the backlash Sunday night in an episode titled, “No Good Read Goes Unpunished.”
“Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” a character said, referencing Apu.
Kondabolu ripped the show’s response, calling it “sad.”
In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018