For the past 30 years Fox’s hit show The Simpsons has been running on televisions in every home across the world. Although viewership of the show has declined considerably since it first aired in 1989, The Simpsons still holds an influence on society to this day. The show takes place in fictional city Springfield and revolves around the main character, Homer Simpson, and his family which includes his wife and three children. The sitcom is full of characters that portray stereotypes for their race, gender, or sex. Popular character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, voiced by white actor Hank Azaria, is an Indian immigrant that graduated college with a computer science degree, but works at the local Kwik-E-Mart to pay his student loans (Fatoba). Forced …show more content…
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon represents typical Indian stereotypes through his family, job, and personality. His job, for example, represents the typical Indian gas station worker, as Apu works at the local Quick-E-Mart although he has a college degree. Many argue that Apu even created the standard Indian Stereotype. One of those includes American born South Asian comedian Hari Kondabolu. He created the documentary The Problems with Apu which focuses on addressing the problems that Apu has created for many Indian immigrants. An IMDB comment on the page of the documentary depicts the problems that are concentrated on throughout the film, “Essentially, the biggest problem with Apu is that, because he is the only Indian character on American TV for many years, many Americans came to only view Indians through the Apu stereotype. Imagine if Homer Simpson was the only depiction of white Americans on TV? It wouldn't be a fair portrayal. Neither is Apu, but because the character was created in an environment detached from actual Indians, …show more content…
Although Hollywood has evolved over the years, South Asians continue to feel outnumbered and discriminated against on the big screen. Naturally, Apu is one of the only South Asian characters in Hollywood; therefore, he holds a large influence of society. In an interview with Kondabolu conducted by Vanity Fair, Hari talks about how Hollywood has represented South Asians, “Everything is through the lens of a white person’s perception of an Indian immigrant” (qtd. in Wojciechowski). Later, he added, “I still haven’t seen an Indian-immigrant convenience store, taxi driver, or gas-station attendant character with depth, with a story, talking about a working-class life—on film, anyway” (qtd. in Wojciechowski). Actor Kal Penn spoke out about how the majority of roles he has written for him or offered to him involve a Gandhi-like-figure, a snake charmer, or a computer nerd (Mahdawi). During1990-1995, The Simpsons received the most views, averaging at about 12 million household views per seasons (List). During the entire 20th century, South Asian characters were rare in the media, and Apu was the first. Therefore, Apu set the paths and the platform for South Asian performs. Resulting in the lack of complexity and depth to Apu’s character, South Asian performers believe that Apu has affected their careers and success in Hollywood because of the poor introduction on South Asians to
The author Justin Angle says how in a study the mascots and names were shown to people unfamiliar with Native American culture and the sport teams, in the end of the study most of the participants viewed Native American’s as “war like”, which can carry negative consequences in the real world affecting the views of some future employers, creating a view that though Native American’s can be seen as strong and bold they can also have been perceived as violent and irrational. The uses of Redskins also create the belief that it is culturally appropriate for the constant use of Native American culture this has led to thousands of schools and sports teams to have questionable mascots and names. Such as the Savages from Salmon High school and the baseball team the “Indians” whose mascot was a hooked nose red skinned Indian with bucked teeth. Comparing this to the now frowned upon depiction of African American as black red lipped stereotyped popular in the 1920s advertisements does it not show similarities in a cultures becoming a caricature. While one is view as racist the other is view and honorable due to it representing one of the greatest passtimes in America,
The Boondocks is an animated cartoon series that premiered November 2005 and ended June 2014. The Boondocks is centered on the lives of two young brothers, Huey and Riley. The two brothers move away from their birth city to live with their grandfather in Woodcrest, a predominantly white upper middle class suburb. Huey, the older brother is very politically and socially motivated and is named for Black Panther Party co-founder, Huey Newton. Huey spends most of his time reading and getting involved with political ventures. He despises all stereotypes associated with his black culture. On the contrary, the younger brother Riley understands the stereotypes around him, yet he indulges himself in the gangsta rap and hip-hop
Racism is displayed through Homer even though in truth the things he believes Muslims do are, nothing like most Muslims and their values. Throughout the episode, Homer makes many comical and idiotic attempts to prove that the Bashir’s family is up to something. At one point in the episode, Homer goes to Bashir’s home and talks to his mum. In this scene, Homer says “I heard somewhere your people are hospitable.” Mina (Bashir’s mum) replies “That is true. You may come in.” Homer then exclaims “Praised be Oliver!” Then Mina corrects “That’s Allah.” Finally, Homer says “Well, look it up in the Corona.” This exchange shows that Homer in truth actually knows nothing about Muslims. That scene is an example of malapropism. This causes the viewer laugh at the jokes and think how they might be like Homer and consider how much they actually understand about other religions and their beliefs. The director of this episode is extremely successful in portraying Homer as the antagonist to Bart’s cause and a stereotypical racist
Eye witness accounts of events are not always accurate. The accounts depicted by depend on how witnesses read the situation. The same is true when interpreting the depiction of race and/or ethnicity in media productions. Because situations gain meaning through the process of social construction (the interpretation of a situation based on one’s knowledge), the same event can be viewed and internalized by witnesses who render opposing viewpoints. This analysis will compare the depiction and rejection of socially constructed stereotypes relative to race and ethnicity in three situation comedies: All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.
I agree with you that the commercial. It provided a stereotypical view of American Indians as
Lliu, K., and H. Zhang. "Self- and Counter-Representations of Native Americans: Stereotypical Images of and New Images by Native Americans in Popular Media." Ebscohost. University of Arkansas, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014
When Family Guy satirizes racial stereotypes it is taken as a lighthearted joke but the creators do not realize that it is still damaging to the reputation of those the show makes fun of. In a paper written by Lacroix, a professor at the College of Charleston, she discusses an episode of Family Guy where the family goes to a casino that was owned by Native Americans. Lacroix states that “Though visual exaggeration may be argued to be a feature of the genre, the tone of these satirization is plainly patronizing” (Lacroix). The Native Americans’ were portrayed in a nonsensical manner. Lacroix mentions there were multiple jokes made about the intelligence of the Native Americans as well as characters with absurd names such as “Running Bear” and “Watches Y...
It appears the caricature of Native Americans remains the same as first seen from the first settler’s eyes: savage-like people. Their culture and identity has become marginalized by popular culture. This is most evident in mainstream media. There exists a dearth of Native American presence in the mainstream media. There is a lack of Native American characters in different media mediums.
There are many ways that we can communicate our message to the world. One particular way is through humor. Comedy has an effect on the human experience. It can cause discomfort, joy, shock, confusion and so on. Sometimes it can stir up two emotions at once like anger and regret. Humor can also be used to bring light to issues that are occurring in today’s society. Throughout, this essay I will be examining the use of humor, especially, in the Native American culture. One main issue that Native Americans face in today’s society is that they’re being stereotyped.
"Race and Ethnicity in Entertainment." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies.
Many people do not realize that Indian people are around us everyday. They could be our neighbors, our bus driver, or anyone that we see on a daily bases. In Thomas King’s essay “You’re not the Indian I Had in Mind,” and his video “I’m not the Indian You Had in Mind,” he exemplifies the stereotype that many people make about Indians. King mentions in his essay that people always would say to him, “you’re not the Indian I had in mind,” because he did not look like the stereotypical Indian. Through King’s essay and video, I have been educated about this stereotype that I was unaware of. Since I now have an understanding of how unrealistic this stereotype is, I now can educate friends and family members on this issue.
For many years, racial and ethnic stereotypes have been portrayed on multiple television programs. These stereotypes are still illustrated on a day-to-day basis even though times have changed. Racial or ethnic stereotypes should not be perpetuated on certain television programs. These stereotypes provide false information about groups, do not account for every person, allow older generations to influence younger generations, create tension between groups, and affect people in many ways.
Abstract My research focused on the coverage of Asian Americans in contemporary mass media. The following types of media were researched. Music Television Films Magazines I gave several examples where Asian Americans used to play very simple characters. These roles were defined by stereotypes that exist in America.
Mascots can have direct negative impact on the self-esteem of Native American youth. This confirms what was shown in previous studies. Fryberg and her colleagues conducted four studies exploring how Native American high school and college students react to Native American stereotypical mascots such as Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and Disney’s version of Pocahontas. The study consistently found that negative reaction to these images were present within these students.The mascots create “unwelcome and oftentimes hostile learning environments for Native American students that affirms negative images/stereotypes that are promoted in mainstream society,” (e.g. Fryberg et al., 2008). Such hostile environments decrease students’ overall academic achievement and ability to succeed. In fact, the federal government has identified hostile learning environments as a significant and serious impediment to students’
TV shows such as the Simpsons are packed with stereotypes within its half-hour broadcast. The Simpsons contains a large number of audience that watch the show daily as it is broadcasted during prime time. Characters such as Apu are highly discriminated against and stereotyped. On this show Apu is characterized as an Indian immigrant, who prays to Ganesh, and holds a highly noticeable and dissimilar accent. This is a stereotype which is observed by young children and is perceived as humorous; they apply this knowledge towards those they meet in real-life.