[Guitar Hero developer] Harmonix… was so enamored with the “Sitar Hero” parody poster (with Apu playing a 60-button sitar controller) that they asked for 20 copies. [Link]
Please note that Sitar Hero is considerably more difficult than Guitar Hero. And the wah-wah doesn’t come from a pedal. It’s some kid paid in chai and sonf.
Here’s another […]
When The Simpsons tackled outsourcing in ‘Kiss Kiss Bangalore,’ the only segment on YouTube at the time was the Bollywood-style dance scene at the end. But Srini’s posted a condensed version of the full segment:
It’s got the whole enchilada — Middle Eastern music confused with South Asian, Homer as a Thuggee, non-desi voice actors reading […]
Courtesy of unsure shot
Do you work in medicine? Missed out on being asked to ‘do Apu’ because you’re not working behind a counter slinging Slushees?
Don’t worry, 7-Eleven Inc. is looking out for you. All those Apu cutouts are coming to your hospital so your bratty little patients can make fun of your accent too!
… 7-Eleven […]
Burger King is handing out 3″-high talking dolls with its Kids Meals as part of the Simpsons movie promo. Of course the Apu doll — not Chief Wiggum, not Mr. Burns, not Krusty the Clown — is the only one to say anything off-color: ‘Please! Please! I’m gouging as fast as I can.’ The Japanese […]
The NYT finally gets on the ball and covers the Simpsons / 7-Eleven controversy:
Chaudhari’s store
… Apu has “always grated on me… He is a very crude ethnic character, and while there are many other crude ethnic characters on the show…” Apu is the only one with a stereotypical singsong accent, “like the accent that Chinese-Americans […]
I went down to WNYC, the NPR affiliate in New York City, this morning for the most sympathetic airing of the Simpsons / 7-Eleven issue to date. It was the Brian Lehrer show; Jen Chung of Gothamist was on right before me. After the Ultra psychoanalysis of Apu and his Kwik-E-Mart, several desis who dislike […]
ABC, Australia’s version of the Beeb, ran a segment on youth radio today about the Simpsons controversy. The Land Down Under does have 7-Elevens, but they didn’t get the full Kwik-E-Mart makeover.
Again, it’s a meaty discussion of the kind you only seem to have on radio and podcast. I mentioned that Apu feeds the kind […]
Carmen Van Kerckhove of Addicted to Race, a sister blog to Racialicious, did a half-hour podcast on the Simpsons issue. She kindly let me shoot my mouth off about the Rudyard Kipling - Peter Sellers connection to Apu despite having a face made for radio and a voice fit for mime. The ‘Gunga Din’ bit […]
Finally, here’s the full CNN clip on the Simpsons / 7-Eleven promotion in a high-quality version. You’ve already seen the beginning, so jump straight to the panel discussion at 3:10. The mainstream framing of the issue is pretty dismissive.
The Simpsons movie comes this Friday and has resorted to all kinds of innovative guerrilla promotions (the […]
Reuters TV covers the Simpsons / 7-Eleven issue with the same structure you’ve seen before: Ultrabrown, 7-Eleven spokesman Scott Jorgensen, 42nd St. store owner Amit Chaudhari, franchisee Serge Haitayan’s forum post, random passers-by. These guys look like they’re getting tired of answering these questions. Nice big sound bite though.
… the 7-Eleven convenience store chain’s emphasis […]
BBC Asian talk show host Nihal had me on, in both senses, in a radio interview at the ungodly hour of 4 am Eastern. The ‘Big Debate’ program focused on Apu rather than the 7-Eleven promotion. Butting heads in real time was energizing — what a riot!
Update: Here’s part 1 with my interview:
Part 2:
Here’s the […]
KCBS AM radio in San Francisco recently ran a radio segment on the Simpsons / 7-Eleven promotion issue:
… the promotion has sparked some debate over whether the Indian store owner is an offensive stereotype. One Indian American in San Jose told KCBS he disagreed with the publicity stunt. “I think it’s wrong, sending a wrong […]
Satyajit Ray accused Steven Spielberg of ripping off his ‘67 script The Alien for the hit E.T. The Alien was to star Peter Sellers and Marlon Brando:
In 1967 Ray wrote the script to a science fiction film he wanted to make called The Alien. Peter Sellers was interested in the lead role, and Marlon Brando […]
Over a year and a half ago I wrote my first post for British site Pickled Politics, entitled ‘Much Apu About Nothing’ and it concerned my love for Springfield’s favourite shopkeeper. I sought to explain why I feel Apu is a positive character, having heard opinions against him. This has proved easily to be my most widely-read post.
Recently a publicity campaign for the upcoming Simpsons movie has developed into a contentious issue in America and Ultrabrown’s Manish has quickly become the go-to man for all things Apu. What Manish probably doesn’t realise that it was his view of Apu that inspired my article; I wanted to highlight how the British perception of Apu is so different from the American. So I figured I should chuck my two cents in, but I’ll try not to duplicate my reasons for being an Apu fan this time.
The recent ‘Apu controversy’, having made national American and Indian news, may have started as a debate about the ad campaign, but it has grown into a new dissection of Apu’s character.
Update: Check out what’s on the front page of the Guardian right now (top right column):
This piece on the Simpsons / 7-Eleven issue was posted on the Guardian (UK)’s blog this morning.
Comedian Peter Sellers’ crude attempt at an Indian accent was once so widely reviled among British Asians that the famed sketch show Goodness Gracious […]
NDTV, one of India’s largest news channels, tackles the Simpsons / 7-Eleven issue. Ultrabrown shows up halfway through. Here’s the original clip.
The Burbank 7-Eleven participating in the promotion reportedly dressed non-desi actors in brownface makeup. It’s a throwback to Gunga Din and in jaw-dropping bad taste if true (thanks, PD):
I was also surprised to see […]
A San Francisco TV station is looking for someone in the Bay Area to interview for a story on the 7-Eleven / Simpsons controversy. Anyone articulate and available? You don’t even have to be named Nahasapeemapetilon.
Please get in touch with me at. Thanks!
Check out this segment from KPIX San Francisco about the 7-Eleven / Simpsons controversy. It’s less cavalier than the CNN segment. The calculus of TV is three hours of interviews shot over two days for one sentence on air, while those with no firsthand knowledge of the problem get four minutes to pontificate.
Like most mainstream […]
Update: Here’s the full segment CNN ran last night on the Simpsons / 7-Eleven controversy:
Reminder: check out CNN tonight at 8:25pm Eastern / 5:25pm Pacific on ‘Paula Zahn Now.’ They said my bit about the Simpsons / 7-Eleven promo should be on for 2-3 minutes. That’ll be followed by Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Michael Moore sparring on Larry King at 9.
There’s no guarantee they’ll show the blog, but I […]