Were they shitty to you because of Apu or were they shitty and used Apu as one of the ways to be shitty? I can see a situation in which Homer is used as a proxy to the stereotypical entitled, dumb, slovenly working class white guy to make fun of white kids. But it doesn't mean the characters are racists. Only that racists and bullies can…
Were they shitty to you because of Apu or were they shitty and used Apu as one of the ways to be shitty?
I can see a situation in which Homer is used as a proxy to the stereotypical entitled, dumb, slovenly working class white guy to make fun of white kids.
But it doesn't mean the characters are racists. Only that racists and bullies can latch onto any character and use as a mental cudgel.
Lisa to make fun of smart girls, beevis and butthead to make fun of poor white kids, Apu, Fat Albert...so many examples.
Let me try to explain. If the only character(s) of a race or group is portrayed as a racial stereotype... the portrayal is racist. I don't think Homer is the only white (well, yellow, haha) character in the Simpsons, so this is not an appropriate comparison. When people watch the Simpsons, they do not come away with the impression that all white people are slovenly, dumb, and working class, because Homer is not the only white character on the show. There are a variety of depictions of white characters.
It appeared that kids were shitty because their parents were racist, and then watching racist depictions on TV upheld the racism taught to them by their parents. (So, both kids were shitty and they used Apu to be shitty)
In my original comment I was talking about “LiVeD ExPeRiEnCe” more so than hypotheticals.
Were they shitty to you because of Apu or were they shitty and used Apu as one of the ways to be shitty?
I can see a situation in which Homer is used as a proxy to the stereotypical entitled, dumb, slovenly working class white guy to make fun of white kids.
But it doesn't mean the characters are racists. Only that racists and bullies can latch onto any character and use as a mental cudgel.
Lisa to make fun of smart girls, beevis and butthead to make fun of poor white kids, Apu, Fat Albert...so many examples.
Let me try to explain. If the only character(s) of a race or group is portrayed as a racial stereotype... the portrayal is racist. I don't think Homer is the only white (well, yellow, haha) character in the Simpsons, so this is not an appropriate comparison. When people watch the Simpsons, they do not come away with the impression that all white people are slovenly, dumb, and working class, because Homer is not the only white character on the show. There are a variety of depictions of white characters.
It appeared that kids were shitty because their parents were racist, and then watching racist depictions on TV upheld the racism taught to them by their parents. (So, both kids were shitty and they used Apu to be shitty)
In my original comment I was talking about “LiVeD ExPeRiEnCe” more so than hypotheticals.