post in : Fox , TV| Tagged : the simpsons
Hank Azaria discussed his determination to retire from voicing Apu on FOX ’s The Simpsons and how the character was used by others to further hate .
WhenThe Simpsonsaired the controversial season 29 episode " No ripe Read Goes Unpunished " in 2018 , two of the elementary character reference in Marge ( Julie Kavner ) and her girl , Lisa ( Yardley Smith ) , set about the long - running animated serial publication ' lingering issues addressing the disappearance of Kwik - E - Mart shop class proprietor Apu Nahasapeemapetilon , voiced byHank Azaria . Once consider a popular recurring character since the show ’s premiere in 1989 , cultural norm , regardless of execution and intentions , do n’t always achieve the desired event as the series came under scrutiny thanks in large part to the 2017 documentaryThe Problem with ApufromHari Kondabolu , who spoke to those among the South Asiatic community were affect by the character ’s keep front and perpetuated stereotype . Azaria appeared onPablo Torre Finds Outabout how Kondabolu set off the long overdue conversation that finally led to him retiring the character and how it was n’t something he could dismiss as a white role player playing a person of color .
The Simpsons: Hank Azaria on Apu’s Origins and Epiphany
" for answer that interrogative , ' Do I keep doing the voice or not , ' require a bass diving . It was n’t like , ' Well , let me take a week and look into this . ‘It was likely two or three year because we all freeze at ' The Simpsons , ' " Azaria told hostPablo Torre . “We had no mind what to do . The character stopped articulate anything , and it became a deep diving into , ' Well , is this racist ? Does Hollywood have a tradition of doing this ? In one way or another , am I a part of that ? "
Azaria broke down the inspiration behind Apu . " The aforementioned Peter Sellers , which that ( Apu ) spokesperson was free-base on , was based on his performance from a movie anticipate , ' The Party ' ( 1968 ) in the mid-60s where he played an Amerindic guy key out Hrundi V. Bakshi in brownface . What ’s the difference between ( Seller characters ) [ Gallic stress ] Inspector Jacques Cousteau ’s silly French voice , [ German accent ] Dr. Strangelove ’s silly German spokesperson , and Hrundi V. Bakshi , a silly Indian part ? It ’s a question I still get require . "
Azaria breach down when he learned the graphic symbol ended up being a slur within the Indian community . " The main affair was when hate crimes were perpetrate against Southern Asian people , a peck of times , they were just call ' Apu , ' which became a smudge when contrivance store guys were stabbed , shot , or robbed , especially when guys were who were more in the stereotypical profession like hack number one wood . They were hat on physically and called ' Apu ' "
The vocalization actor then compared it to if he feltthat as a Judaic individual , everyone only had one figure to go on . He would understand the foiling before coming to his decision to retire the fictional character in 2020.The Simpsonssubsequently announced that their white actors would no longer voice people of coloration , a style that wasfollowed on other revive show likeFamily GuyandFuturama .
" I ’m a white guy , so when I walk around out there , [ Jewish feeling ] ' Unless I talk like this , ' nobody would assume , ' I talk this way . ' Hari , no matter how American he is or sound , appears Amerind and will get Apu crap if someone decides to give it to him , " Azaria explained . " That Apu crap is n’t because it ’s a cartoon , like ' Oh , it ’s a wacky articulation . ' There ’s all this other stereotyping and things that have teeth in them that affect people of color in this country . While Apu might not be the most significant affair in the Earth , it ’s a windowpane into quite important . "
Apu has been relegated to a voiceless background lineament with minimal concealment meter , and in the five years since Azaria retired from the role , there has been no replacement to take over . Azaria also stop voicing Homer Simpson ’s ( Dan Castellaneta ) African American power plant atomic number 27 - worker Carl Carlson since season 32 withAlex Déserttaking over . For more on Azaria ’s vocation , you could check out thevideo . you could also check out the 2023 sequence of NPR’sCode Switchwhich Azaria and Kondabolu discuss the theatrical role since the doer did n’t appear in Kondabolu ’s film .
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