Yes Apu was applauded back then, but by whom? In fact, those white Emmy voters likely *still* applaud Apu and think his accent is inoffensive. Those facts didn’t change, it’s just that the people being mocked and othered are being heard a bit more...
Like I’m pretty sure The Simpsons never did a survey on Apu from the perspective of South Asian Americans. So to insist that Apu was ever “inoffensive” in the past is just insisting on maintaining the perspective of whiteness. Which is of course the underlying point.
The history of praise for Apu from white Hollywood elites only proves that The Simpsons was never actually a radical show. It has always helped maintain the status quo.
But if you listen to this conversation about Apu and @harikondabolu’s film hosted by @SAADAonline recently, you can hear people of color of various ages explaining how they have been impacted by the character:
I also wrote about my own experience with the character, and the show, here:
