Reminder: CNN tonight
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 refreshed the page until an Amitabh photo turned up on a banner. Consider it our Easter egg 
 |
|
Clerk wearing Apu nametag |
Here’s an update on the controversy. The Armenian (?) franchisee who called the promotion anti-immigrant is as worried for his paycheck as a front-line employee. CNN’s been having a hard time persuading people to go on record:
CNN has repeately contacted Serge with request for an interview regarding his recent (March of 2007) post about 7-Eleven / Simpsons promotion. From what I was told Serge has declined to interview CNN…
… anyone with access to internet can read and search all the posts. I call that pretty powerful! Now you know why [Jim Keyes, 7-Eleven CEO] hated this forum so much :-). [A] few years ago, [Keyes] called me and was very pissed about one of my posts, he told me do you think I care about two three hundred franchisees on the listserv? He told me that it was the Wall Street analysts and investors who also have access to the listserv that concerned him! [Link]
A desi blogger complains:
… basically they’ve been transformed into cartoon characters. Which is the whole point of racism as entertainment, isn’t it? … It’s about entrenching racism in pop culture. When the strongest image of Indian Americans is Apu, you know we’ve all been taught the big lies.
When people tell me that Apu is a “loveable character,” what I hear is that they love to laugh at racist imagery… I’ve been asked if I speak fluent English at more than one job interview. It defies the evidence of ones’ own eyes and ears and defies imagination, but that ching-chong shit is buried deep.
I don’t care if there is one brown guy out there somewhere who isn’t offended. Because this isn’t about offensiveness. It’s about humanity. [ Link]
Others are picking up on the bizarre nature of the promotion:
In one slightly disturbing detail, the employees wear Kwik-E-Mart uniforms. I find this a little weird, and slightly uncomfortable, as all of the employees in real life are Indian, like Apu. Now Apu, in the show, is a sympathetic, three dimensional and well written character. But he is still a stereotype. These employees are also three dimensional… well, people. The fact that they have to dress up like a character who is stereotyping them is a little odd. [ Link ]
His name tag says Apu… I wish this was funnier than it is racist. [ Link]
There are still a few people that you can stereotype on TV without much public outcry. Native Americans, Indians, Arabs, Italians and their alleged connections to the mob, etc. Apu is a stereotype… that people like Apu own all of the 7-11s… Until someone complains, much like Native Americans are doing now, nothing will be done. [ Link]
He has a poorly done Hindi accent, and is voiced by a white dude. Some have likened this to white dudes who put on blackface for minstrel shows… The broken English… is condescending and ignores the fact that many immigrants speak English well… it’s a cheap shot… Is a stereotype that is sometimes used for racist purposes, racist in and of itself? [Link]
But it’s all ok, because they actually love being denigrated!
… the Indian staff wearing Apu-style uniforms didn’t appear to be insulted at all by the ethnic stereotyping or celebration of bad service, but seemed to be having a blast. [ Link]
Wow, leave it to the Simpson’s to poke fun at an entire nationality in a marketing campaign for themselves, and barely stir a lick of controversy. This amazes me. [ Link]
The 7-11 I just visited even had a real life Apu < insert shameless Indian stereotype, DOH! Too late >. [ Link ]
Two aspects of the promotion are actually quite cute. Over at JetBlue, Simpsonsmiser Montgomery Burns takes over the company blog:
Smithers says you provide DirecTV… on all your flights. Moving pictures and talkies on a flying machine… As a young businessman in the Great Depression I learned customers are there for our entertainment. Not the other way around. I recommend poking your passengers with a sharpened twig or ridding the beverage carts of ice. It will be quite the hootenanny watching those sad saps drink their soda pop at room temperature. [ Link]
Not all of the nametags are as lame as slapping ‘Apu’ on an Indian clerk:
… the two (female) clerks had name tags that said Hugh Jass and Mike Crotch, respectively. [ Link ]
Tasteless as always, Fox News flogs the Simpsons merchandise hard without mentioning that it owns the movie studio:
on Tuesday, July 10th, 2007, 4:42 pm in Humor, Issues, Media, Simpsons, TV, Video clips › 
Email this
› 
Retweet
› 
Reddit this
› Link
› Reader links
“the Indian staff wearing Apu-style uniforms didn’t appear to be insulted at all by the ethnic stereotyping or celebration of bad service, but seemed to be having a blast”
“The Armenian (?) franchisee who called the promotion anti-immigrant is as worried for his paycheck as a front-line employee”.
this is so sad…
God knows how many of them are wearing Apu style uniforms or not speaking up just for their everyday meal whether they feel insulted and are unhappy about all this…
I will definetely watch paula Zahn tonite Manish..
wish someone can record it and have a you tube recording of the interview too..If it doesnot show on the blog, CNN might have transcripts or daily pod cast or something like AC360 show has..
Wow. You are the strong lead-in to draw the audience to the Moore-Gupta cage match, eh?
Hello, Great blog - I am quite impressed. Nice packaging too (web design, colours, url name etc.)
I just happened to watch the cnn bit a couple of minutes ago from my humble hotel room in Alabama.
I am probably the type to get sensitive about general racist undertones in pop culture, but on this matter I have to disagree with your opinion. The reason being this is THE Simpsons. The Simpsons are far too big and popular, and the character of Apu has been a main-stay on the show for soo long, that I feel they can ‘get away’ with this without worsening the stereotype. Apu has been around forever, as have the Simpsons, and it is a well-known fact that they are a very comedic cartoon.
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t think everything on the Simpsons is a joke… poking fun at the good and bad of real-life.
However, I commend you for bringing up this debate in the first place.
(Great PR for your blog too - Congratulations.)
-Vinay
http://www.madwhips.com
Manish, just saw u on paula zahn, that was great. wish they let you speak longer. It seemed like a one way debate where they focussed more on the seven 11 manager who didnot seem to mind all this at all saying his sales is better because of all this..that was not right..they should have given you also the same amount of time to speak as that seven11 manager. You spoke so well in the short time you had, you conveyed how it is hurting professional Indians really well.great job Manish, u represented those of us who are offended by this issue well.
In the discussion at the end though there was one lady who strongly supported your point and got the point across to the audience , I forgot her name.
you know after watchin bits of Apu character they showed on CNN I find it really offensive to show him selling things for higher price, picking up hot dog that fell on ground and trying to sell it..That is sad, it gives a totally wrong impresion of us Indians who are honest professionals..wish they let you speak longer. I dont think I want to watch simpsons ever, it is just so demeaning to professional Indians.
Comedy is fun, but not at the cost of making us look that cheap which we are not in real life. I hope the producers of simpsons watch it and change their attitudes towards Indians.
The Simpsons is not insulting to Indians, it’s a cartoon & everyone is a caricature. I’ll even go as far as to say that Apu is portrayed sympathetically. However its humor works on two levels and the unwashed masses look at Apu and think “Look at the funny brown man with the silly accent”. The promotion will definitely encourage harassment of desi 7-11 employees/franchisees. I love the Simpsons but this promotion is braindead
I am fascinated by your discussion of the stereotyping of Apu on the Simpsons but why is your discussion of stereotypes so shortsighted. Apu’s stereotype may be offensive but let’s be honest, it doesn’t stop there. More needs to be said.
It’s offensive that American Caucasian males are stereotyped by Homer as fat, lazy, dumb, heavy-drinkers who do little more than watch tv — another racial and cultural stereotype. And what about every country and culture portrayed on the Simpsons? Asians, Brazilians, Jewish, American, etc, etc. And what about the other stereotypes? Grandpa Simpson as the poster child for elderly? A corrupt policeman with a pig-nose (Police Wiggim)? A rich old miser (Mr. Burns)? What about the religious stereotypes reflected in Reverend Lovejoy (who seems faithless and more concerned about money than religion) or the caricatured Christian neighbor Ned Flanders? I could go on and on and on. I have watched the show for years and have tried unsuccessfully to find a single character that wasn’t a stereotype.
Going back to Homer for a second… do people realize that not every Caucasian male adult is like Homer? I dunno. I just don’t know. I am deeply concerned about it. I know that people out there argue that it’s all satire – mixing wit with criticism to provoke thought (and arguably recognition of the ridiculousness of these stereotypes and misperceptions) – but let’s be realistic for a second – most people don’t even know what satire is and certainly aren’t sharp enough to recognize it. It really would better to do away with satire. It’s just offensive. Satire is wrong. Wrong and offensive!
The CNN report was biased: it showed Apu’s dubious side as a store owner to make Manish’s point, but the fact is that Apu is also portrayed as an intelligent (PhD), hardworking, and someone who gets attention from the ladies. Also, the portrayal of India is positive in the Simpsons, unlike countries like Brazil (ouch) and France.
Anyway, the facts speak for themselves: every converted 7-11 duplicated its profit. If people where buying Apu’s bad side (like selling rotten food as CNN reminded us), they would flee Kwik-mart. And that is not the case. So, I don’t agree with ultrabrown in this case. Lighten up.
I refuse to be insulted by this promotion. It’s ridiculous to think that we should be up in arms by this. Look at who Apu is in the show, The Simpsons: He was voted Springfield’s most eligible bachelor-now married with eight beautiful children, he is a very successful small business owner, he stands strong for his religion, he’s a vegan, oh yeah, he also has a PhD. The Simpsons creators have to have made your biggest complaint the smartest, most successful person in the show. So tell me at what point am I or others supposed to be offended by this. Also, by the numbers, 7-Eleven franchises have a heavy ownership by our community. Why don’t you find something else to complain about.
Just saw it on CNN’s website Manish. You did a great job. And this is as fair and balanced as you can get CNN to get so I guess it wasn’t so bad (could’ve been worse).
good job manish. too bad they cut off the banner!
gurvey - your point is illogical. for every homer there are 20 positive representations of white men. and apu is one of the most pronounced, popular, and ubiquitous stereotypes on the show. fact is, no one associates homer with white men, or brazil with whatever stereotype the simpsons is trotting out. it’s fictional. but apu is based on a real-life character, and yeah, there are a lot of brown convenience store workers/owners. the racist aspect is making them into caricatures for the enjoyment of the masses.
someone said:
yet somehow it all comes down to the accent and “thank you come again!”
You call that a pompadour?! I’m outraged.
Just kidding, you did a great job, Manish. A toast to your bright future as a media-head, whether or not I completely agree with your opinions (I usually do).
I saw the clip on the CNN website, which gave an even handed picture (if you’re an amputee) of the situation! But you say that’s not the original, so I look forward to seeing it when you put it up.
Make sure video doesn’t kill the blogging star though!
Yup !!! Now Manish is a “South Asian Cultural issues EXPERT” for the entire cable circuit.
Yup !!! Now Manish is a “South Asian Cultural issues EXPERT†for the entire cable circuit.
Congratulations, Manish. Your sojourn to India has given you the wisdom.
But,
If you talk about cricket again, I may chew your head. Are you dating PL now?